Commander: "It's Like Winning The Lottery"

If you see the Marines attached to All-Weather Fighter Squadron 332 in Beaufort, NC, walking with a particular swagger these days, indulge them. Congratulate them. They derserve it.

The squadron Wednesday was honored as the Corps' first tactical unit ever to have flown 100,000 hours without a major mishap.

"By itself, the sheer numbers are monumental," said Lt. Gen. Jim Amos, commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, headquartered at Camp Lejeune, N.C. "It's almost like winning the lottery." He was quoted in the Charlotte Observer.

Only three other aviation units flying the F/A-18 have flown 100,000 hours with no major safety infractions. They're all Navy units.

It's an amazing achievement, considering the condutions in which Marine aviators fly. "Typically, it's at two o'clock in the morning on night-vision goggles over a town like Baghdad in... blowing sand," Amos told the Observer.

The record was set May 24th, as Captains Greg Summa ("Sumo") and Mark Bortnem were on a ground-support training mission, according to Squadron commander Lt. Col. Dave Wilbur ("Pony"). Yes, they knew what was at stake.

"It wasn't like we went out and said, `Be real careful. Fly the airplane real smooth and don't screw this up,' " Wilbur told the Observer. "We took them out there. We strapped bombs on the airplane. They went up there and they were done."

Perhaps it's the best of omens. Squadron 332 will soon deploy to Iraq's Al Asad Air Base, near the Syrian border, for a seven-month tour.

FMI: www.2maw.usmc.mil/mag31/vmfaaw332/default.asp