thedrifter
04-12-08, 07:00 AM
Corps gets new Osprey squadron
Redesignated unit switches commanders
April 11, 2008 - 11:49PM
BY AMANDA HICKEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
With a warm wind blowing the flags of all 50 states, the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 got a glimpse of its future - as a new commander took the helm.
But the Marines and sailors also witnessed their unit became a bit of the past.
Moments after Lt. Col. James G. Flynn relinquished command to Lt. Col Anthony J. Bianca, the squadron was redesignated as Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, the newest MV-22 Osprey squadron in the Marine Corps.
"This is a first," said Col. Steven Rudder. "Today we did a change of command, (and) we changed the colors on this day."
Some Marines, he said, were already training, but the squadron will begin flying together July 1.
The squadron, Bianca said, has a lot coming its way in the future.
"We've got a lot to do. I am blessed by this group, this legacy. ... We are ready. This transformation is going to work," he said, adding that it would be done with military efficiency.
The squadron, Bianca said, is not about the machines on which it works.
"It's not about those flying machines, not a bit. It's about those Marines," he said.
HMM-261 was formed in 1951 and has been involved in every conflict since, the narrator told the audience.
"In 1951, the squadron stood up, and it has not stood down," Flynn said.
As Flynn stood on the tarmac looking at the Marines standing at attention, he said he wished that he were in Bianca's shoes.
"This truly is the best of VMM-261," Flynn said.
Flynn, who will attend the National War College this summer, was transferred to HMM-261 in July 2006 and assumed command in November 2007. From January 2007 until March, he commanded HMM-261, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. It deployed aboard USS Kearsage from August 2007 to January 2008, according to the biography provided at the change of command.
During that deployment, the squadron participated in Kuwaiti Sustainment Training Exercise, Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, Sea Angel II and flight operations in direct support of the United States Presidential visit to Israel, according to information provided at the change of command.
Bianca is taking command of VMM-261 after serving as the transition officer with Marine Aircraft Group 26 MV-22.
Bianca graduated from Auburn University in December 1989 and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
He is also a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, the Infantry Officers Course, the Aviation Intelligence Officers Course, Defense Acquisition University Test and Evaluation Course, and the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, according to the biography provided.
Contact Jacksonville and Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at ahickey@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8463. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.
Ellie
Redesignated unit switches commanders
April 11, 2008 - 11:49PM
BY AMANDA HICKEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
With a warm wind blowing the flags of all 50 states, the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 got a glimpse of its future - as a new commander took the helm.
But the Marines and sailors also witnessed their unit became a bit of the past.
Moments after Lt. Col. James G. Flynn relinquished command to Lt. Col Anthony J. Bianca, the squadron was redesignated as Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, the newest MV-22 Osprey squadron in the Marine Corps.
"This is a first," said Col. Steven Rudder. "Today we did a change of command, (and) we changed the colors on this day."
Some Marines, he said, were already training, but the squadron will begin flying together July 1.
The squadron, Bianca said, has a lot coming its way in the future.
"We've got a lot to do. I am blessed by this group, this legacy. ... We are ready. This transformation is going to work," he said, adding that it would be done with military efficiency.
The squadron, Bianca said, is not about the machines on which it works.
"It's not about those flying machines, not a bit. It's about those Marines," he said.
HMM-261 was formed in 1951 and has been involved in every conflict since, the narrator told the audience.
"In 1951, the squadron stood up, and it has not stood down," Flynn said.
As Flynn stood on the tarmac looking at the Marines standing at attention, he said he wished that he were in Bianca's shoes.
"This truly is the best of VMM-261," Flynn said.
Flynn, who will attend the National War College this summer, was transferred to HMM-261 in July 2006 and assumed command in November 2007. From January 2007 until March, he commanded HMM-261, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. It deployed aboard USS Kearsage from August 2007 to January 2008, according to the biography provided at the change of command.
During that deployment, the squadron participated in Kuwaiti Sustainment Training Exercise, Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, Sea Angel II and flight operations in direct support of the United States Presidential visit to Israel, according to information provided at the change of command.
Bianca is taking command of VMM-261 after serving as the transition officer with Marine Aircraft Group 26 MV-22.
Bianca graduated from Auburn University in December 1989 and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
He is also a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, the Infantry Officers Course, the Aviation Intelligence Officers Course, Defense Acquisition University Test and Evaluation Course, and the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, according to the biography provided.
Contact Jacksonville and Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at ahickey@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8463. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.
Ellie