Month: June 2023

Source: United States Navy

The strategy provides the framework for the Department of the Navy (DON) to deliver more effective, efficient, and integrated naval education to the total force in support of President Biden’s national security priorities and the National Defense Strategy (NDS).

“Education is a critical warfighting enabler,” said Secretary Del Toro. “We will continue to strengthen our Department’s culture, policies, processes, talent management, and investments to reflect education’s key role in force development.”

Secretary Del Toro outlined the NES during remarks at the Naval War College change of command ceremony, where Rear Adm. Peter A. Garvin relieved Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield as President.

“Shoshana, I cannot thank you, and your husband, David, enough for your tireless efforts these past four years as you both dedicated your time and energy to supporting our War College family. The War College is a key component to developing our warfighters’ intellectual edge to achieve warfighting advantage,” said Secretary Del Toro.

The Naval War College is part of the Naval University System (NUS), which is the primary way that the DON delivers education to its force. Other DON academic degree granting institutions include the United States Naval Academy (USNA), Marine Corps University, Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), and the United States Naval Community College (USNCC).

The Naval Education Enterprise (NEE) consists of the NUS, Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps; Flag Officer, General Officer, and executive education programs; Voluntary Education/Tuition Assistance (TA) programs, and other DON-funded scholarship, fellowship, and graduate education programs.

The DON uses a combination of these programs and education delivery methods to form a continuum of learning that addresses the Service’s unique requirements, and addresses the dynamic security environment’s complex issues within curricula.

The NES provides a framework to prioritize and invest in these programs and institutions.

“Our naval education institutions are the primary way that we develop our warfighters’ intellectual edge to achieve warfighting advantage. We must increase investments in our education institutions and training programs to ensure they fulfill that responsibility,” said Secretary Del Toro.

Sailors, Marines, and DON civilians at all levels are expected to contribute to the Department’s culture of continuous learning, embrace opportunities to develop professionally, and seek opportunities to improve our combat readiness, Secretary Del Toro added.

Download the full NES here.

Source: United States Navy

The U.S. Navy is preparing to bring Navy Week back to Oklahoma City, Jun. 26 to Jul. 2, with Sailors from across the fleet to take part in the service’s signature outreach program. Oklahoma City Navy Week will give the community an opportunity to learn about the Navy, its Sailors and its importance to national security and prosperity.

Participating Navy organizations include PCU Oklahoma (SSN 802), USS Constitution, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, NTAG Red River, Naval History & Heritage Command, Navy Band Southeast, Ceremonial Guard Drill Team, Naval Meteorology & Oceanography Command, Office of Small Business Programs, STRATCOMWING ONE, Naval Special Warfare, U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron and U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

Over 60 Sailors will participate in education and community outreach events throughout the city, culminating in a performance at the Tinker Airshow by the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, and the state-of-the-art “Nimitz” virtual reality experience, which consists of individuals participating in a virtual high-speed water extraction of a Navy SEAL team pinned down under enemy fire.

The Navy’s senior executive for Oklahoma City Navy Week is Vice Admiral Jeffery Trussler, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare. During Oklahoma City Navy Week, he will participate in community engagements, meet with students, and speak with local businesses, civic, education, and government leaders.

Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy’s flagship outreach effort into areas of the country without a significant Navy presence, providing the public a firsthand look at why the Navy matters to cities like Oklahoma City.

“We are excited to bring the Navy Week program to Oklahoma,” said NAVCO’s director, Cmdr. Anthony Falvo. “Seapower and America’s Navy are more important now than ever before. The U.S. Navy remains our nation’s most powerful instrument of military influence and Navy Weeks allow us to showcase how the Navy serves America at sea, in the air, and ashore.”

Throughout the week, Sailors will participate in various community events across the area, including engaging with youth at Science Museum Oklahoma and Oklahoma City Zoo, as well as volunteering throughout Oklahoma County at Rebuilding Together OKC and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. Residents will also enjoy free live music by Navy Band Southeast on Friday, June 30th, 7:00 p.m. at Bricktown plaza, and during the Stars and Stripes River Festival at Riversports OKC on Saturday July 1st.

Oklahoma City Navy Week is the seventh Navy Week to take place in 2023, which brings a variety of assets, equipment, and personnel to a single city for a weeklong series of engagements designed to bring America’s Navy closer to the people it protects. Each year, the program reaches more than 140 million people — about half the U.S. population.

Media organizations wishing to cover Oklahoma City Navy Week events should contact Lt. j.g. James Caliva at (210) 776-2831 or james.caliva.mil@us.navy.mil. For more information on the events in Oklahoma City, go to the Navy Outreach website at https://outreach.navy.mil/Navy-Weeks/Oklahoma-City-2023/

Source: United States Navy

Fleet Readiness Center East’s (FRCE) UH-1N Huey production line is swapping out diesel-powered ground power units (GPU) for a sustainable alternative with the recent purchase of battery-powered GPUs, becoming the first adapter of this technology within the Naval Aviation community.

According to Allen Broadway, FRCE’s UH-1N branch head, the battery-powered GPUs minimize energy consumption, increase efficiency and enhance workplace safety.

“Our main focus was on the safety and environmental aspects,” said Broadway. “Using the new battery pack, you are reducing noise hazards. Because it’s so portable, you’re reducing the possibilities of strains and injuries, as well as trip hazards. All this leads to a safer workplace for our people. It also allows us to reduce environmental footprint and fuel consumption. You’re not burning diesel. There are no fumes or emissions. You’re cutting costs. It’s a win for us across the board.”

The UH-1N line operates out of the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston. There, the team performs maintenance, repair and overhaul operations for the UH-1N helicopters flown by the Air Force.

Prior to the arrival of the battery-powered GPUs, the UH-1N line relied on the NC-10C Mobile Electric Power Plant, a trailer-mounted, self-contained power plant, to supply electrical power for servicing, starting and testing the helicopters. The NC-10C, used throughout the Naval Aviation community, uses diesel fuel to generate electricity.

“When you look at the environmental impact, this is our way of going from a gas guzzler to electric,” said Matthew Pitts, the UH-1N deputy branch head and test pilot.

According to Pitts, the UH-1N line began using two Tesla TI3000 GPU-24 battery packs in the spring of 2023.

“They are a self-contained unit that can do everything that the NC-10 does, but with a footprint of a large carry-on bag,” said Pitts. “They produce no noise and no emissions. They work like an external battery pack for your phone and even plug into an ordinary wall socket. There’s no special outlet required.”

The battery-powered GPUs weigh in at 127 pounds, compared to the NC-10C’s weight of more than 6,500 pounds when carrying the diesel fuel necessary to generate power.

“It came in a really big box,” said Gabriel Rodriguez, a plane captain on the UH-1N line. “But, when we opened it, it was just this little thing inside. It’s much easier on us, as far as ergonomics go, to move this around.”

Pitts cited that small size as a key factor in the UH-1N line’s decision to adopt the technology.

“One important aspect of this is minimizing our footprint,” said Pitts. “You’re taking a large entity, the NC-10, and you’re reducing that to the size of a carry-on bag. You’re reducing the costs and time associated with moving, maintaining and using that asset.”

Sean Maher, an aircraft electrician on the UH-1N line, said the portability and simplicity of the battery-powered GPUs have already made a positive impact on production.

“We do a lot of operational and functional checks which require battery inverter power,” said Maher. “The helicopter battery itself can’t sustain the amount of checks we do. So we have to have some sort of additional power source to continue our checks without having to stop what we’re doing.  That used to mean calling transportation and getting an NC-10 delivered.

“With these, it just takes a minute or two to roll it over to the aircraft and we’re hooked up for power,” he continued. “Hooking it up is quick and easy. As far as maintenance, we’ve had no trouble with them and we’ve put them through the wringer. With the NC-10, we’d have to call ground support equipment if it needed to be fixed. We don’t have to worry about any of that with these.”

The battery-powered GPUs are also making a positive impact outside of the UH-1N line’s operations at Kinston. Broadway said their use drives down costs related to the support and maintenance of the NC-10Cs.

“These free up our ground support equipment folks from having to do preventative maintenance and things of that nature on the NC-10s,” said Broadway. “It also reduces the costs related to ordering parts and materials to maintain and repair the NC-10s.”

Unlike a diesel-powered generator, the battery-powered GPUs emit zero emissions. Broadway said this results in reduced energy consumption.

“If you crank an NC-10 indoors, you have to open up the hangar doors,” said Broadway. “That means increased utility costs and wasted energy, especially when it’s cold outside.”

Rodriguez said the battery-powered GPUs are not only reducing utility usage, they make for a more comfortable working environment.

“When we ran diesel-powered equipment in the hangar, we had to open the doors for ventilation,” said Rodriguez. “We don’t have to do that now, which is nice. We don’t have to worry about rain, wind, heat or cold and having to open the doors. It’s definitely increased our comfort levels in the hangar.”

The battery-powered GPUs also contribute to the comfort level on the shop floor in regards to noise levels. Pitts recounted the first time the team used the battery-powered GPUs; he described being almost startled by the complete lack of noise that accompanied it.

“The first time that we connected it to the aircraft, it was just kind of funny because we were all expecting some kind of a big, climactic moment,” Pitts said. “Silence is what we heard. It was like, that’s it – silence. It was so quiet that it was almost a surreal.”

Pitts said the battery-powered GPU’s silent operation belies the impressive benefits the technology has brought to the depot, benefits he said can be shared throughout the enterprise.

“We are setting new standards to drive down production costs, reduce our environmental impact and ultimately be a safer line,” Pitts said. “Once the depot proves that we’re leading the way with this, I can see this getting pushed out into Fleet. Imagine the savings and the reduced environmental footprint that we could have throughout the Navy and Marine Corps.”

FRCE is North Carolina’s largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.

Source: United States Navy

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) has reached another milestone toward the drawing down of its AV-8B Harrier program, with the completion of its last TAV-8B trainer aircraft. The two-seater trainer was delivered May 11 to Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 223, located at Cherry Point.

The Marine Corps is moving to replace the Harrier with the short takeoff-vertical landing F-35B Lightning II by 2027, which means FRCE’s AV-8 program will soon transition to supporting other platforms.

Many of the aircraft maintenance professionals on FRCE’s Harrier program have spent a significant part of their careers repairing and maintaining AV-8 aircraft. They say that’s why it’s tough to see another piece of the program’s workload come to an end.

“I’ve been at FRC East for almost 32 years, and this aircraft is almost 35 years old, which means it was flying before I came here,” said Jeff Broughton, AV-8 planner at FRCE. “I’ve spent 20 years on this program, so you can imagine how many times I’ve seen this aircraft come through for Planned Maintenance Interval events. I worked on it once while I was a mechanic and twice while I was a planner, so you get to know the history of the aircraft each time it comes through.”

Broughton said the Harrier program has established an impressive record of working under budget and ahead of schedule, and its final TAV-8B is no exception. According to Broughton, FRCE’s total combined work on this particular aircraft over the years was estimated to take nearly 11,000 work hours, but a tally of all the work actually completed on the aircraft came in at only 8,100 hours. Even on its last trip through the depot, it was delivered back to the fleet eight days early.

“Our FRCE AV-8 team prides itself on being ahead of schedule and under budget most of the time,” Broughton said. “We might be considered out of sight, out of mind as a sundowning program, but the team is proud of being good stewards of the customer’s money and being on or ahead of schedule to keep the customer happy.”

With three more scheduled PMI inductions over the next year and a half, the AV-8 team will be disassembling, inspecting, repairing, reassembling and testing those aircraft. They are dismantling retired aircraft and removing good parts to be refurbished and returned to the supply system to be used on the aircraft remaining in the fleet.  Artisans also continue to support the Marines with onsite in-service repairs.

Currently, FRCE’s AV-8 program is scheduled to complete its final aircraft in September 2025. By that point, the personnel assigned to that team will be pursuing the next steps in their careers.

“We have a highly experienced team here, and many of them have been on this program for a long time,” said Mike Stewart, AV-8 shop supervisor at FRCE. “They are extremely knowledgeable and can handle any issues with the AV-8.”

Many will go on to support growing and incoming workload, such as the F-35, CH-53K and C-130 platforms. Stewart said these programs will benefit from the quality work and strong customer relationships formed by the AV-8 team, especially as the Marine Corps’ former AV-8 squadrons have transitioned to flying the F-35.

“We have spent years building a good foundation with the AV-8 community, and now they will be our future customers with the F-35,” Stewart said. “The program may be ending, but we’ve paved a clear path for future endeavors with the customer for a long time to come.”

As a long-time member of the AV-8 team, both as a Marine and later as a civilian artisan at FRCE, F-35 and AV-8 Branch Head Ike Rettenmair,  said he is proud of what the Harrier program has accomplished and looks forward to what lies ahead for the fleet.

“You always hate to see a platform sundown, but technology is changing, our threats are changing, and it is time to move to the F-35 and the capability it will bring to the warfighter,” Rettenmair said. “FRCE will continue to support team Harrier as we have always done, until the final Harrier lands on the runway, regardless of when that will be.”

FRCE is North Carolina’s largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.