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AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE WASHINGTON POST
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2012
100 Years of Marine Corps Aviation Historic Bonds, Soaring Innovation Represent Marine Corps Aviation’s First Hundred Years By Gen. James F. Amos Commandant of the Marine Corps and USMC aviator For 100 years, Marine aviation has been characterized by a spirit of innovation—challenging the art of the possible— while remaining loyal to its fundamental reason for being: to support the Marines on the ground. In May 1912, First Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham reported for aviation training and Marine Aviation was born. As Marine Aviator number one, he always envisioned aviation as a supporting arm for ground troops, but it is unlikely that he and other early aviation pioneers could begin to imagine the tactical and technological achievements Marine aviation would make over the next century. Despite the risk, the discouragements, naysayers and frustrations, Cunningham, like many others, dedicated many years to improving the art and science of flying. Since those first days, all Marines
who have served in our aviation units have shared a common bond, one born of adventure, raw courage, a desire to push the limits and a commitment to supporting their brothers-in-arms on the ground. This spirit of innovation inspired the Marine Corps to achieve what some had only imagined. Where many saw the nascent airplane as an amusing contraption or man’s hubris, the first naval and Marine aviators saw opportunity. Marine aviators helped pioneer submarine hunting as well as early air-to-air and air-toground combat during World War I. During the Banana Wars, Marines serving in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Haiti took the first steps toward what we now call close air support. Twenty years of development in tactical, fixed–wing, naval aviation forced a complete paradigm shift in the naval surface tactics that endured from Trafalgar to Jutland, as the early lessons of World War II highlighted the necessity of
air superiority in future naval and amphibious campaigns. While propellers gave way to jet engines following World War II, Marine aviators quickly recognized the tactical potential of helicopters and soon created a doctrine of amphibious vertical envelopment. Marines embraced this new assault capability and the subsequent development of purpose-built amphibious assault ships, beginning with the construction of the USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) in 1959. Marine aviation later took advantage of previous British aircraft design work that sought a hybridization of the most useful characteristics of fixed and rotor wing aircraft, bringing the vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) AV-8 Harrier into service in the early 1970s. This revolution in aircraft technology began a decades-long journey for Marine aviation that has seen the development and introduction of the remarkable MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, and will soon be followed by the
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For nearly 100 years, Marine Aviation has demonstrated the adaptability, agility and unique ethos that come with the title ‘Marine.’ Supporting our ground and logistics brothers and sisters, Marine Aviation has forged a lasting legacy of professionalism, innovation and transformation. The centennial of Marine Aviation provides us a unique opportunity to reflect on this legacy of success as we turn our eyes to the future.
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General James F. Amos, 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps (Photo courtesy USMC)
revolutionary F-35B Lightning II, the world’s only fifth generation supersonic short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) strike fighter.
Our nation’s forwarddeployed and forwardengaged expeditionary naval forces have reassured our allies, prevailed over our
Marine Corps Aviation Association Invites Public to Celebrate with Marine Aviators The Marine Corps Aviation Association (MCAA) is a non-profit 501(c) 19 veterans’ organization. Although first chartered in 1972, its genesis dates back to World War I with the First Marine Aviation Force Veterans. As a result, sharing the legacy and heritage of Marine aviation and bringing aviation Marines together, both active duty and retired, is at the core of our mission. MCAA promotes and recognizes professional excellence in Marine aviation, supports the fraternal bond of its membership, preserves Marine aviation heritage and safeguards the future of Marine aviation through awards programs, events and publications. MCAA has 73 corporate members. A large part of our membership comes from the aerospace industry. Through our corporate membership and generous donations, we support numerous awards, scholarship programs, The Wounded Warrior Program and Semper Fi Fund. MCAA
also supports aviation memorials and aircraft museum restorations. The pinnacle of events for our organization is the annual presentation of 28 individual and unit awards to our deserving young Marines—the best of the best! These awards are presented at the annual MCAA Awards Banquet. This year’s event will be held May 16-19 at the Gaylord National Harbor Hotel and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md. On May 16, the public is invited to a wreath laying ceremony at the Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) in Arlington at 4:30 p.m. The ceremony will be followed by an aerial review of 12-16 aircraft. Marine Corps jets will close the aerial review with a Missing Man formation. We encourage you to witness this event, depicting the sacrifices and contributions of 100 years of “Boots in the Air.” Additionally, please visit the Gaylord, where our industry partners will
have spectacular centennial exhibits on display. The hours will be 3-9 p.m. on May 17 and 18. On May 19 the hours will be 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. The celebration of 100 years of Marine Corps aviation also will be the theme of this year’s Joint Service Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base. The public will be able to view the AV-8B Harrier II and MV22 Osprey in action, along with many other active and historic aircraft. The event will be free of charge, 8 a.m.5 p.m. May 19 and 20. Parking is available at FedEx Field and at the Branch Avenue Metro Station, with shuttle buses running to the base until 1 p.m. For more information, see jsoh.org Please visit our website for updates: flymcaa.org
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enemies and demonstrated the truth in the early observation of then Maj. Alfred A. Cunningham when, in September 1920, he stated, “the only excuse for aviation in any service is its usefulness in assisting the troops on the ground to successfully carry out their missions.” The unbreakable bond between Marines on the ground and in the air has been proven repeatedly, from the dark days of the Korean War where Marine aircraft helped keep Communist forces at bay, to Vietnam and now to the modern battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. There, Marine aviation is still continually in the fight every day, safeguarding and supporting our ground forces who continue to press the advantage against America’s enemies. These recent successes stand as evidence that we have learned and applied the lessons of the past and carry out our missions with the same spirit of innovation and focus that has long served as the hallmark of Marine aviation.
An F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter lands aboard the USS Wasp. The F-35B currently being tested is the first supersonic short takeoff and vertical landing strike fighter. (Photo courtesy Lockheed Martin)
FROM MCCUTCHEON PG.1
strikes. Also, aircraft could greatly reduce the risk of hitting the wrong targets close to where troops were fighting, Allison said. The defining moment for this technique occurred during World War II, as Gen. Douglas MacArthur planned his return to the Philippines, Kristy said. Then a 29-year-old operations officer, Lt. Col. McCutcheon organized training for Army infantry and Marine pilots and gunners, preparing them to conduct close air support using the new direct communication procedures. “It worked flawlessly,” Kristy said. “The left flank of MacArthur’s troops was covered entirely by Marine aircraft.” After World War II, McCutcheon switched his focus to helicopters, even though vertical aviation was not respected. “Some pilots didn’t consider rotary wing aviation real flying and saw transitioning to the helicopter program as a career setback,” Ginther said. McCutcheon was one of the early commanders of the Marines’ first helicopter squadron, Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1). After this assignment, he took command of Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron 161 (HMR-161) at the end of 1951, just a few months after it had conducted the first helicopter airlifts of supplies and troops
into a combat area, in a remote mountainous section of Korea. The squadron demonstrated that troops and equipment could be inserted into and evacuated from areas that could not be reached by jeep, ship or fixed-wing aircraft. “Today, helicopters are fundamental to the way we fight, to the way we deliver troops to any part of the battlefield,” Allison said. “You no longer need smooth terrain to land. You can keep the enemy off balance to where you’re going to show up next.” In Korea, helicopter squadrons continued to improve these techniques helping to develop a new assault concept, called vertical envelopment. “Although in the military there’s never one man doing this, he was a lead thinker and worked these policies and these ideas,” Allison said. Vertical envelopment was a response to the introduction of nuclear weapons at the end of World War II. The threat that nuclear weapons posed to an amphibious force made D-Day- or Iwo Jimastyle amphibious landings too risky. McCutcheon and others recognized that the helicopter could be used to deliver Marines quickly to tactically advantageous positions ashore while also allowing the supporting naval ships to
be dispersed away from the beach, Kristy said. “It was a technique that became standard in Vietnam. The helicopter was the key to this kind of assault,” Ginther said. After the Korean War, McCutcheon employed his practical experience and technical background as he met with helicopter manufacturers, pushing them to develop aircraft capable of carrying greater payloads and of operating in extreme environments without breaking down, Ginther said. After serving in Vietnam, McCutcheon returned to the United States as the Marine’s deputy chief of staff (air) and helped persuade Congress to purchase the Harrier. A second-generation variant of the first vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft still flies for the Marines. McCutcheon died of cancer in 1971 at age 55. Ginther, who pored through boxes of the general’s personal papers while researching his dissertation, said McCutcheon was a prolific writer who skillfully promoted his ideas and advocated for Marine aviation. “He had a great passion for the Marine Corps and a great passion for aviation technology and he fused those to leave a great legacy to Marine Corps aviation,” Ginther said.