A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey and its crew visited U.S. Africa Command’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, for a capabilities demonstration and static display on Kelley Barracks March 28, 2013.

The visit was to introduce the aircraft to AFRICOM senior leaders and to create an awareness of the full spectrum of its capabilities to the command’s area of responsibility. 

The aircraft and its team are from the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 (Reinforced), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

“This is a safe aircraft,” said Lieutenant Colonel Rick Coates, future operations officer for Marine Forces Europe.   “This is the safest aircraft we have in the inventory right now, and it is because of a lot of hard work a lot of detailed planning and very great crews that are flying and maintaining this aircraft.  It is getting the job done in Afghanistan, Iraq, at sea and all over the place. This aircraft is designed for austere environments.  It can function out of Stuttgart Army Airfield, an international airport, and it can also function out of a softball field, and in some of the unimproved runways and airfields very common in Africa. ”

During the visit to AFRICOM, some members of the command flew around Stuttgart and got a taste of its capabilities in the air.  This was followed by a static display where base members and their families had an opportunity to tour the interior.

“The flight was everything you’d want it to be; it was fantastic,” said Brad Marzari, AFRICOM’s video-teleconference (VTC) program manager for J6. “More importantly, it was important for the Marines to come demonstrate the capabilities of this aircraft to us because now this isn’t something theoretical - - it’s physical.  This aircraft and the Marines bring important capabilities to the AFRICOM mission and our ability to reach the continent.”    

The MV-22 Osprey, a multi-engine aircraft, is a combat assault and support aircraft that combines the capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft.  It has four times the range of a CH-46E helicopter, and it can fly at a much higher altitude.

Most members at the demonstration described the aircraft as the coolest helicopter-like aircraft they have ever seen.  And everyone said getting a close-up look was an amazing opportunity.

 
“This is a great opportunity” said Coates. “The hard work that the Marines, Sailors, Airmen, and Soldiers put into planning this has really paid off.  It is good to see so many people from the Stuttgart community.  Communities that have bases in the East coast, West coast (in America) are used to seeing the capabilities of this aircraft. Other places never get to see them, so it is important to reach out to the American people (wherever they are) here in Germany to show them what the (U.S.) military is doing.” 

For photos, click U.S. Marine Corps Osprey visits AFRICOM