By Gary Rice
Public Affairs Specialist

He first came to work at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Depot Cherry Point as a Private First Class in the Marines, back when it was called the Overhaul and Repair Depot. That was 1957, and since then, Reuben “Smokey” Colwell Jr. has gained a lot of experience as an aircraft engine mechanic.

Originally from California, Colwell joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1955 at the age of 17 and went on active duty the following year. His first assignment brought him to the depot, where he was a jet engine mechanic and one of 800 Marines serving in what was then the Overhaul and Repair Squadron. After two years at the depot, he worked at the Cherry Point Rifle Range prior to transferring to a squadron in El Toro, Calif. His tour there included a deployment to Japan. He was also stationed at MCAS Beaufort, S.C., and MCAS Yuma, Ariz. From November 1964 to the end of his military career, Smokey worked as a jet engine mechanic on F-4 Phantom J79 engines.

“The main highlight of my career was serving two tours in Vietnam,” Colwell said. “I feel that was a highlight because I was doing what I was trained and paid to do as a soldier. The enemy occasionally tried to get on base and destroy our aircraft, and that’s when things got pretty exciting. They tried, but they never succeeded.”

After his first tour in Vietnam, Colwell was again stationed at Cherry Point. He bought a house in Havelock in 1966, and his family remained there while he finished his career in the Marine Corps. After his second Vietnam tour, he taught aircraft maintenance from 1969-73 at the Naval Air Maintenance Training Detachment at Cherry Point.

After retiring from the Marines as a gunnery sergeant in 1976, Colwell started school at Carteret County Community College and later earned an associate’s degree in business administration. In 1977, he was interviewed for a job at the depot.

“It turned out that the man who interviewed me had been my civilian supervisor back in 1957,” Colwell said.

NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point provides maintenance, engineering, and logistics support on a variety of aircraft, engines, and components for all branches of the U.S. armed forces. Employing almost 4,000 people, the depot is the only source of repair within the continental United States for many jet and rotary wing engines. It is the Navy’s center of excellence for rotary wing aircraft, providing engineering and logistics support for all Navy helicopters.

Colwell was hired as a temporary mechanic’s helper in the J79 Shop. He was laid off after 18 months, but he returned to the depot permanently in February 1980 as an engine repairer and worked in the T58 Engine Repair and Test Shop in Building 133 since 1988. In the T58 Shop, Colwell worked on CH-46 helicopter engines and engine components.

“I’ve been privileged to work with some of the best mechanics in the world,” Colwell said. “There are some very hard-working and devoted mechanics on the T58 line. If you give them the parts and equipment they need, they can build anything.”

Colwell retired recently after almost 46 years of federal service. He says he plans to stay busy with his competitive cooking team, the Hawgs of Havelock, with whom he has won numerous awards at the Havelock Chili Festival, the Newport Pig Cookin’ Contest, and other events. His team placed 12th of 91 entries in this year’s contest in Newport.

“I’ve got a good team, and we’ve got the trophies to prove it,” Colwell said. “I had a great career working on aircraft engines, and now I just want to do some cooking.”

NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technologies through the efforts of a seamless, integrated, worldwide network of aviation technology experts. From aircraft and weapons development to carrier launch and recovery; from sensors to real-time communications to precision targeting; from aircraft and weapons sustainment to state-of-the-art training; NAVAIR provides dominant combat effects and matchless capabilities to the American warfighter.

Photo Caption: In the T58 Engine Repair and Test Shop at the NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point, on the eve of his recent retirement, Ruben “Smokey” Colwell Jr. changes the fuel block on a T58 helicopter engine. (Photo by Gary Rice)