osprey going to iraq

I'm not so sure about flying rotor-type aircraft... too many moving parts and no ejection seats. It will be interesting keeping an eye on how the Osprey does in theater. Source.

Commandant Gen. James Conway is expected to announce Friday the first deployment of an MV-22 Osprey squadron, according to a Pentagon release.

Until then, officials are remaining mum on where Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., will deploy. The squadron is expected to deploy late summer or early fall this year.

In early March, the squadron wrapped up several weeks of integration training with Camp Lejeune-based Marines. Part of the training was to get the Osprey more exposure to ground troops as the program attempts to overcome its troubled past.

VMM-263 was the first of the Corps’ now three operational Osprey squadrons. The other squadrons include VMM-162 and VMM-266, which stood up late last month.