This critical recertification allows the Life Raft Shop to continue to support the needs of all U.S. Navy, Army, and Coast Guard commands on the West Coast. The shop also regularly supports commands in Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Diego Garcia, and across the globe.
“The efforts of our Life Raft Shop to meet the needs of the Pacific Fleet and other commands on the West Coast is critical to the warfighters we support,” said Capt. John Bauer, SWRMC’s commanding officer. “This recertification ensures the team is able to provide needed safety equipment across the Navy and Department of Defense.”
The capabilities of the shop include repair and certification of two variations of life rafts. On average, they certify over 1000 life rafts within those two variations annually.
The audit process began six months ago when the Life Raft In-Service Engineering Agent (ISEA) reached out to discuss options for recertification. The shop worked with the technical warrant holder to develop a training proposal and procedures for testing three randomly selected rafts. After completing the training and testing, which included a final written test taken by all personnel, documentation and photos were submitted to the ISEA for review. SWRMC passed with a 100 percent rating for all personnel and the shop inspection.
According to the ISEA, “The shop maintains high quality control and quality assurance standards in its operational procedures. All shop personnel are well trained and are capable of working all aspects of life raft repairs and packing – individually or in a group.”
SWRMC is meeting its mission to provide superior ship maintenance, modernization, technical support, and training for the Pacific Fleet.
For more information on SWRMC, please visit https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/RMC/SWRMC.