Thornberry on Marine Corps Flight Pause

Washington, DC, August 11, 2017
WASHINGTON - Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) made the following statement regarding the Marine Corps decision to require all aviation units to pause operations for 24 hours over the next two weeks in order to address safety concerns. The House Armed Services Committee has strongly and repeatedly raised concerns about aviation readiness in the Marine Corps and other Services since the Spring of 2016. Since that time Marines have suffered 18 “Class A Mishaps”- accidents that result in the loss of lives or of the aircraft. 22 Marines died in those accidents.

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) made the following statement regarding the Marine Corps decision to require all aviation units to pause operations for 24 hours over the next two weeks in order to address safety concerns. The House Armed Services Committee has strongly and repeatedly raised concerns about aviation readiness in the Marine Corps and other Services since the Spring of 2016. Since that time Marines have suffered 18 "Class A Mishaps"- accidents that result in the loss of lives or of the aircraft. 22 Marines died in those accidents.

"The Marine Corps decision to temporarily ground all aircraft is further, indisputable evidence that America's military is in a readiness crisis, and that the crisis is costing lives. Washington has asked our military to do too much with too little for too long. As threats continue to grow, Congress must act as soon as possible to provide our military with all of the resources they need to repair what can be fixed and replace what cannot be repaired. It would be immoral to continue to use military funding as political leverage in the face of such striking evidence that our military is in a crisis that is partly of our own making."