2012-09-23 In a continuing dialogue with Lt. Col. Boniface, VMM 266 Commanding Officer, we talked about the future. Where was the Osprey going in terms of Marine Corps operations and what challenges needed to be met to get best value operationally from what this transformational aircraft brings to the fight.…
2012-09-17 In a wide ranging discussion with Lt. Col. Christian Harshberger, Commanding Officer of VMM 365, the Blue Knights, shortly after his return from Afghanistan. He was a CH-46 operator prior to entering the V-22 world a couple of years ago. In January of 2009, Lieutenant Colonel Harshberger reported to…
2012-09-08 The Osprey has been deployed for five years in combat. Starting in September 2007, the Osprey was deployed to Iraq and then later to Afghanistan. It has several years of at sea experience as well. The operators – pilots and maintainers – have been part of the “testing” of the…
2012-09-09 In a wide-ranging discussion with Lt. Col. Thomas “Ryder” Mitalski, Commanding Officer of VMM-263, we discussed the impact of the Osprey on the reshaping of USN-USMC operations. And we discussed as well the challenges of such change in con-ops upon the fleet and operational approaches. Lt. Col. Mitalski is an…
2012-08-31 by Robbin Laird This September, the Osprey will reach a 5-year mark in its operational deployment history. In September 2007, the Osprey was deployed for the first time to Iraq. The USMC Commandant Conway and Deputy Commandant of Aviation Castellaw announced and made the decision to deploy the Osprey into…
by Robbin Laird I have completed nearly 5 years of interviews of the Marines who have flown and maintained the Ospreys. My discussions with these Marines have shown how you start with a platform and expand its envelope over time. Your testing boils down to real warriors carrying the development…
by Robbin Laird Recently, the USN-USMC team completed the largest “amphibious” exercise in more than a decade along with core allies. But what did people see? What did they recognize in the exercise and focus upon? Because it is called an amphibious exercise, outsiders who attended the exercise tended to…
Second Line of Defense visited the USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE 5) while it was in port in Norfolk. The ship caught our eye while we were covering Bold Alligator 2012 because of the first operational engagement of an Osprey aboard a T-AKE ship. We will publish shortly an interview…
