LOGISTICS

Naval Aviation continues to provide our nation's leaders with a flexible, forward-deployed global military presence. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft routinely conduct missions in every corner of the world, unencumbered by the need for host nation support. This extraordinary operational capability is enabled and sustained by a largely self sufficient, integrated logistics support system that is easily adapted to meet changing demands. This system is dedicated to uncompromised force sustainment; it embodies both cutting edge technology and highly disciplined processes that allow complex aerospace weapons to be maintained in the demanding maritime environment at the highest levels of safety and effectiveness.

With a "cradle-to-grave" platform focus, forward-looking logistics managers establish clear support objectives and use integrated program teams to guarantee their responsiveness. Dedicated in-service engineers target the reliability and maintainability of weapon system components, adjusting support plans as necessary. Supply support experts compute the aviation spares required to maximize readiness while keeping costs stabilized for the entire system.

Total cost visibility is an integral part of support system planning and execution. Identifying and tracking operating and support cost drivers through the life of the weapon system allows logistics managers to make informed trade-off decisions between support resources and mission requirements. The Navy's aviation industrial policy has produced dramatic reductions in excess infrastructure and associated costs. The three Naval Aviation depots at North Island, California; Jacksonville, Florida; and Cherry Point, North Carolina are now providing the support previously distributed among six. The Navy's total aviation industrial strategy includes teaming with interservice activities, such as Corpus Christi Army Depot in Texas and Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, as well as commercial activities throughout the nation.

To reduce out-of-service time and total costs in material and manpower, we are changing the process for some aircraft from their original standard depot level maintenance (SDLM) to a reliability centered maintenance (RCM)-based phased depot maintenance (PDM) program which will inspect and preserve the aircraft before damage occurs. Looking to the future, our vision is one of increasingly affordable readiness. We will cut costs by driving reliability up and by fully exploiting the support commonalities that exist between the Navy's aviation, surface and subsurface communities, enhancing our ability to operate as one Navy Marine Corps fighting team that will fully support our mission requirements well into the 21st century.