This article was e-mailed to me by JD Barber. I wish nothing but the best for these young Marines

S/F Gary Alls
HMM-263 '66-'67

Thunder Chickens getting new wings
June 04,2005
DANIEL MCNAMARA
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Like the mythical phoenix, the Thunder Chickens are stepping down in order to be reborn. When they come back next year, they will be a whole new set of birds

On Friday, New River Air Station saw Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-263 (HMM-263) stand down during a transitioning ceremony as Lt. Col. Roy A. "Ozzie" Osborn formally relinquished command of a post he held for two days shy of two years.

For the next year, the Marines of HMM-263, nicknamed the Thunder Chickens, will train under the instruction of Marine Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 (VMMT-204) to learn how to repair, maintain and fly the tilt-rotor MV-22B Osprey.

"If you take nothing from this, you were part of a point in history," Osborn told the audience of several hundred current and former Thunder Chickens and their spouses, who attended the hour-long ceremony in the HMM-263 hangar. "I'd much rather make history than read history."

Like the rest of the Marine Corps, the Thunder Chickens are having their 12 CH-46 Sea Knights replaced by 12 new Ospreys.

"It's a one for one swap," Osborn said.

Nicknamed the Battle Frog because of its squatting appearance, the dual-rotor 12-ton CH-46 was first commissioned in 1949. The 26-ton Osprey has three times the lift capability and twice the troop capacity of its predecessor. It can take off and land like a helicopter but fly like an airplane.

The need to replace the CH-46 was first noted in 1969. Budget and technical problems with the Osprey, however, will keep the Battle Frog in action until 2015, when it is expected to be fully replaced by the Osprey.

In 2000, 23 Marines were killed in two Osprey crashes, one of which occurred in Onslow County.

Osborn said he and the other Marines would always have a fond place in their hearts for the Battle Frog. That said, they are also eager to take their new toys for a spin. Several Marines from HMM-263 got their first peak inside a real MV-22B on Friday.

In addition to the advancements in speed, size and range, the Osprey is digitally operated.

"Would you be excited to get out of your 40-year-old pickup and step to the brand new Corvette?" Osborn asked. "We've just about stretched (the CH-46) as far as you can stretch her."

"Everyone that gets around the aircraft is very excited," said Col. Joel Kane, commanding officer of VMMT-204. Kane likened the sensation to that of a "new car smell."

Cpl. Daryl Larimore is one of the 80 to 90 of the 120 remaining Marines from HMM-263 who will serve with VMM-263. Larimore, a crew chief, described two camps among his fellow enlisted men: one that is excited about the change and another that's sentimental about holding on to the time-tested CH-46.

"There's mixed emotions," Larimore said. "Personally, I'm excited."

Because of personnel shortages caused by the global war on terror, HMM-263 is being temporarily decommissioned for training. Ordinarily, training for the new aircraft would be phased in while the squadron was active.

"You have to use a pool of manpower to do that, and we don't have a pool of manpower," Osborn said.

Kane said that getting the first tactical squadron ready within a year would be no problem.

"It's a very doable task, we do it every day," Kane said. "The biggest thing is just doing it."

When the Thunder Chickens stand as VMM-263 next year, they will be the first tactical Osprey squadron in service. The Marine Corps has 12 other active-duty CH-46 squadrons and two reserve squadrons that will make the same transition to the Osprey over the next 10 years.

The Osprey will be the fifth aircraft to be flown by HMM-263 in its 53-year history. Prior to the CH-46, the Thunder Chickens previously operated HO-5S, HOK-1 and UH-34 helicopters.

Mechanical crews from HMM-263 will begin training with the Osprey next week. Pilots will not begin flying the aircraft until October. By March 2006, crews are expected to be able to operate the Osprey without supervision. The Thunder Chickens will be Corps-capable by June 2006.

Friday's observance, itself a composite of the traditional transitioning and decommissioning ceremonies, was historically and symbolically rooted in pre-Revolutionary and ancient military practices.

In all, it was a unique ceremony to mark a unique point in history.

"It's the Marine Corps, we do everything on traditions," Osborn said. "This is a new tradition and we get to kick it off."

Ordinarily, when a CO relinquishes his command, another officer assumes that command at that same ceremony. But because the squadron will be in training for the next year, the colors will remain cased until the squadron receives its new designation.

Osborn will leave in July for schooling at the Naval War College at Newport, R.I. Upon completion of his schooling there, he expects to be sent to the Pentagon.

In continuation of a new tradition started by the Thunder Chickens, the plaque bearing the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to Pfc. Raymond M. Clausen was moved to the headquarters of Marine Aircraft Group-29 (MAG-29), located just outside the HMM-263 hangar.

Clausen earned the Medal of Honor for actions during a rescue mission Jan. 31, 1970.

Clausen's Medal of Honor was brought into MAG-29 headquarters during HMM-263's July 2004 through February 2005 deployment as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

"It's almost like we're going on deployment," Osborn said. .