VP-40 "Fighting Marlins" Careline message
Careline: November 2, 2009
Marlin Families:
Hello from the Middle East. The weather has cooled significantly – it’s hard to believe this is the same place that saw 125F a mere three months ago. Your Fighting Marlins continue to focus on the mission at hand. We are making sure we prep for our replacements so that we have the smoothest turnover possible. Fortunately, our focus on the mission hasn’t waned and we continue to make great accomplishments in both locations.
The squadron completed its fourteenth week in a row of zero missed missions. We continue to balance operations and training and are slowly catching up on the training events we missed earlier in deployment. Our crews have been challenged by some difficult weather recently, but they continue to show their professionalism as they adapt to the situations in order to complete the missions and provide outstanding service to our customers. The Maintenance Department is finding itself fully occupied lately, as the aircraft have been less than cooperative lately. Our maintainers did not miss a beat, as they quickly changed out an engine, two different windshields, and a brake accumulator in very short order.
Our spotlighted shop this week is the Avionics Electronics Technicians, or AT shop. The ATs have been one of the workhorses in the Maintenance Department during the entire deployment; they are responsible for maintaining all of the avionics systems on the aircraft. These systems enable the aircrews to execute the missions. From navigation to communication to aircraft sensors, the ATs repair and troubleshoot all of the systems from nose to tail. Even when the rest of maintenance slows down, the ‘Trons’ can usually be found fixing or grooming the aircraft systems. The ATs often show off their versatility by assisting the Aviation Ordnancemen (AOs) and the Aviation Electricians (AEs) in the troubleshooting and overall maintenance of our fleet of aircraft. Each member of the ‘Tron’ shop is hard-working and their combined efforts have produced a very experienced and proficient group of individuals.
Warrior of the Week: LS2 Michael Skyring
LS2 Michael Skyring is proudly awarded CTG 57.18 Warrior of the Week. In preparation for our turn over, Petty Officer Skyring completed an inventory of the Whidbey and Misawa part pack-up-kits and resolved the remaining outstanding requisitions to ensure 100% accountability. His thorough research of items on the IOU report resulted in the reduction of outstanding IOU discrepancies by 90%. As the OPTAR Budget manager, he properly accounted for $432,000 of fuel purchases. He also coordinated 17 commercial shipments of retrograde aircraft parts valued at over 1.5 million dollars. Congratulations on your selection and a job “Well done!”
Shop of the Week: ADP Division
CTG 57.18 takes pleasure in commending the ADP Division as the Shop of the Week. The ADP shop processed 120 messages, installed four drivers to repair corrupted software affecting monitor displays and printers, and assisted 20 Sailors in reestablishing computer accounts. Additionally, they assisted the Air Force Computer Technicians during a CISCO Router Switch maintenance procedure which was being conducted to calibrate all unclassified computers, ensuring all ports were operational. The shop continues to flawlessly manage 453 accounts with limited resources. Congratulations on a job “Well done!”
Crew of the Week: Combat Aircrew ELEVEN
Over the past week Combat Aircrew ELEVEN conducted two operational missions, one on-time and one early take off. During their missions they located and reported suspicious activity taking place on the ground. This crew’s can-do attitude and continued effort has won them the admiration of their peers. Job Well done!
Welcome to the two newest Marlins: AZAN Baughman’s wife Tifanie had a baby boy on 24 October and AD3 Farthing’s wife Rochelle had a baby girl born 30 October. Congratulations to the new parents.
The Marlin Team continues to fire on all eight cylinders. I couldn’t be prouder of their effort and accomplishments. Thanks again to all of you for your love and support.
Sincerely,
Marlin One
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