Naval Aviation News Article on Fleet Support: "Supporting the Fleet"

Youre ready to taxi for an afternoon 1v1 ACM training mission when your oxygen mask malfunctions. A troubleshooter double times to the flight equipment shop to get a spare so the mission can continue. You get back from your flight, find the parachute rigger, and tell him what went wrong with your mask. Its the combination inhalationexhalation valve. It seems to be sticking in a position that prevents oxygen from entering the mask. This is not a problem you want to have in an intensive ACM environment under high Gs. Its definitely a safety-of-flight issue requiring that a Hazardous Material Report HMR Engineering Investigation EI be initiated. The EI is done and it turns up an inherent design flaw which caused the valve to chatter and stick. As a result, a fleet support project receives funding and a redesigned valve is on the way.