And then the kitchen sink

The Marine Corps said yesterday that the V-22 Osprey, a hybrid aircraft with a troubled past, will be sent to Iraq this September, where it will see combat for the first time...

“They will plan their missions in Iraq to avoid it getting into areas where there are serious threats,” said Thomas Christie, the Pentagon’s director of operations, test and evaluation from 2001 to 2005, who is now retired.

Why? Because the helicopters now in use - apparently a bunch of Vietnam-era relics - are starting to get shot down. No such problem with the V-22. It tends to crash all by itself.

Yeah, support the troops.

Link: Combat, With Limits, Looms for Hybrid Aircraft - New York Times