This was sent to me by one of our squadron members.

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

PRESS RELEASE
United States Marine Corps
Division of Public Affairs
Date: Thursday, June 14, 2007
Contact: Media Branch
Telephone: (703) 614-4309
Osprey Deemed Ready for Deployment

HEADQUARTERS MARINE CORPS - Yesterday it was announced that the Marine
Corps' MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft achieved initial operational
capability, (IOC), meaning that both the aircraft and the first combat
squadron, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (VMM-263) are ready for
expeditionary operations. IOC is considered the final major milestone for
any defense acquisition program prior to fielding.
Last month Gen. James T. Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps, announced
that the squadron is scheduled to deploy to Iraq in September with ten
MV-22s. While there, Ospreys will be used for medium assault support
missions ranging from troop transport and resupply to casualty evacuation.
The MV-22 will eventually replace all CH-46E helicopters for the Marine
Corps.

Conditions required for the IOC decision include initial readiness of
VMM-263, the requisite number of aircraft and equipment delivered to the
squadron, confirmation of the combat configuration of the aircraft through
operational testing, and a robust logistical support network to keep the
aircraft ready for missions on deployment.

The Osprey is the only operational aircraft in the world with the vertical
lift capabilities of a helicopter, and the range, speed, altitude and
payload of a fixed-wing airplane. The MV-22 can fly twice as fast, more than
twice as high, and three to five times as far as the helicopters it will
replace.

The Marine Corps conducted dedicated operational testing in February and
March for the combat configuration of the aircraft, known as Block B.

Marine Tiltrotor Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22) logged 185 flight
hours with four aircraft in just 18 days, operating in the California and
Arizona deserts. The Block B aircraft proved highly effective during its
mission essential tasks.
"The aircraft did very well. We were actually above our normal
mission-capable averages for those three weeks," said Lt. Col. Denny
Sherwood, VMX-22 aircraft maintenance officer. Maintenance resources and
supplies were all in keeping with standard deployment planning, he said.
"We had the aircraft we needed to accomplish all the missions despite the
high op tempo."
Those missions included assault raids, company insertions, recon insertions
and extractions, casualty evacuations, tactical recovery of aircraft and
personnel, noncombatant evacuation operations, and battlefield logistics.
Missions involved fast rope and personnel hoist operations, external lift of
the M-777 Lightweight Howitzer, live fire of the Ospreys' M-240D
ramp-mounted machine guns, and 22 aerial refuelings. A third of the flying
was done at night.

Crews faced multiple ground threats day and night, to validate and refine
the tactics, techniques and procedures for approaching objectives and
reacting to threats. They also integrated operations with F/A-18 Hornets,
AV-8 Harriers and AH-1 Cobras. For troop delivery and recovery missions, the
MV-22s carried 22 to 24 Marines and their gear. Missions averaged 725
nautical miles round trip, with the four VMX-22 aircraft logging a total of
30,000 miles during the evaluation period.

"We absolutely went out there and operated in a very operationally
representative manner," said VMX-22 Commanding Officer Col. Keith Danel.
"You name it, we did it, and the aircraft held up very well. And we operated
it in a gritty, windy, austere environment, and maintained a very high
tempo."

The Marine Corps has extensive experience operating the Osprey in the
desert, and Sherwood said many maintenance lessons have been learned along
the way. Besides prior operational testing in the desert in 2004 and 2005,
VMM-263 completed an extended training deployment to Naval Air Facility El
Centro, Calif., in September and October 2006. The squadron is currently
training at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. VMM-263's deployment will
be followed by deployments for the second and third MV-22 combat squadrons,
VMM-162 and VMM-266. The Marine Corps is establishing Osprey squadrons from
former helicopter squadrons at a rate of about two per year.