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NAVAIR Depot Aids Marines in Kuwait

Navy NewStand

Story Number: NNS030322-02
3/22/2003

By Bill Bartkus, Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs, North Island, Calif.

CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) -- Have tools, will travel . . . anytime, anywhere, any day.

"This is our job. It's what we do, and we're proud to do it," said Kayres Stockdale, a supervisor with Naval Air Systems Command Depot North Island Field Services. Stockdale led a seven-man team of volunteers to Kuwait to perform an airframe change on a Miramar-based Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet that left for a mission to the Middle East before having an airframe change.

"I knew that field service had to travel to Kuwait, and the date was up in the air. We had to be sure that we had the tools to perform our job," Stockdale said. He said field service shipped the tools on a Friday, and the team left for Kuwait the following day. "We arrived on Sunday and immediately went to work."

The other seven members on the depot team included two electricians, three sheet metal workers, a mechanic and a quality assurance specialist. The team slept in a barracks-type building in four-man rooms with bunk beds. "We managed, but it wasn't the same as home," said Stockdale.

The men were in Kuwait for 13 days.

"We worked 12 and 14 hour days," Stockdale said, "and we were there to support our warfighters and to expedite the aircraft."

To facilitate the success of the trip, Stockdale needed expertise. He immediately sent out information about the planned trip to artisans within the depot at North Island and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Then he started receiving calls from volunteers.

"Everyone did an outstanding job," Stockdale said, "and they started the job with enthusiasm and ended the task the same way." At first, the team didn't have all of the proper tools or the kit that they needed, "but the men improvised with the tools that they did have and started disassembling the aircraft," he mentioned.

NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technology through the efforts of a seamless, integrated, worldwide network of aviation technology experts.