MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. --
Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14 reached the
Deputy Commandant of Aviation's goal of 155 Ready For Issue engines across the
fleet for Harrier engine availability here, Dec. 18.
The
Marine Aircraft Group 14 commanding officer, Col. Eric E. Austin, gathered the
Marines of MALS-14 Power Plants Division to thank them for the hard work they provided
to reach the goal.
“That
number was determined by considering the number of Harriers still in the fleet
along with the number of spares that are required around the world to keep the
Harrier community healthy,” said 2nd Lt. Jennifer Caylor, the power plants
officer for MALS-14. “Reaching the goal of 155 is huge, because it means we are
positively contributing to the overall readiness of the Harrier program.”
MALS-14
is one of three repair facilities throughout the Marine Corps– the others being
MALS-13 in Yuma, AZ and Fleet Readiness Center East right here at Cherry Point.
“Maintaining
these engines poses many unique challenges due to parts constraints and the
overall age of the engines themselves,” said Capt. Jake Lay, the assistant aircraft
maintenance officer for MALS-14. “The Marines have overcome many material
challenges and production obstacles through their ingenuity, planning and
forethought.”
Through
the process of cannibalization, Marines were able to attain usable parts from
downed engines to replace damaged pieces of an engine that is currently in use.
Power
Plants Marines became extremely proficient at cannibalization and identifying
the most efficient ways to execute engine teardown to build an additional
engine, explained Lay.
“It
is absolutely incredible to witness the knowledge, expertise, ingenuity and
drive these Marines have each day to achieve their mission,” said Lay. “The
MALS-14 leadership is extremely proud to have such dedicated Marines.”
It
was only a short time ago that there were aircraft with no engine assigned,
because there were none available, explained Caylor.
“Today
we don’t have that problem,” she said.