Top leaders meet 2nd MAW troops: Senior officials check MALS-14 procedures at grass-roots level

Photo By Cpl. Scott L. Tomaszycki | Rear Adm. Rich O’Hanlon, left, listens to Cpl. Gabriel A. Cruz, right, as part of the "Boots on the Ground" event at Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14 Oct. 14. O’Hanlon and other senior officials visited MALS-14 to learn about their operational efficiency. O’Hanlon is the commander of Naval Forces Atlantic. Cruz is a parachute rigger at MALS-14.  

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, UNITED STATES

10.15.2010

Story by Lance Cpl. Scott L. Tomaszycki 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

CHERRY POINT, N.C. - Senior military and civilian officials toured the facilities of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14 and Fleet Readiness Center East in a “Boots on the Ground” event Oct. 14-15 to observe how continuous process improvements are benefiting Marines, Sailors and civilians at Cherry Point.

Continuous process improvement is a concept adopted by the military to make work smoother, more cost effective and require fewer man hours.

“It is in our nation’s best interest to extract every ounce of capability of every machine, devil dog and sailor we have,” said Maj. Gen. Jon M. Davis, commanding general of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

Davis said the process can help improve the effectiveness of the Marine Corps in many missions. The system is meant to be applied by all Marines across the board to bring the most out of the Corps’ resources.

Davis led Rear Adm. Rich O’Hanlon, commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic and Brig. Gen. Gary Thomas, assistant deputy commandant of aviation, through the unit’s facilities as they looked for the merits of the process that could be exported to other units throughout the Navy and Marine Corps.

“They’re coming from all over the world, all parts of the Naval air enterprise,” said Col. Russell A. Sanborn, commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group 14. “What they’re hoping to do is learn from the grass-roots level. They ask, ‘What did you do in MALS-14 that was so spectacular and so special?’”

The Marines have used the system to reach a new level of productivity. Lt. Col. Clarence T. Harper III, commanding officer of MALS-14, said he believes the continuous process improvement mindset has been taken to heart by his Marines.

“Everybody wants to learn, they want to get better, and they want to get smarter,” said Harper. “This process is the next logical step. CPI is a mindset that helps us become more efficient and more effective.”

The Marines implementing CPI on a daily basis said they appreciated the opportunity to show senior officials what they do for the mission of the 2nd MAW and the Marine Corps itself.

“All too often, Marines on the ground don’t have a chance to talk about what they’re doing,” said Sgt. Nathaniel Crowley, an assistant work center supervisor at MALS-14. “To have the opportunity to present what we do on a day-to-day basis to a higher echelon is a great opportunity. It’s evidence that what we do down here is recognized at a much more senior level.”

O’Hanlon has been to four other “Boots-on-the- Ground” events and was impressed by what MALS-14 had to offer.

“It’s very clear to me that the NCOs are very engaged in trying to streamline their maintenance practices and be able to produce ready-for-issue equipment that will help the warfighters better do their mission,” said O’Hanlon.

• Date Taken: 10.15.2010
• Date Posted: 10.21.2010 09:07
• Story ID: 58550
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, US