Marine Corps Col. Matt Mulhern, head of the V-22 Osprey program at NAS Patuxent River, Md., told reporters in Washington Wednesday that he expects DOD and Marine Corps leadership to sign off on an overseas deployment for the MV-22 as soon as this fall. However, he said the decision to go ahead remains the call of Commandant Gen. James Conway, who last month sang the aircraft’s praises but was not ready to commit publicly to a date.
The Air Force recently released an updated policy implementing the Pentagon’s new guidance on troops’ religious accommodation requests. The new policy emphasizes the role commanders play in reviewing such requests, limiting the role of chaplains and eliminating special boards meant to advise leaders.