By Gary Rice

Working next to a waterfall may seem a bit unusual at the Naval Air Depot (NADEP) Cherry Point, but the employees in the Small Parts Paint Shop do just that.

Of course, it’s not a waterfall in the traditional sense, like when a fast-moving river snakes through a canyon and tumbles over a steep rocky cliff. And it’s not very picturesque either, like Niagara Falls or the scenic ones in Hawaii, but the waterfall spray booth does serve a useful purpose.

“When I’m painting small aircraft parts, the water absorbs the excess paint spray,” David Moore, Painter Worker, explained. “It prevents the paint from sticking and accumulating on the surface of the walls or floor in the shop and keeps it out of the air.”

Moore has been working in the shop, located in Building 137 adjoining the H-53 Hangar, since he came to NADEP three years ago. He is involved in all aspects of the painting process, including masking, priming, and taping.

NADEP Cherry Point provides maintenance, engineering, and logistics support on a wide variety of aircraft, engines, and components for all branches of the U.S. armed forces. The depot’s mission is to support the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in providing the American warfighter with absolute combat power through mastery of six broad categories of naval aviation technologies: sensors, aircraft, weapons, training, launch and recovery, and communications. 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.

Before coming to work at the depot, Moore worked for six years at Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City in the Environmental Services Department. Before that, he worked as a commercial fisherman and at a construction company. He says he would like to remain in federal civil service and hopes to be picked up as a permanent employee at the depot.

Another shop employee, Ophelia Stinson, started working for the federal civil service at NAS Alameda near Oakland, Calif., in 1981. Prior to that, she worked for General Motors as a car painter and then worked at Mack Trucks as a truck painter. With that background experience, she was hired as an aircraft painter and started out painting P-3s. She worked at Alameda about 15 years and qualified as a journeyworker. She also participated in other projects besides painting and even helped set up a hazardous waste program at the base.

“When Alameda closed, I was offered a job here at the depot,” Stinson said. “I had only 24 hours to make the decision, which was not much time to prepare, and I didn’t really want to leave California. But I had to do what was best for my children.”

Stinson’s son was 15, and her daughter was 7 at the time of her move in 1995. She says it was a very difficult transition for the family to make.

“We had to leave family and friends behind and move across country,” she said. “It was a real trying and emotional experience. Everything changed, and it was a difficult and stressful experience. It took a long time, but I made the adjustment, and North Carolina is home now. The people I work with helped me adjust.”

Stinson says she’s pleased her children have adapted well to their new home, and her son is enrolled in the Co-op Program at Craven County Community College. She enjoys her job and occupies her spare time with her children and her hobbies.

“I like to sew and garden,” she said. “I recently bought a home with a large yard, and it is a pleasure for me to get out in my gardens and flower beds.”

Originally from Philadelphia, Moore met his wife at trade school and moved with her to North Carolina, her home state, in 1980. He enjoys bowling and attending church. He and his wife have four children, three still at home, and he says he spends a lot of his spare time with them.

“I try to live a good Christian life,” Moore said. “I love my work, and I care about doing a good job. I try to do my best in providing the best possible service I can to the fleet.”

Photo 1: In the NADEP Cherry Point Small Parts Paint Shop, Aircraft Painter Ophelia Stinson checks the work order on a small aircraft part. (Photo by Gary Rice)

Photo 2: At the waterfall spray booth in the NADEP Cherry Point Small Parts Paint Shop, Painter Worker David Moore primes small aircraft in preparation for painting. (Photo by Gary Rice)