A team of senior industrial engineering students from North Carolina State University (NCSU) recently put their skills to the test in a project designed to improve efficiency and workflow while preparing for future workload in some areas at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE).

An engineer at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) recently became the depot’s first Fellow in the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Fellows Program, earning distinction as one of the top 0.75% of the command’s scientists and technical professionals.

Mark Sapp, a welding and materials engineer within FRCE’s Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) Engineering Department, was inducted as a NAVAIR Fellow during a March 23 ceremony in California, Maryland.

Fleet Readiness Center East’s commitment to workplace safety has earned the depot successful recertification as a Star Site in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).

One Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) team recently earned recognition for its contribution to improved flight line readiness for the MH/CH-53E heavy lift helicopter. The Naval Air Systems Command Heavy Lift Helicopters Program Office (PMA-261) honored the FRCE Fuel Control Shop as PMA-261 “Gold Stars” during a March event.

The third and final day of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) participation in the Sea-Air-Space Expo 2023, hosted by the Navy League, wrapped up with a presentation by Capt. David Rueter, program manager of PMA-234, NAVAIR’s Airborne Electronic Attack Systems Program Office, and an “ask me anything” follow-up by Shelby Butler, director of NAVAIR’s Office of Small Business Programs, who had hosted the Office of Small Business Programs presentation on the first day of the expo.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) will expand its support of military aviators when the depot takes on maintenance, repair and overhaul duties for Navy and Marine Corps C/KC-130J Super Hercules and C/KC-130T Hercules aircraft. Navy officials announced March 17 that FRCE will serve as the designated repair point for the platform. The depot could begin the new workload as soon as the end of fiscal year 2026.

Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, Commander, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), opened the second day of NAVAIR presentations at the Sea-Air-Space Expo 2023, hosted by the Navy League, with a leadership panel addressing the current challenges the organization is facing in continuing to meet its North Star goals, as well as engaging industry and retaining and adapting the workforce to meet emerging technologies.

The first time Maj. Brittany Fayos walked through the H-53 line at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE), she was surprised by what she saw.

“It was a bit eye-opening because I'd never seen them taken apart like that before,” said Fayos. “These were truly stripped down H-53s, down to bare airframes.”

Since that first visit to the hangar, Fayos has not only seen these aircraft stripped down, she’s seen them completely overhauled and reassembled, piloted them during test flights, and then delivered the finished helicopters to their units.

Small businesses are not only a primary source of naval aviation innovation and future capability, but also key partners in the Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) disciplined approach to increasing speed of capability, affordability and availability, according to NAVAIR Deputy Commander Tom Rudowsky.

A new asset in the Transportation Branch at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) is helping reduce turnaround times by simplifying aircraft movement between depot sites.