By Geoff Fein
The chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee yesterday threatened to “compel” the Department of Defense to provide reports and information on the V-22 Osprey before a hearing rescheduled for two weeks from now.
“We had hoped to conduct today a thorough examination of the Defense Department’s V-22 Osprey, an aircraft with a controversial past, a troubled present, and an uncertain future,” Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), committee chairman, told Marine Lt. Gen. George Trautman, deputy commandant for aviation.
“However, the Defense Department has evidently decided to stonewall our investigation,” Towns added, before abruptly adjourning the hearing.
Despite repeated reminders from the committee, DoD has not produced the requested documents, he said.
Towns told Trautman to inform Pentagon officials the committee will pursue its investigation of the Osprey even harder than it has to date. “We will not be slow-rolled. We will not be ignored,” Towns said.
“I intend to conduct a full investigation of the Osprey, not just an investigation of the information that you want me to see,” Towns added. “We hope you will provide it voluntarily, but if you do not, we will compel your compliance.”
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif), ranking member, agreed with Towns’ decision to postpone the hearing.
“Chairman Towns and I, this morning, agreed that the failure by the Department of Defense to turn over pertinent information to this committee’s investigation made a postponement necessary,” Issa said. “This postponement does not weaken our bipartisan resolve to carefully and fairly evaluate the V-22 program. I want to be clear that the immediate reason for this postponement was not the Marine Corps, which gathered requested information, but rather a bureaucratic failure of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which has not authorized the release of these documents.”
Before adjourning the hearing, Towns told the witnesses to return in two weeks to present their testimony.
Trautman declined to comment after the meeting.
As of yesterday afternoon, the committee had not yet scheduled a new date for the hearing.
The Marine Corps was disappointed it was unable to discuss the V-22’s performance and capabilities with the committee, Maj. Eric Dent, a Marine Corps spokesman, told Defense Daily.
“While we understand Chairman Towns’ decision to postpone the hearing, we (Marine Corps) are disappointed that we did not get the opportunity to discuss with the committee the Osprey’s remarkable performance in Iraq over the past 19 months,” Dent said. “As we were today, we remain prepared to discuss every aspect of the Osprey program with Congress. We are fully committed to openness and transparency; in fact, we’ve been working hand-in-hand with the Government Accountability Office for the past year in its own review of the Osprey program.”
Towns is seeking information on the cost, capability, and sustainment of the V-22.
In a May 5, 2009 letter to Defense Secretary Gates, Towns requested a list, by bureau number, of all V-22 Osprey aircraft acquired by the DoD, including date of acquisition, current location, and whether still in service, and a list, by bureau number, of all V-22s acquired by DoD, indicating the readiness condition of each aircraft for each day for the period beginning with the initial operational capability date in March 2007 through April 30, 2009, and the specific reasons for each aircraft not being mission capable or fully mission capable.
According to Towns’ letter, “The readiness condition should be specified according to the following categories:”
- Mission capable;
- Full mission capable;
- Non-Mission capable supply;
- Non-mission capable maintenance;
- Partial mission capable supply; and
- Partial mission capable maintenance
Additionally, Towns requested the Marine Corps provide two reports by the Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned. The first report is on lessons learned and observations from VMM-263, which was deployed for combat operations in Iraq from October ’07 to April ’08.
The second report covers lessons and observations for Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-266, which was deployed for combat operations in Iraq from September ’08 to April ’09.
Towns also is seeking all “memos, studies and reports that discuss, assess, or analyze: (a) the overall readiness condition and availability of the V-22 aircraft; and (b) the operational effectiveness and operational sustainability of the V-22s used in Iraq since October 2007.”
He requested the information be delivered to the committee no later than 4 p.m. May 14.
The team of Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT]-Boeing [BA] is building the V-22 for the Marine Corps as well as the Air Force, Navy, and Special Operations Command.
Earlier this week, Trautman told members of the House Armed Services Committee seapower subcommittee that the V-22 has performed well in the most severe, hostile environments during combat operations in Iraq.
He added that the Marine Corps just completed three highly successful combat rotations to Iraq and last week a fourth V-22 squadron deployed with the Marine Expeditionary Unit that will be in the theater for the next six to seven months.