Page 8 - Ft. Huachuca Scout 6-19-15

8A The Scout FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015

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MV-22 Osprey carrier landing aboard Dutch warship

Story and photo by Lance Cpl. Fatmeh Saad
U.S. Marine Corps

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, An MV-22 Osprey with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 prepares to land onto the Karel Doorman, a Dutch warship, during
N.C. — Spirits ran high aboard the Karel Doorman,
a warship with the Royal Netherlands Navy, as U.S. an interoperability test near Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., June 12. The unit worked jointly with the Royal Netherlands
Marines with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 1DY\WRSHUIRUPWKH¿UVW092VSUH\FDUULHUODQGLQJDERDUGD'XWFKZDUVKLSDQGVWUHQJWKHQHGWKHH[LVWLQJSDUWQHUVKLSEHWZHHQ
made the first MV-22 Osprey landing aboard a Dutch
ship during an interoperability test conducted near the two countries.
Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina,
June 12. receive fuel from the Dutch warship. unprecedented agility and operational reach,” said
“[This test] supports the mission of the 2nd Marine Thompson.
“What we normally do is support the forces ashore,”
said Capt. Peter van den Berg, the commanding officer Aircraft Wing because when units from 2nd MAW The U.S military has a long-standing history work-
of the warship. move forward, they sometimes work in concert with ing with their Dutch counterparts, a partnership both
coalition partners and that may include the Dutch one units expressed an interest in deepening.
To better support ground forces, the amphibious day,” said Thompson.
unit recognizes it needs aircraft support, said van den “Having the knowledge that we learned today can
Berg. Thompson said building a stronger relationship and help us when we move forward, if we ever work with the
testing the units’ ability to integrate was the central fo- Dutch, which I think is a very real possibility … espe-
“That’s why the Netherlands Navy is very interested cus of the carrier landings. cially when we saw the amount of compatibility that we
in cooperating and integrating with the U.S. Marine have from a simple exercise like today,” said Thompson.
Corps and operating the Osprey from our decks,” said “The MV-22 Osprey provides commanders with
van den Berg. “The Osprey is capable of doing large
airlifts at a time, instead of a smaller helicopter — an
Osprey can take much more personnel back to shore.”

The landing was the first of its kind and tested the
interoperability of the two military entities, as well as
the Dutch’s ability to host the American aircraft aboard
their ships through carrier landings.

“The majority of people live within 300 nautical
miles of the ocean,” said Capt. Matthew Thompson,
a Marine with VMM-261 and the pilot and operations
officer for the exercise. “With that in mind, the true
Marine aspect of ‘from the sea, to the shore,” is in-
creasingly important. Being able to land on a ship, or
sea base from a ship, and move people, things, to the
shore is increasingly important.”

The test included five landings aboard the warship
along with a refuel check to test the Osprey’s ability to

Air Force: Career Intermission Program application window opens July 1

By Debbie Gildea pate. They included 33 regular Air Force, one Guard men will bring greater experience, education, knowl-
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs and one Reserve Airman. The 35 selected included 15 edge, commitment and passion to their career, said
officers and 20 enlisted personnel — 18 women and Col. Arch Bruns the AFPC Personnel Services direc-
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, 17 men. tor.
Texas (AFNS) — The Air Force Career Intermission
Program application window opens July 1 for eligible The Career Intermission Program allows par- While participating in the Career Intermission
Airmen interested in taking one to three years off ac- ticipants to retain full medical and dental benefits Program, Airmen will be required to maintain all Air
tive duty for personal or professional needs. for themselves and their dependents, as well as ex- Force standards, including health and fitness and be
change and commissary benefits. Participants also ready to fully resume their duties.
Applications must reach the Air Force Personnel receive a stipend of 1/15th of their monthly basic
Center no later than Aug. 31, with the total force selec- pay. In addition, members will be allowed an Air Airmen approved for CIP will incur a service com-
tion panel scheduled to convene Sept. 29. Force-funded permanent change of station move to mitment of two months for every one month of CIP
anywhere in the U.S. when entering the program, participation.
The program, in its second year, allows up to 40 and a move to their base of assignment when they
top-performing regular Air Force and career status Ac- complete the program. General information and complete eligibility cri-
tive Guard or Reserve officers and enlisted members to teria are available on the myPers website. Select the
be inactivated and transferred to the Individual Ready Return to duty following a Career Intermission Pro- appropriate component and corps from the drop down
Reserve, receiving partial pay for up to three years, gram intermission is the key to the program. Top per- menu and enter “Career Intermission Program” in the
before returning to active duty. formers with bright futures won’t have to separate to search window. Links to component specific applica-
take care of personal or other professional concerns, tion procedures will be available July 1.
During the 2014 pilot program, 35 regular Air Force, and once they return to active-duty service, those Air-
Guard and Reserve Airmen were approved to partici- For more information about Air Force personnel
programs go to myPers.