At the end of fiscal year 2018, the T64 engine program was in trouble. Across the fleet, supply constraints contributed to ever-increasing turnaround times for engines inducted for overhaul or repair. At Fleet Readiness Center East, facilities constraints compounded the issue. The Navy’s H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopters program office, also known as PMA-261, was facing a T64 inventory that fell more than 90 engines short of its engine readiness goal.

After 33 years of dedicated service, Rear Adm. Mike Zarkowski requested permission to go ashore for the last time, after relinquishing Command of Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC) to Rear Adm. Trent DeMoss, on Aug. 14.

In the small, informal ceremony aboard Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., presiding officer Vice Adm. Dean Peters, Commander, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) granted Zarkowski that last request and acknowledged DeMoss as the new leader of COMFRC.

Each day, aviation maintenance professionals at Fleet Readiness Center East’s clean and paint shops clean, treat, coat and route hundreds of parts that make up the gearboxes, rotor heads, engines and other dynamic components that spin on the aircraft FRCE maintains, repairs and overhauls.

These shops process nearly 6,500 parts each month and are key in keeping the dynamic components workload flowing through the aircraft maintenance facility.  Without their hard work, other shops dependent on these parts wouldn’t be able to stay on schedule.

During a visit to Fleet Readiness Center East Friday, July 17, Rep. Greg Murphy received updates on the future of naval aviation, the current status of operations and the economic opportunities FRCE brings to Eastern North Carolina.

Murphy, who represents North Carolina’s 3^rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, toured the facility with FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Mark E. Nieto. The itinerary focused on the F-35 Lightning II and future plans for F-35 maintenance and capabilities at FRCE.

In early May, the Marines in Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (Reinforced) were facing a problem. While deployed to the Gulf of Arabia in support of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, one of the squadron’s CH-53E Super Stallions experienced a broken gear in the main rotor gearbox. The damage rendered the aircraft inoperable and awaiting repair aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5).

If a V-22 squadron needs a titanium hydraulic or fuel line tube for one of its aircraft, Fleet Readiness Center East is the source to call. That’s because FRCE is the only U.S. military aircraft repair facility to have perfected the orbital welding process required to produce these critical components.

A new public-private partnership with Lockheed Martin gives Fleet Readiness Center East another means of supporting naval aviation. The depot recently declared capability on 14 F-35 components, meaning FRCE is now a verified source of repair and testing for these items. 

Cmdr. Michael A. Polito, Officer in Charge of Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) Detachment (Det.) Jacksonville (Jax) and Cmdr. Wilfred H. Judd III, incoming Officer in Charge, stand face-to-face ready to conduct a change of charge ceremony to a mostly empty room.

Amidst COVID-19 almost everything at FRCSE has changed — including the long-standing change of charge, a ceremony that can see upwards of hundreds of attendees. Even though this event lacks handshakes, families and pats on the back, the spirit and honor of the day isn’t dulled.

Coronavirus may have closed North Carolina classrooms, but a new partnership between Fleet Readiness Center East and Craven County Schools ensures area students continue learning about science, technology, engineering and math. The STEM Infusion Project, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, has injected a little fun into the digital learning experience.

When a damaged fuselage grounded an F/A-18 Legacy Hornet at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, artisans and engineers at Fleet Readiness Center East used innovative methods to get the strike fighter back in the air.