Production controller Jose Quinene is the recipient of the Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) 2019 Silver Eagle Award. The award is presented to the FRCSW employee who holds the longest term of continuous service in a combination of military and civilian capacity at FRCSW and its predecessor organizations.
Quinene, 73, began his combined service in the Navy where he spent two years in Vietnam. Afterward, he began work as a quality assurance specialist in the supply department at Naval Base Guam.
In 1977, Quinene began work at the then-Naval Air Rework Facility in the comptroller department aboard Naval Air Station North Island. In 1982, he changed his career path to production control and has been at it ever since. He currently works at FRCSW Site Camp Pendleton supporting AH-1Z Super Cobra and UH-1Y Super Huey helicopter squadrons assigned there.
"My drive to come to work every day is a sense of accomplishment and supporting the mission, and there's never a dull moment," Quinene said.
He said he regularly makes visits to FRCSW North Island to expedite components because "...often waiting for delivery can take too long, and the meters running for completion of the aircraft."
The father of four children, Quinene likes to exercise and visit the local casinos in Oceanside where he lives with his wife Bea.