On 15 May, NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS) hosted its first Aviation Readiness Improvement Day in Philadelphia, designed to ensure the Navy is ready today in order to win tomorrow through innovative and responsive industrial partnerships.

More than 80 current and potential government and industry partners were in attendance, eager to gain a better understanding of NAVSUP WSS's critical supply chain management mission and discuss strategies to strengthen and broaden industry partnerships.

"We are proud of our ability to support the warfighter here at NAVSUP WSS and strive to continuously improve our level of program support," said Rear Adm. Duke Heinz, commander, NAVSUP WSS.

"We are committed to improving and expanding our partnerships with organizations who share the same sense of urgency that we do here. We understand the challenges and we know that we can't achieve a strong and ready aviation fleet without help from our industry partners."

The event consisted of overview briefs covering NAVSUP WSS's aviation operations, engineering methods and source development process.

"We need tactical excellence across our supply chain to drive capability, capacity and velocity which drive mission-ready and full-up aircraft," said Capt. Matt Ott, NAVSUP WSS director of Aviation Operations.

"We can improve our Navy, Marine Corps, cross services, and Foreign Military partners' readiness by removing wasteful steps, rewarding innovation and expediting outcomes that fast track benefits to current and future aviation sustainment," he added.

Weapon systems information booths were also available throughout the afternoon, allowing participants the chance to engage with subject matter experts from NAVSUP WSS's contracting directorate and integrated weapon support teams.

Aviation Readiness Improvement Day concluded with a town hall style question and answer session giving industry the opportunity to discuss aviation supply backorder challenges, part obsolescence issues and source development policies. The communication fostered mutual understanding of perceived and real challenges and set the stage to attack specific parts degraders.

As NAVSUP WSS continues to make strides towards enhancing naval aviation readiness, fostering better communication channels and collaborative relationships with industry is crucial to guaranteeing naval aviation has a winning supply strategy. NAVSUP WSS plans to hold Aviation Readiness Improvement Day annually.

A field activity of the Naval Supply Systems Command, NAVSUP WSS is the U.S. Navy's supply chain manager providing worldwide support to the aviation, surface ship, and submarine communities. NAVSUP WSS provides Navy, Marine Corps, joint and allied forces with products and services that deliver combat capability through logistics. There are more than 2,000 civilian and military personnel employed at its two Pennsylvania sites and Norfolk, Virginia office.

For more news from Naval Supply Systems Command, visit www.navy.mil/.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Supply Systems Command, visit www.navy.mil/.