2d MEU Transfers Ospreys to Afghanistan

An MV-22B Osprey from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263 (Reinforced), 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), prepares to take off from the flight deck of the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) Nov. 6, 2009. The aircraft were flown to Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, where they will be transferred to Marine Medium Tiltrotor squadron 261 and used in support of 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade. This is the first time the aircraft will be used in Afghanistan. The 22d MEU is serving as the theater reserve force for U.S. Central Command. (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Julio Rivera/RELEASED)

The aircraft, part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced), will be transferred to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 and serve as
part of 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade's Aviation Combat Element.

The 22d MEU was the first Marine Expeditionary Unit to conduct a ship-based deployment with the tiltrotor aircraft. VMM-263 (Rein)
attached to the MEU in September, 2008, and was also the first squadron to deploy with the aircraft to Iraq in 2007.

"It is a great honor for us to support 2d MEB and we are proud to be the first unit to bring this aircraft into Afghanistan," said Col Gareth F.
Brandl, 22d MEU commanding officer. "We have spent more than a year working with the MV-22B and know that the added capabilities this
aircraft brings will benefit the Marines currently engaged against the enemy."

The Ospreys flew off in three waves making the 510 NM flight in just over two hours. During the aircraft's first amphibious deployment, it
flew in support of theater security cooperation events in three countries, including U.S. Central Command's largest exercise, Exercise
Bright Star 2009 in Egypt.

The Osprey was used to conduct multiple medical-evacuations from ship to shore and was employed to conduct logistics flights to Rota, Spain;
Naval Air Station, Sigonella (Sicily); Djibouti, Africa; and Bahrain. For more than a month, the squadron supported desert training when the MEU trained ashore in Camp Buehring, Kuwait.

"The men and women of the squadron performed admirably in support of this mission," said LtCol Paul P. Ryan, commanding officer of VMM-263
(Rein). "I am convinced that this weapon system will serve the operating forces well for decades to come."

Ryan added that the MEU has learned a great deal about operating with the Osprey, and throughout the deployment, has captured lessons learned
to support future tiltrotor squadrons as they begin to deploy with other MEUs.

The 22d MEU deployed May 15, 2009, aboard the ships of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group. The unit made the transatlantic voyage into the
Mediterranean Sea where it conducted training in Greece and Bulgaria.

The MEU has since supported four theater security cooperation events with Middle Eastern military partners and conducted sustainment training
in Kuwait.

The 22d MEU, led by Brandl, is a scalable, multi-purpose force of more than 2,200 Marines and Sailors. The unit is composed of its Ground
Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment (commanded by LtCol Robert C. Fulford); Aviation Combat
Element, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced) (commanded by LtCol Paul P. Ryan); Logistics Combat Element, Combat Logistics
Battalion 22 (commanded by Lt. Col. Gary F. Keim); and its Command Element.