A marked decrease in turnaround times earned Fleet Readiness Center East’s T64 engine production team recognition during a Naval Air Systems Command ceremony March 31.

NAVAIR Commander Vice Adm. Dean Peters presented FRCE with the NAVAIR Commander’s Award for Best Performing Fleet Readiness Center Shop during a virtual event live-streamed from NAVAIR Headquarters in Patuxent River, Maryland. This year marked the 21st annual observance of the awards, which recognize teams that improve speed and readiness within naval aviation.

Fleet Readiness Center East, North Carolina’s largest aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul and technical services provider, marked a new chapter March 25 as the facility stood up a new satellite operation at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston.

Fleet Readiness Center East recently accepted delivery of an F-35 airframe transported by barge from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, to FRCE facilities aboard MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Working together with the F-35 Joint Program Office, FRCE received approval to accept the stripped down airframe for use in maintenance training and engineering testing, which will allow for the development of improved tooling, maintenance procedures and sustainment practices.

Following a string of success in reducing maintenance, repair and overhaul turnaround times on V-22 Osprey aircraft, Fleet Readiness Center East has set its sights on improving turnaround times for the H-53 heavy lift helicopter.

Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David H. Berger and Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Troy E. Black visited Fleet Readiness Center East March 15 to receive updates regarding the support FRCE provides to Marine Corps aviation and the facility’s current status of operations.

Berger and Black toured the facility with FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Mark E. Nieto and Executive Director Mark Meno. The itinerary focused on the V-22 Osprey, F-35 Lightning II and future plans for F-35 maintenance and capabilities at FRCE.

If you’ve ever taken a training class for a job-related task, you may have found that you’ve forgotten a step or two when the time came to apply what you learned to your job. But aviation maintenance professionals at Fleet Readiness Center East may soon be able to take their instructor with them to the hangar floor – at least virtually – using augmented reality technology.

Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) recently stepped up to support nationwide COVID-19 containment efforts through the production of nasopharyngeal swabs. The nasal swabs are printed batch by batch using the depot's HP Jet Fusion 4200 3D printer.

FRCSE is just one of the organizations helping to spearhead these efforts. From proof-of-concept determinations to training and technical issues, several heavy-hitting governmental bodies are involved in the process, offering guidance that provides the type of support required for such a significant undertaking.

Responding to an urgent Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic request, Fleet Readiness Center Aviation Support Equipment (FRCASE) Det. North Island recently completed an extensive overhaul, including the complete tear-down and re-build, of a Crash and Salvage Crane for delivery to USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).

When it comes to meeting the needs of the warfighter, Fleet Readiness Center East has made great strides in focusing efforts on critical needs and reducing the wait for high-priority items. By incorporating process changes and data visualization tools, the facility has reduced accountable backorders by 76 percent and high-priority backorders by 77 percent since the start of fiscal year 2019.

Fleet Readiness Center East is an organization on the move. Parts and components have to be carried from shop to shop. Aircraft must be towed in and out of hangars. And, three distant detachments have to be maintained from the main facility aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, requiring everything from office supplies to aircraft wings.