Free Republic

U.S. Special Operations Forces had to fight “hand to hand” in Friday night’s raid that killed the Islamic State terrorist group senior commander Abu Sayyaf, several defense officials told The Daily Beast Saturday. Troops from the U.S. Army Delta Force landed near a multi-story building with Ospreys and Blackhawks and were met with resistance when they entered, including “hand to hand” combat, one official told The Daily Beast. There was some resistance from armed guards and from the terrorist commander himself, but the troops were well prepared to handle that, another official said.

Necessity has become the mother of invention for certain birds of prey looking for a place to lay their eggs and raise their young as their natural habitats are lost to development. Local ospreys, for instance, are getting creative about selecting nesting sites in the wild ... or not-so-wild sites in the area. Pairs of ospreys, one of North America's largest birds of prey with a wing span of up to six feet, are currently building nests in densely developed sites in the region. One of the couples is weaving branches together atop a utility pole along busy Post Road...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2009 – After three successful combat deployments over more than 19 consecutive months, Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys will begin a global deployment with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, a senior Marine aviation official said yesterday. “The Marine Corps views these first three deployments of the Osprey into combat as marvelously successful,” Lt. Gen. George J. Trautman III, deputy commandant of aviation, said during a “DoD Live” bloggers roundtable. “The aircraft completed every assigned mission, and it did so flying faster, farther, and with safer flight profiles than any other assault support aircraft in the history of military...

070929-N-1189B-196 MEDITERRANEAN SEA (Sept. 29, 2007) - An MV-22 "Osprey" attached to Marine Medium Tilt-rotor Squadron (VMM) 263 takes to the air from the flight deck of the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1). Wasp is on a surge deployment bringing the Osprey on its first combat deployment to the Middle East. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zachary L. Borden (RELEASED) 070929-N-1189B-126 MEDITERRANEAN SEA (Sept. 29, 2007) - An MV-22 "Osprey" attached to Marine Medium Tilt-rotor Squadron (VMM) 263 takes to the air from the flight deck of the multipurpose amphibious assault ship...

A squadron of MV-22 Ospreys will be operating out of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station starting today. The Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron will be training at the base until Sept. 8. People in the area can expect to see the aircraft flying around the area. The Osprey is the military's first tilt-rotor production aircraft. It can go from flying horizontally at 200 mph to landing vertically like a helicopter in 45 seconds, carrying up to 24 people at a time.