SAN DIEGO -- Rear Adm. Wendy Malcolm, Head Maritime Systems within the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), visited Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC), August 28.

Malcolm, who was appointed Head Maritime Systems in December 2018, scheduled this trip to the U.S. to discuss maintenance and modernization processes and procedures with senior Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) staff in Washington, D.C, prior to traveling to San Diego, to continue discussions with SWRMC’s leadership and subject matter experts.

“It was great to get together to discuss common issues and the different solutions we are considering,” said Malcolm. “We learned a lot during our visit – I was very impressed with the knowledge and skills at SWRMC. I am looking forward to taking what we learned and sharing it with the Royal Australian Navy.”

Traveling with Malcolm were RAN Officers Commodore Mathew Hudson, Australian Naval Attaché to the United States, Capt. Brad Smith, Director Amphibious Combat and Sealift System Program Office, and Cmdr. Simon Franklin, Foreign Military Liaison Officer.

Malcolm’s visit included meeting with Cmdr. Alejandro (Alex) Griffen, SWRMC’s Executive Officer, and Capt. Joe Saegert, SWRMC’s Waterfront Operations Department Head, who accompanied the group on a tour of USS Shoup (DDG 86) to discuss Surface Ship Maintenance and Modernization.

“It was an honor to meet Rear Adm. Malcolm to share maintenance and modernization best practices with her and other senior officers of the Australian Navy,” said Griffen. “Collaboration with our foreign military partners is an important part of creating a High Velocity Learning Environment that supports NAVSEA’s Strategic Framework to Expand the Advantage.”

During a working lunch with SWRMC Engineering, Waterfront Operations, Contracts and Production department heads, the group covered a variety of topics including ship sustainment efforts, contracting strategy, and the challenges facing the maintenance communities in both countries.

“By covering these and other topics, we were able to share our successful approaches to Navy sustainment with our Australian counterparts,” said Saegert. “We are happy to be part of this collaboration of knowledge sharing and problem solving to further the success of the RAN’s sustainment program.”

SWRMC is meeting its mission to provide superior ship maintenance, modernization, technical support, and training for the Pacific Fleet.