Cherry Point gets fleet readiness center

November 24, 2006
Cherry Point gets fleet readiness center

By Trista Talton
Staff writer

The Naval Air Depot at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., became Fleet Readiness Center East on Oct. 30. FRC East was the fifth of six centers to stand up and is commanded by Col. J. Mark Reed. It’s the only fleet readiness center located on a Marine Corps installation and commanded by a Marine officer.

FRC Northwest in Whidbey Island, Wash., stood up in November.

The centers’ mission is to produce quality airframes, engines, components and services while improving efficiency and reducing costs, according to a press release.

FRCs are structured so that active-duty military members work alongside civilians.

“The name Fleet Readiness Center is much more descriptive than the word depot to the Navy and to the nation,” said the commander of Fleet Readiness Centers, Rear Adm. Michael Hardee, in a press statement. “The name Fleet Readiness Center is an affirmation, a validation, a confirmation of what this industrial and maintenance execution powerhouse actually performs — it generates readiness for the fleet.”

Other commands that stood up last month include FRC Mid-Atlantic in Virginia Beach, Va.; FRC Southeast in Jacksonville, Fla.; FRC Southwest in North Island, Calif.; and FRC West in Fallon, Nev.

Ellie