It's been said we grow wiser as we get older, and if the amount of experience at the Mid Atlantic Regional Calibration Center (MARCC) could have an age, it would be well over 200-years-old. In fact, just four employees at the MARCC bring more than 135 years of experience with them.

Work Leader Olin Roberson has been a federal employee since the 1960s after completing the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) Norfolk apprentice program. NADEP was closed in 1993 by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRACC), and Roberson moved to what is now known as the MARCC. For more than half a century, he has been calibrating some of the Navy's most important aviation test equipment, and with that experience comes a responsibility to teach the MARCC's next generation of calibrators.

The MARCC is uniquely composed of Sailors and civilians who work side by side. Some of the Sailors arrive fresh out of A school, which teaches them the fundamentals of the job. But calibration is a specialized field, and A school covers the basics. Other Sailors who come to the MARCC have already deployed and may know how to repair various types of shipboard equipment.

"I enjoy working with the young Sailors," said Roberson. "If I can make it easier for them when they go out to the fleet, then that's a good thing. Not everything we do is necessarily taught in schools, so it's good for the Sailors to get the hands-on experience before they deploy."

"The young ones usually need a lot of help, but they're teachable and eager to learn. The older Sailors, they come in with experience, but calibration wise, they might be new to it," explained Rick Hallford, another long-time MARCC employee. "So we bring these Sailors together and we work on troubleshooting, repair and calibration."

While it falls under the jurisdiction of the shipyard's Quality Assurance Office (Code 130), the MARCC's more than 150 civilian and military personnel provide calibration services to both fleet and shore-based customers in addition to NNSY.

Hallford began his career in 1990 as an electronics apprentice. His 27 years of service have provided him a distinct appreciation for the weight of the MARRC's workload.

"We're a special calibration lab because of how closely our Sailors and civilians work together. We get the work done. We do the best we can, and we do it right," he said. "It's a matter of putting out a quality product you can take pride in. We have customers who depend on us."

Many Sailors who come to the MARCC make a connection with calibration, and several have returned as civilians after leaving the Navy.

Tim Nalevanko joined the Navy in 1983. He first came to the MARCC in 1996 as a Sailor. When he retired in 2003, he came back as a civilian.

"Being in the Navy for 20 years, I still carry that, so every day I take that to heart," he said. "We're the starting line to make sure the jobs get done correctly. If machinery breaks down, people could die. Planes crash, submarines sink."

Willie Rhodes, another Navy veteran with more than 20 years of experience in calibration, appreciates the common mission shared by the MARCC's Sailors and civilians.

"We work hard together," he said. "Having the opportunity to meet new Sailors, train them, and guide them is always a learning experience. We work as a unit, and that's very important to me. We work together for one purpose - to service the fleet - and even though we're part of the shipyard, we're not just a facility, we're a necessity."

"A lot of people don't understand calibration or why it's needed," added Roberson. "Everything has to be set to the same standard. If anything is improperly calibrated, you don't even want to think about what could happen."

The MARCC was created after the consolidation of several specialized calibration labs in the region that were performing different kinds of work for various customers. The MARCC is now responsible for all of that work.

"There are a lot of things we do here to make sure the Navy's assets can do what they were made to do," said Rhodes. "We're making sure every piece of equipment meets the standards to keep our Sailors safe and keep the fleet fit to fight."

Roberson said the worst part about working at the MARCC is losing Sailors when it's their time to rotate assignments.

"To see the Sailors come in and watch them progress is very satisfying. They learn so much so quickly, it's hard to say goodbye. But the upside is we always get someone new to train."

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