MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. --  A jet engine roars to life in a small room tucked away in a non-descript building belonging to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 16.

More than 120 decibels fill the space known as a test cell. Eight Marine helicopter mechanics set about putting the engine - a future power source for a CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter - through its paces.

Throughout the process, the team of Marine mechanics joined by one civilian mechanic, monitor the engine’s temperature, fluid pressure, vibrations, fuel usage and all moving parts.

The team watches closely for a hitch in the engines’ giddyup.

“The Marines in this shop receive a lot of hands-on time with the engines and are very skilled troubleshooters,” said Staff Sgt. Mathew McClead, the staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the test cell shop, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 16, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. “They have more of a sense of mission accomplishment because they see what the engines actually do and how each component affects the flight line.”

Each of the Marines working in the test cell gained their initial understanding of the engines while working as mechanics with Marine helicopter squadrons as no formal military occupational specialty exists for test cell operators.

“Basically, these Marines are the cream of the crop,” said McClead. “They are proficient at their job and trusted mechanics.”

The operators diligently watch walls of instruments that blip and flash as the engine responds to changes in the demands put upon it.

The instruments in the shop allow the operators to view every function of the powerful engines, explained James McCaw, the Marines’ civilian teammate.

The equipment in the cell can simulate a wide variety of possible challenges the engine may face during actual flight.

According to Sgt. John Thompson, the assistant noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the test cell, it normally takes an average of one hour to completely test each engine.

During those 60 minutes, operators keep an eye out for problems that may trace all the way back to when the engine was a mere pile of separate components on an assembly line at General Electric.

When manufacturing companies receive information on faulty equipment, they make innovations and engineer new technologies.

Therefore, the small shop of Marines and the outcomes of different inspections play a part in the development of new equipment.

After the engines pass the tests and final inspection they return to the Marines with the squadrons who man the stables of Super Stallions and await the next race.