JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii –
Members of the Hawaii Regional Maintenance Center (HRMC) completed a scheduled maintenance availability for Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) eight days ahead of schedule last month, allowing the ship to return to service early.
After a seven-month deployment with Carrier Strike Group 11, the ship had returned to Pearl Harbor for its regularly scheduled Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) maintenance period, originally scheduled to last five full months.
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) Project Manager Ryan Rapisura, Deputy Project Manager Kiley Odagiri, and Project Officer Lt. Cmdr. Aaron Santiago led the project.
“From planning to executing Wayne E. Meyer’s availability, there was one thing in common that kept everything moving – communication,” said Rapisura. “With the project team communicating information to each other, it keeps everyone tracking for success and keeping the ships fit to fight.”
As part of the availability, the project team overhauled and replaced the ship’s slewing arm davit; completed preservation of the flight deck and associated Recovery, Assist, Secure, and Traverse troughs; and provided vital repairs to the ship’s flight deck safety nets. The ship also received a major communications systems installation to upgrade its communication capabilities.
"The fact that Wayne E. Meyer was able to complete this task ahead of schedule is a testament to the professionalism and collaboration of the maintenance community and the crew,” said Cmdr. Ronald Fairbanks, Wayne E. Meyer commanding officer. “Successfully completing all requirements in a compressed timeline overlapping the holiday season is truly an impressive feat and the mark of one powerful legacy."
Completing the project eight days ahead of schedule, in a coordinated team effort to set Wayne E. Meyer back to sail, adds to the track record for the HRMC team in completing availabilities early. Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, Commander, Naval Surface Force U.S. Pacific Fleet; Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific; Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia; Fleet Maintenance Repair; and private industry partner Pacific Shipyard International (PSI) were all part of the process.
“The work the team completed was a true testament to how much work can be accomplished when everyone is working together with a common goal," said Capt. Luis Socias, deputy commander, PHNSY & IMF.
Commander, U.S. Pacific Forces Adm. Samuel Paparo commended the team in a Navy message.
“Bravo Zulu to the USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDD 108), Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY), and Pacific Shipyards Inc. (PSI),” said Paparo. “This accomplishment is a direct result of the combined teams’ engaged leadership, outstanding teamwork, and professionalism, and would not have been possible without a strong and effective maintenance team.”
PHNSY & IMF is a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command and a one-stop regional maintenance center for the Navy’s surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawaii, with a combined civilian and military workforce of approximately 6,500. It is the most comprehensive fleet repair and maintenance facility between the U.S. West Coast and the Far East, strategically located in the heart of the Pacific, being about a week’s steaming time closer to potential regional contingencies in East Asia.