Source: United States Navy
A small team of skilled technicians working at the Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) detachment at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, is making a big difference for the Marine Corps in terms of cost savings and flight line readiness.
FRCE’s Beyond Capable Maintenance Interdiction (BCMI) team at Beaufort provides dedicated service to Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224 (VMFA-224), Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 312 (VMFA-312) and Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 (MALS-31), supporting the F/A-18 C/D Hornet platform and assisting with component repairs the squadrons are neither resourced nor staffed to complete. Comprising three artisans, the Beaufort detachment’s BCMI team is a small program that adds up to huge savings: In 2024 alone, the team supported a cost avoidance for MALS-31 totaling more than $59 million.
“The BCMI team does a phenomenal job, and the cost savings they support give you an idea of what they’re capable of,” said Bryan Holland, FRCE’s F-18 branch manager at Beaufort. “They’re working radar components and circuit cards and pneudraulics – there are some high-cost items they’re repairing, and they’re able to save them and put them back into service. I don’t think we saw any part last year that they weren’t able to fix.”
Having the BCMI team on-site saves the Marines both time and money because it prevents the squadrons from having to turn in the nonfunctional components and procure new ones through the supply chain. The process helps speed replacement of specific components needed by the fighter squadron – which performs maintenance at the organizational level, or O-level – that cannot get replaced or repaired through the MALS, which provides maintenance at the intermediate level, or I-level. FRCE’s Beaufort detachment, including the BCMI team, performs maintenance at the depot level, or D-level – the most advanced level in the Naval Aviation Maintenance Program structure.
“Flight line availability of aircraft is the priority, and if it weren’t for our BCMI team working with the MALS, those parts would have to leave Beaufort and go into depot maintenance at either our FRC East location at Cherry Point, another Fleet Readiness Center location in Florida or California, or even back to the original equipment manufacturer,” Holland explained. “If our guys weren’t there, the squadron might have to wait two-three weeks or longer to get the parts they need, if there’s not one available on the shelf – we can usually do the job much faster.”
Ted Light, the FRCE site supervisor, agreed that the BCMI process saves valuable maintenance turnaround time.
“Think about it: The component is in your hands, and if it’s able to be repaired, that’s generally going to be a lot faster than the Marines having to go out and order a new one,” Light added. “If a complete rework of the component isn’t necessary, but maybe just one or two parts in it require repair that is beyond the capability of the I-level Marines, it just makes sense to give it to our BCMI team. They can usually turn around and give it back to the Marines within a day or two, depending on what needs to be fixed.”
The BCMI team works hand-in-hand with Marines, even sharing some spaces with the MALS-31. In addition to supporting faster turnaround, this close proximity allows BCMI team to share their advanced knowledge of components repair with the Marines, Light said.
“Our BCMI team can teach the Marines what to look for in order to identify an issue with a component, or show them what we do to correct that issue,” he said. “It can give the Marines a higher-level understanding of the inner workings of these components, and what needs to be done to fix them. The team is not training the Marines to perform work the Marines aren’t qualified for, of course, but knowledge is power – always has been.”
Being essentially collocated with the squadrons also allows the BCMI team – along with all of FRCE’s Beaufort workforce – to see exactly where their end products go. This reinforces the sense of responsibility and determination to get a quality product out the door and back in the hands of the fighter squadron, Holland noted.
“Our number one priority is to make sure the squadrons have the aircraft they need to go out and train their pilots,” he said. “We have a sense of urgency to get the components and airplanes back up and running for the warfighter, so they can do their job.
“I’ll say it 100 times: Readiness of the warfighter is always the priority. At the big depots, most people see the product come in, they do their work on it, and then see it go right back out the door, with a general sense that they’re supporting our nation’s warfighters,” Holland continued. “At Beaufort, it’s different because we can see who that warfighter is. We see the Marines who pilot and crew the aircraft we’re working on, every day.”
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 Beaufort detachment employs 32 workers in support of maintenance for the F/A-18 C-D Hornet, an all-weather, twin-engine, multi-mission tactical aircraft. 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.