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thedrifter
09-14-03, 06:08 AM
Colonel has job of getting Osprey back in air
September 13,2003
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Col. Glenn M. Waters has been a test pilot, an aviation procurement officer and a career helicopter gunship jockey. Now he finds himself steering the helm for the future of the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor program.

Waters, 46, of Vienna, Va., took command in August of the new Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 at New River Air Station. The former AH-1W Super Cobra pilot, will oversee the next round of Osprey testing. What the Marine Corps calls an operational evaluation should start in the next year.

Although Waters was primarily an attack pilot, he spent more than four years, from 1989 to 1994, as an experimental test pilot at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. At that time he flew nearly everything in the U.S. inventory, including CH-46 Sea Knights, CH-53E Super Stallions and even vintage U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers.

"They try to get you used to everything," Waters said.

During his time at Patuxent River, Waters often had the duty of flying a stripped down version of the Cobra to chase the Osprey during test flights.

"It used to bring tears to my eyes, especially during transitions," Waters said. "It would transition to an airplane mode and then he was gone. When he transitioned back to helicopter mode - you can't slow down that fast in a helicopter."

His most recent tour in Washington was on the staff of Undersecretary of Defense Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge, who was an outspoken critic of the Osprey program before he retired last May.

It was there that Waters oversaw projects from all military services on rotary wing aircraft that included the Army's new stealth RAH-66A Comanche and heavy lift CH-47SD Chinook, as well as the Osprey.

"The operational testing is going to take place here and we're in an unusual position," Waters said. "We're a Marine Corps squadron under administrative control to the (Marine) deputy commandant for aviation, but we're under operational control to the Operational Test and Evaluation Force (in Norfolk). They test everything in the Department of the Navy to include submarines, ships and planes."

In his 24 years of Marine Corps service, Waters has focused mainly on flying and on the Marine Corps.

Waters was stationed at the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He was at a nearby gym, watching the towers burning on television, when a plane crashed into the military headquarters.

Now Waters and his wife Gale are settling into their Sneads Ferry home at North Shore Country Club. Waters likes to play golf and can walk out of his yard and onto the fairway.

So far, the couple likes eastern North Carolina.

"The people here are a lot nicer than Washington, D.C., and Gale's already looking to buy a watercraft of some kind," Waters said.

Waters says his style of leadership is a composite of those he's worked for. He takes some of the ideals and methods of each. The background should come in handy in dealing with the Osprey, an aircraft with a history of fatal crashes.

"I've been blessed with serving with a bunch of great Marine leaders," Waters said. "I've seen them react to mishaps. The Osprey program has had its ups and downs, but I'm a firm believer in it."

Waters has finished his Osprey ground school and will be practicing in the simulator until he gets his day at the stick.

"From a gun attack background, I have to say that this is a truly unique American endeavor," Waters said. "When we're successful in the military, it has other implications."

From the second floor window in his office Waters watches mechanics working on three older model Ospreys that need to be refit with the latest improvements.

The newest Ospreys off the assembly line will be coming in soon, outfitted with the changes recommended by a panel assembled after an Osprey crashed just outside Jacksonville in 2000. His newest test pilots are in training at Patuxent River.

"We should get the first new Block A aircraft with the recommended fixes and four fully qualified test pilots by the end of next month," Waters said.

Waters understands that the stakes are high for the Osprey.

"It's a good thing, but I've never seen this much emphasis put on an aircraft," Waters said. "It's really appropriate to do this here near Kitty Hawk. It has a great historical perspective."

Eric Steinkopff can be reached at esteinkopff@jdnews.com or 353-1171, Ext. 236.


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Sempers,

Roger
:marine: