By Sue Siever
Employee Development Division

Seven Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Depot Cherry Point employees graduated Dec. 16 from the Worker-to-Journeyworker (W2J) Program in a ceremony at the air station Officers’ Club. The graduates – Leonard A. Rivens, Stacy L. Clontz, Brian R. Foley, Hassel B. Lawrence Jr., Jeffrey L. Nelson, Barbara W. Jackson, and Stephen F. Cherry – work in the pneudraulics, aircraft engine, and electronics trades. Commanding Officer Col Eugene K. Conti, three representatives from the state Department of Labor, depot department and division heads, members of the depot’s Training Committee and trade panels, supervisors, family members, and friends were on hand to honor them.

The Worker-to-Journeyworker Program began as a joint effort between depot management and union officials with the program becoming a reality in February 2000. The objective of the program is to train and equip highly skilled worker level employees to perform the full range of duties required at the journeyworker (artisan) level.

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.

Guest speaker John Baldwin, Chief of Staff in the state labor commissioner’s office, congratulated the graduates on their accomplishments, and Industrial Production Department Head Greg Piner offered his personal congratulations and comments on the importance of their achievements to the depot. Col Conti presented completion certificates from the federal and state departments of labor and the Department of the Navy to each graduate along with his personal comments on their accomplishments.
Beverly W. Plasters, Employee Development Division Director, provided closing remarks challenging the graduates to continue to develop their skills and abilities as they continue their careers at the depot. Millie Foss, Employee Development Division Special Programs Manager, delivered the invocation, and a Dutch treat luncheon followed the ceremony.

Prior to the ceremony, the representatives from the Department of Labor were taken on a guided tour of the Auxiliary Power Unit Shop, the H-53 and H-46 lines, machine shops, and the F408 Test Cell. Along with Baldwin, Human Resources Director Nancy Lipscomb, and Dennis Comstock, Apprenticeship Consultant for the Apprenticeship and Training Bureau, were escorted by Production Scheduler Tommy Hall. The visitors saw how airframes, engines, and component parts are routed, repaired, tested, and prepared for delivery to the fleet. Hall stressed that the depot’s successes can be attributed to the quality of its products and the expertise of its highly skilled workforce.

NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technology through the efforts of a seamless, integrated, worldwide network of aviation technology experts. From professional training to carrier launch, sensor data to precision targeting, aircraft and weapons development to successful deployment, and real-time communication to aircraft recovery, NAVAIR provides dominant combat effects and matchless capabilities to the American warfighter.

Photo: In the NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point H-53 Hangar, Production Scheduler Tommy Hall (second from right) explains helicopter maintenance procedures to Department of Labor representatives (l-r) John Baldwin, Dennis Comstock, and Nancy Lipscomb during their tour of the depot Dec. 16. (Photo by Larry Conley)