In October, a team of four MV-22 Ospreys landed in Liberia in support of the mission to help control the spread of Ebola. In terms of humanitarian missions, it was a normal day in the Marine Corps, but behind the scenes, the arrival of the tiltrotor aircraft was the result of one of the biggest changes in the way the aircraft V-22 deploys since it entered the fleet.
For the last year and through the mission to fight Ebola in West Africa, the Corps has occasionally deployed the Ospreys in small detachments instead of full-sized squadrons. Given the aircraft's long range and speed, combined with a need for aviation support in mission around the globe, it sometimes makes sense to send small Osprey detachments rather than a full 12-aircraft squadron.
"As we continue to grow our fleet, we continue to learn more and more about hits platform and how we can use it in the future," said Maj. Douglas Thumm, the plans officer for the V-22 at Headquarters Marine Corps.
"The detachment capability allows us to potentially reach more areas, or have the combatant commander be more flexible with where he can put these forces and be able to reach out to those areas where he needs to be able to influence," he said.
Flying the aircraft in this way is going to become more common. So far, just two V-22 squadrons can split into detachments, but by the time the Corps completes its transition from the CH-46 Sea Knight in 2020 to the Osprey in 2020, every 12-aircraft squadron will be structured and equipped to divide into two six-aircraft detachments. They'll be able to operate independently and personnel from the same squadron will be able to staff 24-hour maintenance shops in two separate locations, Thumm said.
Creating more Osprey detachments will also create more billets in the squadrons, he said. Squadrons will need about round 22 more maintainers and two more pilots in order to form detachments, Thumm said.
"We'll have more billets for those highly-qualified maintainers especially, and even those pilots," he said.
The shift to smaller Osprey detachments is in line with It's one of the changes the Corps is undergoing as it moves away from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and focuses on its role as an agile crisis response force. Officials and planning documents say the Corps' new special purpose Marine air-ground task forces designed for crisis response are Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Crisis Response is driving the need for scalable detachments.
"The Sspecial Ppurpose MAGTF construct has driven the requirement to adjust the [Osprey squadron training and operations] in order to support detachment operations," a 10-year Marine Aviation Plan released in November states. ays.
Detachment missions include assault transport, recovery of aircraft and personnel, and, like in West Africa and the Ebola response effort, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, Thumm said.
"It's a smaller scale, but we can still provide lift for those health care professionals if they need to get around, we can bring some logistics around to those different medical facilities, as required," Thumm said.
Preparing Osprey VMM squadrons for splitting up is more complicated than dividing personnel and aircraft down the middle. Maintenance and operational needs require that they add manpower as well as support equipment and parts. to split intodetachments is more complicated than dividing personnel and aircraft down the middle. Maintenance and operational requirements require that they add manpower as well as support equipment and parts.
"Across the enterprise, changes to manning are being made to support detachment operations — organic depot facilities are expanding, contracting strategies are evolving to support timely delivery of long lead items, and industry continues to grow their support capability," the aviation plan states.ays.
Squadrons need about round22 more maintainers and two more pilots in order to form detachments, Thumm said.
"We'll have more billets for those highly-qualified maintainers especially, and even those pilots," he said.
The way squadrons form detachments will depend on what combatant commanders need, Thumm said. One option is to send the full squadron underway and then, once in theater, split into two detachments. It's also possible for one detachment to leave the squadron's base while the rest of the squadron stays back at home. The detachment that stays behind would continue with its training while the other operates, Thumm said.
Most likely the commanding officer would lead one detachment while the executive officer leads the other. The CO will probably handle the more difficult missions, he said.
