Bataan ARG home after delivering Ospreys

[unhappycamper]

Bataan ARG home after delivering Ospreys
By Lance M. Bacon - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Dec 8, 2009 15:19:11 EST

NORFOLK NAVAL STATION, Va. — The ships of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group returned home Tuesday, the first to deploy with the MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor as part of its air element and the first to send the aircraft into Afghanistan.

The arrival also brought home nearly 1,000 sailors and officers — and 38 new fathers — after seven months at sea.

The ARG includes the amphibious assault ship Bataan, amphibious transport dock Ponce, dock landing ship Fort McHenry and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Deploying with the Osprey provided Bataan sailors with a new challenge, as it was soon evident that the aircraft’s 350-degree exhaust downwash can buckle a flight deck in as little as 10 minutes. If such activity is consistent, it could ruin the flight deck in about 40 percent of the ship’s projected life span, studies have shown.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jump-jet variant will cause similar problems, according to service officials.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/12/navy_bataan_home_120809w/

[Sherman A1]

1. The flight deck issue

is a major Whooooops!