Photo By Glenn Fawcett | One of the pilots of an MV-22 Osprey straps Secretary of Defense Ash Carter into his...... read more read more
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PAYA LEBAR AIR BASE, Singapore – Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and his staff flew with U.S. Marines aboard an MV-22B Osprey to survey the Straits of Malacca off the coast of Singapore, May 29.
The observation of one of the most important shipping lanes in the world was in conjunction to the Secretary of Defense’s visit to Singapore for the attendance of the 14th International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. The Secretary of Defense met with important leaders in the defense and security community and spoke about the United States’ advocacy for equality in economic opportunity.
“The United States wants a future in which an Indonesian fisherman, an energy executive from Malaysia, an entrepreneur from Singapore, a small business owner from California or a Chinese business woman, just to name a few, have the security and opportunity to rise and prosper,” said Carter.
The highlight for the Marines was the opportunity to take the Secretary of Defense on an Osprey in order to survey the straits.
“The Marines did an outstanding job,” said Maj. Brian Psolka, the operations officer for Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 (Reinforced), 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. “We were able to accomplish the mission by allowing the Secretary of Defense to fly over and receive a first-hand view of the hundreds of ships, showing the vital role of those straits.”
All of the Marines worked around the clock to get the aircraft ready for the flight.
“I feel that as a crew, we couldn’t have performed any better,” said Sgt. Charles Covington, an Osprey crew chief with VMM-265 (Rein), 31st MEU. “The pilots were on top of everything.”
Utilizing the Osprey’s airplane mode, the Marines were able to take off from Paya Lebar Air Base and get the Secretary of Defense to the Straits of Malacca in less than an hour. Then converting to helicopter mode, the Secretary of Defense was given an advantageous view of the ship-congested waters.
“I don’t think there would have been any other aircraft we could have used,” said Covington, from Sykesville, Md. “There are no other aircraft out there that could have pulled off this mission in the timely manner that we did.”
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2015 19:22 |
| Story ID: | 165539 |
| Location: | PAYA LEBAR AIR BASE, SG |
| Hometown: | GRAND LEDGE, MI, US |
| Hometown: | SYKESVILLE, MD, US |
| Hometown: | YUMA, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 139 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Marines fly secretary of defense over Straits of Malacca, by Cpl Ryan Mains, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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