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.

When coronavirus-related workforce shortages impacted Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker Air Force Base, Fleet Readiness Center East stepped up to take on a component workload and ensure continued readiness for the F-18 fleet.

Fleet Readiness Center East is taking every precaution to ensure the health and well-being of its employees during the coronavirus pandemic by manufacturing cloth face coverings for employees who cannot effectively maintain social distancing because of their work environments.

The Department of Defense has made wearing cloth face coverings mandatory in areas on military installations where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.

In a region that’s no stranger to emergency response, pulling together as a community often helps Eastern North Carolina speed recovery from disasters like hurricanes, floods and tornadoes. Working together can make each individual agency’s efforts stronger. 

That community ethos is why Fleet Readiness Center East’s Engineering Innovation Lab has stepped up to produce medical face shields to supply health care workers in the local area. Starting this week, FRCE will begin delivering 3D printed headbands and face shields to local first responders and medical professionals.

Improving readiness of the Navy and Marine Corps’ heavy lift helicopter fleet is a top priority at Fleet Readiness Center East, and the H-53 component repair line has implemented innovative solutions to reduce production barriers.

An organizational realignment, ingenuity and collaboration between FRCE’s aviation maintenance professionals and engineers is addressing supply chain shortfalls for critical components.

During a recent ceremony at Fleet Readiness Center East, a Marine MV-22 Osprey crew chief was named the depot’s Marine of the Year for their superior performance, outstanding military conduct, work ethic, perseverance and initiative.

Marine Sgt. Dylan W. Griffith, a 27-year-old native of Boone, North Carolina, received the award and high praise from the command. 

“He’s an exemplary Marine,” said FRCE 1st Sgt. Nathaniel Eirich.  “He’s hard working and does his very best at everything he does.  He truly sets the example.”

Fleet Readiness Center East will begin accepting applications for the Naval Air Systems Command National Apprenticeship Program March 16.

“We’re excited to offer our community this opportunity to build a stable and meaningful career,” said FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Mark Nieto. “The program benefits the community and allows FRCE to strategically plan our future workforce. This is a chance for people to learn a skilled trade, contribute to the defense of our country and get paid while they do it.”

For one Fleet Readiness Center East employee, mentorship is about more than helping a handful of individuals chart their career paths; instead, it’s an investment in the depot’s future, and a way to ensure the depot’s continued support of naval and Marine Corps aviation.

Fleet Readiness Center East is boosting readiness for the H-53 heavy-lift helicopter by breathing new life into the depot’s H-53 rotor head program. A partnership agreement with Sikorsky is generating positive results.   

In early 2019, fleet demand for H-53 main rotor heads exceeded the number the contractor could produce; additional assets were urgently needed. While FRCE hadn’t conducted extensive production of H-53 rotor heads in several years, the depot had the facilities, skilled artisans and historical knowledge needed to successfully produce the component.