More than a decade of high-operational tempo,
increasing demand
from combatant
commanders and
fiscal uncertainty
have created a maintenance backlog for
ships, aircraft and
other equipment that
directly effects readiness, and the Navy and Marine
Corps are working aggressively to
address maintenance shortfalls.
“Key to our success is operating
the battle force at a sustainable
level over the long term,” said
Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, dep-
uty chief of naval operations for
Warfare Systems, addressing avia-
tion readiness before the House
Armed Services subcommittee on
readiness on July 6. “Readiness
recovery requires a commitment
to protect the time needed to prop-
erly maintain and modernize our
capital-intensive force and to
conduct full-spectrum training.
Achieving full readiness also
requires us to restore capacity and
throughput at our public shipyards
and aviation depots.”
Readiness also requires Sailors
and Marines to maintain equip-
ment on the go, at sea. Leading off
our special report on Maintenance,
Repair & Overhaul, Special Cor-
respondent Gidget Fuentes, in
her report “Tight Squeeze,” notes
the importance of the relationship
between a Navy ship’s crew and
embarked Marines when repairs to
Marine Corps assets — planned or
not — are necessary in a dispersed
environment at sea.
Rear Adm. James
P. Downey, who
is commander of
the Navy Regional
Special Correspondent Nick
Adde, in his report “Training
Maintainers,” looks at how Sailors
in ship-maintenance ratings are
making do with what they have
and finding innovative solutions to
mitigate equipment wear and tear.
In “Invisible Foe,” Special Correspondent Daniel P. Taylor reports
on Navy efforts to combat corrosion
and limit the costs that inevitably
come as ships age.
Florida-based Cecil Field not
only is home to the Florida Army
National Guard and the Coast
Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction
Squadron 10, it also houses maintenance facilities for aerospace
companies. Burgess, in “Rehab for
Hornets,” looks at how aircraft
maintenance activity at this busy
depot augments work at Navy Fleet
Readiness Centers.
Maintaining Readiness
By AMY L. WITTMAN, Editor in Chief
SEAPOWER
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES
Volume 59, Number 9, November 2016
PUBLISHER
Skip Witunski
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Cari B. Thomas
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Amy L. Wittman
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Richard R. Burgess
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