Public law resulting from the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 process directed the stand-up of six geographically aligned Fleet Readiness Centers (FRCs) to encompass the activities previously performed at Naval Aviation Depots and Continental U.S. shore-based Navy Intermediate Maintenance Departments. The six mandated FRC commands are located at NAS Whidbey Island, Wash. (FRC Northwest); NAS Lemoore, Calif. (FRC West); NAS North Island, Calif. (FRC Southwest); NAS Jacksonville, Fla. (FRC Southeast); MCAS Cherry Point, N.C. (FRC East); and NAS Oceana, Va. (FRC Mid-Atlantic). Although not addressed as part of the BRAC language, the Naval Air Pacific Repair Activity (NAPRA) in Atsugi became FRC WestPac and the Support Equipment Facility at Solomons Island, Md., FRC SEFAC.
All eight of the centers are aligned under Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers. Please refer to Page 28 of this issue for the FRC Command in Profile article that addresses all, except FRC SEFAC.
Establishment of the FRCs is undoubtedly one of the most significant changes in Naval Aviation maintenance history. The primary goals of this alignment are:
- To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our shore-based maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities by moving as much MRO work as close to the flight line as possible, and
- to optimize MRO activities across all sites by being able to leverage a truly enterprisewide alignment of repair capabilities and capacities. Both of these goals directly address improved current readiness and the ability to support and afford the required level of future readiness.
While reaching full operational capability only at the start of FY ’09, specific activities aligned to the above goals resulted in more than $250 million of cost avoidance to the Naval Aviation flying hour program in FY ’07–’08. Each of our FRC sites also has made the tenets of continuous process improvement (CPI) and AIRSpeed a part of its daily activities. Through these CPI efforts they not only are saving flying hour program dollars but also are improving time to reliably replenish metrics significantly and having a direct positive impact on flight line readiness.
Each year roughly 6,000 Sailors and Marines along with more than 9,000 depot artisans overhaul and repair nearly 1,000 aircraft, thousands of engines and several hundred thousand components, valued at approximately $4 billion.
FRCs provide the Naval Aviation Enterprise with a powerful, flexible and agile best value solution. All of our FRC personnel look forward to continue world-class performance in the MRO of aircraft, engines and components in support of fleet readiness.