My brother the Marine, hates these things. He knew several good marines who died in crashes because these things were supposedly ready to go.
When was their last crash? and who did he know?
I really hate to point this out but at least 40 Marines have died in Helicopter crashes since the last Osprey crash but no one is calling for the retirement of the CH-53 and CH-46's that Those Marines died in, and they were "ready to go" and have been so since the days of Viet Nam.
And there is no other replacement on the horizon for the CH-46.
I do not know the specifics, how can you ask me to ask my brother about the guys he knew that died? He is a career marine inthe Force Recon. If there is no other option, it seems pretty crappy that all the eggs are in one basket.