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Marine Corps

MV-22 Osprey as Firefighter: Does it Work?

by admin on September 3, 2013

As California strives to fully contain the Rim Fire–now the 4th largest wildfire in California history–it might be edifying to revisit the progress MV-22 has made in integrating with likely Homeland Security/Disaster Response/Humanitarian Missions on the homefront.  We will start with firefighting–can the Osprey fight fires? Asking the question: A few years ago, I wrote […]

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MV-22 Osprey Hits Turbulence

by admin on September 1, 2013

The MV-22 Program Office is on an emotional roller-coaster. Early this summer, things were going well.  The Pentagon inked a big Osprey block-buy.  Sales to Japan and Israel are anticipated.  A big Japanese deployment is underway. But then the Program looses two airframes in two months and gets hit with an IG report trenchant enough to […]

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Want to know why Tesla is trading at over 160 dollars a share?  It’s because Tesla’s boss, Elon Musk, fought for it. He took on critics. In public. Back in February 2013, when the New York Times came out with a negative “company-killing hit-piece” on Tesla’s new car, Musk went on a very, very high-profile offensive, forcing […]

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For almost ten years, the Marine Corps–the Third Marine Expeditionary Force–and the Military Sealift Command have leased the Austal-built Westpac Express, a 331-foot long aluminum high-speed ferry. But with the emergence of the “Green Fleet” concept, and with the Navy and Marine Corps eager to highlight “green” initiatives, this puny vessel (a gas-guzzler in itself, […]

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In Press: Talking Korea NEO evacuation at The Atlantic

by Craig Hooper on December 30, 2010

Chris Albon and I have an article up at The Atlantic to discuss the challenges of getting noncombatants out of Korea. Aside from my concern that our NEO evacuation plans (and our misguided effort to “normalize” Korean tours) are unready, under-resourced and poorly planned, I think the entire region needs to do some serious thinking […]

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North Korea eying subs as nuclear delivery platforms?

by Craig Hooper on December 13, 2010

Last week’s breathless Washington Times “Inside the Ring” report on North Korea’s interest in nuclear anti-ship weaponry is unrealistic, but, as much as I hate to admit it, the underlying idea–using subs as a nuclear delivery platform–is plausible. But first, step away from Gertz and his China-based fear-mongering. Let’s drop the Chinese-threat lenses, and realize […]

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San Francisco Fleet Week is a community effort. Fleet Week organizers (myself included) worked hard to raise the $1.2 million dollars we needed to throw an appropriately-sized gala for the Navy and Marine Corps. Many local companies dug deep. Some gave until it hurt. Everybody from Google Earth to Solazyme to Bank of America to […]

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MV-22: General Trautman, your job is on Line 1…

by Craig Hooper on July 23, 2010

According to this DOD Buzz article, Lt. General George J. Trautman III voiced his frustration that MV-22 Osprey readiness rates in Afghanistan had topped out at “roughly 70 percent.” Glad to see Trautman get frustrated. As a taxpayer, I am too. I expect better performance from brand-new aircraft. According to the DOD Buzz piece, Trautman […]

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Osprey Downdraft: MV-22 Wounds 10 at NYC Fleet Week

by Craig Hooper on May 31, 2010

I’ll post more on the unfortunate MV-22 NY Fleet Week accident (downdraft from an incoming Osprey blew down tree limbs that, in turn, wounded spectators–the videos here are great) in a bit, but I just wanted to remind people that the strong MV-22 downdraft is an important limitation–and, as such, it leads to operational issues […]

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EFV meets the IED:

by Craig Hooper on March 8, 2010

I’ve been busy with a few “conventional” writing projects—some items that which will hit the press here in a few days—so, as I get back into the swing of things, blogwise, I would be remiss—since I’ve been so negative about the Marine Corps’ MV-2 buy cialis online uk 2 Osprey—to cheer

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