Fleet Readiness Center East
During its more than six decades of operation, Fleet Readiness Center East has provided maintenance, repair, and overhaul support to virtually every weapons platform the Marine Corps has flown – from the inverted gull-winged F4U Corsair of World War II fame, to the Corps newest aircraft, the F-35 LIGHTNING II. It is one of eight fleet readiness centers operated by the United States Navy, and the only fleet readiness center commanded by Marines. Located in coastal North Carolina on Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, it is also the Department of Defense Vertical Lift Center of Excellence.
Mission
Values: Our values of commitment, honesty, innovation, courage and passion, enhance our ability to take care of our customers, our people, and our business.
Mission: To provide Unsurpassed Service to the Fleet and Relentless Focus on Quality, Environment, and Occupational Health and Safety.
Vision: To be the preferred provider of global vertical lift aviation industrial, logistics, and engineering support services.
Capabilities and Services
FRC East artisans perform phased depot maintenance, planned maintenance intervals, integrated maintenance concepts, modernizations, conversions, overhaul or in-service repair on the AV- and TAV-8B Harriers; the V-22 Osprey; the AH-1W Cobra; the UH-1N Huey; CH-53E Super Stallion, and MH-53E Minesweeper; the H-2 Sea Sprite; the H-3 Sea King; the H-60 Seahawk; the EA-6B Prowler; and the C-130 Hercules. The depot is also the depot repair point for the drive and rotary systems of the MQ-8B Fire Scout.
The depot overhauls, assembles and tests a number of aircraft engines including the F402 (AV- and TAV-8B), the T400 (AH-1W and UH-1N), the T58 (CH-46 Sea Knight and SH-3 Sea King), and the T64 (CH-53E Super Stallion, and MH-53E Minesweeper).
The command repairs and rebuilds more than 18,246 types of avionics and dynamic components in support of more than 178 type/model/series aircraft.
FRC East is the only Navy facility able to perform depot-level maintenance on the auxiliary power unit and gas turbine compressor engines on the F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8, V-22, S-3, E-2 Hawkeye, C-2 Greyhound, KC-135 Stratotanker, H-46, H-53, H-47 Chinook, and H-60. The command also repairs the APUs on the presidential H-3 and H-60 aircraft, and performs APU and GTC repairs for a number of allied militaries.
The depot hosts the Naval Engine Airfoil Center which has capability to fully repair 106 types of blade and vane airfoils found on 12 engine platforms. Additionally, the NEAC has processed or has partial repair on more than 590 blades, vanes, and components found on 27 aircraft and engine platforms.
FRC East is the preferred repair source for all Navy organic rotor blades, providing the resources to support complete life cycle engineering and logistics for current and future rotor blades. It is also equipped with advanced composite and plating facilities.
The facility's In-Service Support Center provides worldwide engineering and logistics management in both the maintenance and design fields, and works side-by-side with FRC East production artisans developing and refining overhaul, repair, test and troubleshooting procedures.
The command's customers include more than 200 Navy and Marine Corps activities, 31 foreign nations, five Air Force activities, three Army activities, and two federal agencies. Its emerging workload includes the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the UH-1Y Venom and the AH-1Z Viper.
People
FRC East has a workforce of about 3,600 civilian, military, and contractor personnel. It is both the largest tenant command on Cherry Point, and North Carolina's largest industrial employer east of Interstate 95. Its annual payroll exceeds $277 million. The average age of the workforce is 46, and many of them are members of the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers, American Federation of Government Employees, and National Association of Aeronautical Examiners unions.
The depot has 110 artisans and engineering personnel on its rapid response team, which can deploy anywhere worldwide within 24 to 72 hours.
Facilities
FRC East's primary facility is centrally located on the eastern seaboard, accessible by air, rail, highway, waterway, and deep-water port facilities. The command also has permanent sites at Marine Corps Air Stations New River, N.C., and Beaufort, S.C.; and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
The main facility includes 123 structures with a total of 2 million square feet – 1.65 million of production space. It is spread across 147 acres, and it's estimated it would cost about $1.2 billion to replace its buildings and equipment.
In summary, FRC East's primary goals in supporting the warfighter are taking care of the customer, its people and the business.
Website
http://www.navair.navy.mil/frce/
reviewed Jan. 2015