Taking the classroom to the unit
Fleet Readiness Center Southwest sent technical instructors to Iwakuni, Japan, to teach Marines specialized sheet-metal maintenance, NAVAIR reported October 20. The account calls it the center’s first overseas Mobile Training Team deployment; it does not give the training’s calendar dates.
The instruction covered tooling, hole quality, repair methods and corrosion prevention. Trainers adjusted schedules and shared equipment among small groups after shipping delays affected the planned delivery of tools.
A capability beyond one course
Providing instruction where maintainers work can address a practical constraint: personnel with operational commitments may be unable to travel to a distant school. The report says the team incorporated lessons into course materials and procedures for later deployments.
NAVAIR also reports that 26 of the center’s 48 courses can be delivered by mobile teams. That describes an available teaching method, not a promise that every unit can receive every course immediately. Our reading is that the enduring benefit lies in maintainers gaining skills and technical contacts they can use after the instructors depart.