Relamping The Dome at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
The Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point opened in 1941 and is currently home to the Second Marine Aircraft Wing. The Dome at MCAS Cherry Point serves as a place for basketball tournaments, boot camps, and many other extracurricular programs. It was also in desperate need of a relamping project.
For years, the Dome had been a headache for the workers of Public Works, who’ve had to repeatedly fix the lights. When they requested to have the recreation center relamped, City Electric Supply Morehead City was there to help.
“The lighting was so bad that the Marines had to wear night-vision goggles to play basketball,” laughed Doug Davis, the outside sales rep at CES Morehead City.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to wear night-vision goggles for too much longer. Supervisor David Conner and Electrical Leader Scott Littrell from Public Works reached out to Davis for a solution.
“When David and Scott reached out to me, they told me that this has been an ongoing problem and that they needed a long-term solution,” said Davis. I immediately called RAB Lighting Representative Shea Lindsey to help.”
Davis worked with Lindsey on receiving 100 RAB HID-135-V-EX39-850-BYP-HB Lamps to replace and re-ballast the existing 400W metal halide lamps.
“The solution came pretty quickly, and because of the success I’ve had with RAB lighting, I gave it a shot.”
From No Challenges to Being Placed on Hold
When this project started there weren’t many challenges. However, they did have to make sure the wooden floor was protected, which became a time-consuming operation.
“The only obstacle we had to cross was protecting the flooring, which took one full eight-hour day,” said Davis. “They placed plywood down, and each time they finished a series of lights, they had to pull everything up and move it to start on the next section.”
After the lighting was placed in, renovations were set to begin, but another challenge came up.
“The lighting started having issues, and we had to come up with a solution,” said Davis. “But while doing research for the best solution, COVID-19 struck, and everything was officially placed on hold for the time being.”
The team didn’t realize how long the project was going to be on hold, but they continued to stay in contact with MCAS Cherry Point to make sure they completed their part of the job.
“With COVID-19 happening over the last year, people were scheduled a few days off, so they were at third capacity, Davis said. “The project was pushed until everyone was able to return to full capacity.”
Relamping Complete and a Job Well Done
In March 2021, the team was finally able to return to the Dome. With the hardwood protected, COVID-19 conditions improving, and the lighting solutions figured out, Davis and the team got the job completed.
“We went back in and replaced the light fixtures, and the lighting has had zero issues since.”
With a yearlong setback, Davis couldn’t stop mentioning how amazing RAB and Lindsey were.
“They replaced the lighting at no charge and handled everything so professionally,” stated Davis. “Even though there was an issue, they never backed away or made excuses. They said they would have replacements in a timely manner and followed up on the process constantly to make sure it was done.”
Davis is happy knowing people can now play in the Dome with proper lighting.
“The lighting is so good that the Marines are making baskets at a phenomenal percentage! We may be witnessing a few future NBA stars coming out of the Cherry Point Marines,” laughed Davis.
The lighting caused such a dramatic change that it is instantly noticeable. The biggest change? No one had to wear night-vision goggles to shoot some threes.
“Everyone says something like ‘Wow, something is different,’” said Davis. “In the words of Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, everyone is ‘HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!’”