Friday, April 13, 2012

"Being a Marine is inherently dangerous"...Casualties identified in crash....

via Marines.mil

Two 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines died and two were severely injured when an MV-22 Osprey crashed in a Royal Moroccan military training area southwest of Agadir, Morocco, while participating in bilateral Exercise African Lion, April 11.
Cpl. Robby A. Reyes and Cpl. Derek A. Kerns, both MV-22 crew chiefs with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, Marine Aircraft Group 26, died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
All four Marines involved were part of VMM-261, based at MCAS New River, N.C., and were the only personnel on the aircraft at the time of the crash. VMM-261 is currently attached to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and was operating from the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) at the time of the incident.
"Being a Marine is inherently dangerous but this is a shock to all of us," said Col. Frank Donovan, 24th MEU commanding officer. "Our primary focus right now is making sure our Marines and their families are taken care of. We send our prayers and sincere condolences to the families of these Marines and mourn with them through this tragic event."
Reyes joined the Marine Corps from Los Angeles, Calif., in December 2007 and was promoted to the rank of corporal in October 2010. His awards include the Global War on Terrorism Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation and a certificate of appreciation.
Kerns joined the Marine Corps from Fort Dix, N.J., in September 2008 and was promoted to the rank of corporal in December 2010. His awards include the Global War on Terrorism Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and a certificate of appreciation.
Neither of the Marines had previously deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The two injured Marines have been medically evacuated for further treatment. For their privacy and the privacy of their families, their names will not be released.
The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.
I've always believed the Colonel's words.

Being a Marine is inherently dangerous.

But I've noticed a disturbing trend in recent helo crashes.  Being a crew chief on these planes is probably the most risk filled position.

Every crewmember (I believe) has crash worthy seats.

But the Crew Chief's job often has them up and moving around the aircraft.  Is it time to perhaps change some procedures for these guys?

I DON'T KNOW.  I'm just asking and I'm operating from what I've observed and little actual data.  Regardless.  The Colonel is correct on his other points too.  The focus to make sure his Marines and their families are good to go has to be his primary concern.

God Bless and God Speed.

F-35A PILOTS COMPLETE EGLIN'S FIRST FORMATION FLIGHT

Two F-35A Lightning IIs from the 33rd Fighter Wing soar over Eglin Air Force Base's range during the unit’s first joint strike fighter formation flight April 10. Lt. Col. Eric Smith, 58th Fighter Squadron director of operations, flew the lead aircraft while Marine Maj Joseph Bachmann, Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 aircraft maintenance officer, flew wingman. The pilots, both first in their service qualified to fly the 5th generation aircraft, were validating pilot syllabus objectives in preparation for future training. The 33rd FW is responsible for F-35 A/B/C pilot and maintainer training for the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and in the future, at least eight coalition partners.

On Patrol in Ghazni Province.

Second Lt. Jared Dudley, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, leads fellow paratroopers back from a combined operation with Afghan policemen April 8, 2012, in southern Ghazni province, Afghanistan. The early-morning raid was planned and executed with full participation from the Afghans. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod)

Damn. You can hear the pain in their voices.

Listen carefully to this vid.

You can hear the pain.

This is a tough video to start your weekend on, but the price paid by some must be witnessed by all.

Meet the LCS module handling system.




Absolutely Awesome!  Thanks CT for the info!

Hey all.  We've been talking about the LCS a bit more especially in light of CDR Salamander's recent article (he has another one up on USNI Blog).

One of the issues that I had was how are they going to move these modules around.  CT got me the answer and now you do too.

Its the MOBICON SYSTEM.

Go here to get the details on it.

Very interesting.  If.  IF the Navy is able to standardize this in a big way, meaning fleet wide then we might be seeing a mini revolution in logistics.  I'm still not sold on the LCS as a war fighter or humanitarian vessel but it might become a test bed for future capabilities.

And maybe that's where its real value lies.

ANGLICO at Exercise Joint Warrior

Did you know that the Bi-annual Exercise Joint Warrior is going on right now?

Did you know that USMC, British, French, Sweden, Italian and other nations are participating in this exercise in Scotland?

Awesome.  The vid is from the Royal Navy.

Italian Naval Aviation.






No.

I don't speak the language, but the videos are self explanatory.

The Italian Navy appears to be an extremely capble force.