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CV-22, squadron hit ground running

  • Published
  • By Jamie Haig
  • 16th SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  When the first CV-22 arrives at Hurlburt Field, activity at the 8th Special Operations Squadron will start rolling at an even greater fast-forward pace.

Once the aircraft is re-leased to the Air Force, it will undergo an acceptance inspection in preparation for flight operations starting with the Air Force 60th Anniversary celebration on Nov. 16.

"We're taking it on the road for its first temporary deployment right after it arrives at Hurlburt," said Lt. Col. Darryl Sheets, 8th SOS assistant director of operations.
"We'll exercise the TDY process, work out the bugs and make sure we're ready for the cold weather operational utility evaluation in January."

The CV-22 will only be on base for a few weeks before it leaves for the cold weather OUE. During this testing, it will be run through a gambit of things from maintenance to flying capabilities.

"Our goal is to find out what it takes to operate in extreme cold weather and develop tactics, techniques and procedures in the process that will help accomplish our mission," Colonel Sheets said. "The aircraft will be put through its paces during this time period."

Colonel Sheets and Capt. Paul Alexander are two of the four pilots here at Hurlburt Field that are trained and ready to roll on the CV-22.

They and the few other members of the 8th SOS were responsible for setting up the squadron and preparing for the arrival of the aircraft.

One recent accomplishment was writing the first tactics manual for the CV-22 that will provide a solid base for teaching future crew members.

"We got together with CV-22 crewmembers from the 18th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the 71st SOS at Kirtland and several other Hurlburt Field squadrons including the Air Force Special Operations Command Tactics Office to draft the manual," Captain Alexander said.

"This tactics manual will be what we use going forward for training. Before this, the contract instructors at Kirtland didn't have any source documents to use for training"

"We also bounced our tactics off of the Marine MV-22 community so we weren't re-inventing the wheel," Colonel Sheets said.

The squadron has come a long way in a few short months. By this time next year, they anticipate being 25 people strong and will have even more aircraft on the tarmac.

"Everyone will continue training, our crews will continue qualifying," Colonel Sheets said. "We're looking forward to working with the other squadrons in the 16th Operations Group."

"It's extremely exciting looking at the horizon," Captain Alexander said. "This aircraft and the missions are unlike anything we've ever done before."