Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC) began oversight of the offloading of non-ordnance equipment for East Coast submarines by supporting Los Angeles-class USS Montpelier (SSN 765) at Naval Station Norfolk, May 4.

MARMC recently took over the program formally supported by Navy Munitions Command (NMC) in Yorktown, Virginia, which largely handles live ordnance.

"MARMC was in a unique position this past fall to be able to use its knowledge and expertise to assist the fleet with offloading test equipment from submarines in port," said MARMC Waterfront Coordinator John Rivera. "This has become a joint effort within our command using members of our Submarine Combat Systems and Weapons Handling Branch to conduct proper oversight of the removal of non-ordnance materials and Sailors from MARMC's Production Rigger Team who assist with the physical removal of the materials."

This past December, with the help of NMC, MARMC began training roughly a dozen boatswain's mates to execute the mission. Many of these Sailors had not worked on submarines before, but after running them through several evolutions that familiarized them with the vessels, they were ready and excited to handle the task.

"My personnel were highly motivated for this tasking," said MARMC Rigger/ Weight Test Zone Manager Martin Webb. "They were very accurate and quick to point out anything that could possibly go wrong. Safety is always paramount in everything that we do. Overall, I was very pleased with how my team rose to the occasion and got the job done right the first time."

MARMC finalized a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with NMC May 8.

"The MOA will allow MARMC to use some of NCM's heavy-lift equipment and transport vehicles in order to accomplish the offloads," said Rivera.

The partnership will allow NMC to refocus its efforts to live ordnance while still leaving the submarine community in trusted hands for their other offloading needs.

"This has been a great team effort between Submarine Squadron 6, NMC, Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and MARMC," said Rivera. "The goal is to keep each of our Navy submarines mission ready, and we are all making sure we answer the call to make that a reality."

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