When it’s time for Marine Corps C-130 transport aircraft to undergo advanced scheduled maintenance, squadrons have two options: have the airplane go to a depot, or have a depot come to the airplane.

The C-130 Minor Depot Inspection Field Team at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) brings the depot to the flight line, making it possible for Marine squadrons to receive an in-depth inspection and repair of their aircraft without leaving their home base.

In recent back-to-back maintenance events at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, the team assisted Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 153 (VMGR-153) in maintaining operational readiness by completing minor depot inspections and returning two mission-ready aircraft ahead of schedule.

“I can’t say enough about the outstanding performance of our C-130 field teams in support of the Marines at Kaneohe Bay,” said FRCE Commanding Office Capt. Randy J. Berti. “These dedicated professionals showed up on site with a mission-first mindset, knowing how important it is to put these aircraft back on the flight line, and returned both C-130s head of schedule. Their hard work added days to the Marines’ flight schedule for critical operations and training, and really drove home FRC East’s reputation as a readiness multiplier.” 

Since its establishment in 2023, the FRCE C-130 Minor Depot Inspection Branch has supported minor depot inspections – also known as MDIs – at the command’s headquarters onboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and a detachment at Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. With assistance from the depot’s In Service Repair Branch, combined field teams of artisans, planners and quality assurance specialists also travel to Marine Corps Air Stations in Miramar, California, and Iwakuni, Japan, to assist squadrons with on-site MDIs. The recent event in Hawaii marked the team’s first visit to Kaneohe.

MDIs are 30-day, depot-level maintenance evolutions focus on diagnosing and repairing issues that fall beyond the scope of maintenance that can be conducted at the squadron level or intermediate facility. The goal is to bridge the gap between heavier depot-level maintenance events.

In addition to eliminating the transport time needed to deliver a C-130 to a depot location, bringing the MDI evolution to the squadron hangars helps the Marines save aircraft downtime and optimize manpower for mission requirements, said Clifton Force, head of the Field Team and In Service Repair Planning Shops at FRCE.

FRCE’s C-130 MDI Branch Head Will Wilkinson said the squadrons serviced by the field teams have shown great appreciation for the service.

“That time savings is a real plus that the squadrons have echoed many, many times whenever we send a team out,” he said. “The whole idea behind readiness is keeping as many mission-capable aircraft on the flight line as possible, and FRC East being able to conduct these phased inspections allows the Marines to concentrate on the mission-ready aircraft while we work to put more back on their flight line.”

In service repair planner JB Hall said the two events, completed ahead of schedule and with zero safety issues, helped enable increased readiness for the warfighters. The team completed the two MDIs in 28 days and 27 days, respectively, clocking in under the expected 30-day evolution.

“This effort ensures VMGR-153's continued ability to execute its core missions: air-to-air refueling, assault support, close air support and multi-sensor imagery reconnaissance,” he said. “Coming in three days ahead of schedule, when you consider 10 people each working 10-hour days – that’s a lot of hours saved.”

On-site MDI events also have the added benefit of allowing the service members to learn from the depot artisans, Wilkinson said.

“Having a field event on site gives these Marines and sailors an opportunity to look at the aircraft in a different situation than they normally would,” he explained. “They’re normally viewing the aircraft from a mission-ready, get the aircraft ready to take off perspective, whereas we’re looking from a more in-depth maintenance level to make sure the aircraft is going to be able to support them for their mission and keep their flight line readiness up. They have the opportunity to see things that they might never see during an organizational- or intermediate-level evolution.

“They also get to view things with our depot eye and learn more about what the depot-level inspections look for,” Wilkinson continued. “It’s a totally different point of view from what they’re used to looking at – it’s a different lens.”

Ashton Pittman, the C-130 MDI Branch work leader who led the artisan team on the assignment, said the Marines at VMGR-153 were eager to gain experience with the C-130.

“They wanted to learn, because they had new Marines,” he said. “Even just taking some of the panels off, a lot of them had never seen them removed from the aircraft before and would run over and start asking questions about what they were looking at. They were super intrigued with it.”

VMGR-153 Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Paul Cordes agreed that the MDI events provided an opportunity for valuable cross-disciplinary training and mutual learning.

“Not only has FRC East delivered a quality product on time, back-to-back – the fact it is performed in-house and our Marines can learn from the experienced artisans is a huge win,” he said. “These were the two best MDIs I have ever seen. I welcome the team back any time and look forward to our continued partnership.”

Wilkinson said the team has continued to improve performance since its inception.

“We have a really good team,” he said. “We’re able to send these small teams of eight to 10 people and accomplish these maintenance actions within 30 days as a general rule, and sometimes less. A lot of that has to do with the skill level that is being obtained by our artisans – the more time on the aircraft, the better they are able to speed up.

“They’ve been traveling to different sites for almost two years now, and they’re just going to keep getting better as they obtain more knowledge and practical experience,” Wilkinson continued. “It’s very rare that we run into an issue that we can’t fix, or that we can’t reach out to FRC East to support with an in service repair if it’s beyond the scope of the MDI.”

Traveling to distributed locations to perform depot-level service requires the support of a cross-disciplinary team to ensure all the people, tooling, parts and equipment arrive when and where they’re needed. 

“Executing these MDIs off-site demands meticulous logistical planning to guarantee the safe arrival of the team and their equipment,” Force said. “This success hinges on a dedicated group of professionals working in logistics, travel, shipping and more to ensure the continued readiness of critical aircraft. It takes a very large team to get this done.”

The field teams serve as unofficial ambassadors for FRCE, Force noted, and their hard work helps the command build its reputation as a premier provider of service to the fleet.

“Having our teams out there really helps build those relationships,” he said. “Our teams go out there and perform at the highest level, and the Marines get a chance to see what FRC East is about. When you have that face-to-face interaction, the squadron feels like they have people they can reach back to and they can trust, and that’s huge.”

Completing work on an aircraft and seeing it put back on the squadron’s flight line enhances the team’s achievement, Pittman added.

“Watching the aircraft we just completed the MDI on prepping for flight and watching it take off on a mission – there’s a real sense of accomplishment in that,” he said.

FRCE is North Carolina's largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $865 million. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.