After two deadly air accidents in recent weeks, the Marine Corps on Friday ordered its aviation units to briefly ground their aircraft, review the safety of their operations, and study past failures to glean lessons from them.

Gen. Robert B. Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, directed the units to conduct an “operational reset,” a 24-hour period without flights, at some time within the next two weeks. Spreading the pauses over two weeks will limit the number of aircraft that will be grounded at any one time during a time of great tension in several parts of the world, notably the Korean Peninsula.

In a brief statement, the Marines said each unit’s commander would decide when to suspend flight operations, timing the move to minimize disruption to operations.

Units deployed from their home bases, including those close to war zones and potential trouble spots overseas, can ask for an extension of the two-week time frame, said Capt. Ryan E. Alvis, a Marine Corps spokeswoman. </s> In the wake of two deadly aviation accidents, the Marine Corps has ordered a 24 hour "operational reset" that will ground all of its aircraft to reinforce safety and training procedures among Marine pilots, air crews and maintenance teams.

The pause ordered by General Robert Neller, the commandant of the Marine Corps, will occur at the discretion of unit commanders over the next two weeks, so as to not impact air operations.

According to a Marine statement, the operational reset will "focus on the fundamentals of safe flight operations, standardization, and combat readiness."

"The intent is for flying squadrons to review selected incidents which occurred enterprise-wide and study historical examples of completed investigations in order to bring awareness and best practices to the fleet," the statement continued.

The safety stand down was ordered after three Marines were killed last week when a MV-22 Osprey aircraft crashed off the coast of Australia. In July, 15 Marines and a sailor were killed in the crash of a Marine Reserve KC-130T in Mississippi.

The last time the Marine Corps conducted such a safety stand down was in August 2016, following a series of fatal F/A-18 crashes. </s> The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered all its aircraft grounded for a 24 hour-period following two deadly recent crashes in which 19 service members were killed.

“General Robert B. Neller, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, directed U.S. Marine Corps aviation units to conduct an operational reset for a 24 hour-period where no flight operations will take place but no operational commitments will be impacted,” the USMC said in a statement Friday.

“This operational reset will occur within the next two weeks and will be taken at the discretion of commanders, based on their unit's operational commitments, to focus on the fundamentals of safe flight operations, standardization, and combat readiness,” the statement continued.

The move affects about 800 total aircraft, and does not include those currently deployed, a U.S. Marine Corps spokesman confirmed to Fox News.

MARINE CORPS LIFTS GROUNDING OF MV-22 OSPREY AND OTHER AIRCRAFT IN DEPLOYED UNIT FOLLOWING CRASH

On Monday, the submerged wreckage of a U.S. military aircraft was found two days after it crashed off the east coast of Australia, killing three U.S. Marines. The MV-22 crashed while on final approach to USS Green Bay, a Navy amphibious ship off the east coast of Australia.

And in July, 15 Marines and one Navy Corpsman were killed when their U.S. military plane spiraled out of the sky and crashed in a Mississippi field.

News of the grounding comes after President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday morning, in response to threats from North Korea, “Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!”

The USMC said that the 24 hour-period grounding is not unusual.

“Pauses in operations are not uncommon and are viewed as a responsible step to refresh and review best practices and procedures so our units remain capable, safe, and ready,” the USMC said in their statement.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> The commandant of the US Marine Corps announced a 24-hour operational pause for all of the branch’s aircraft Friday, a move that comes after the Marines suffered two deadly crashes in recent weeks.

“Gen. Robert B. Neller, Commandant of the US Marine Corps, directed US Marine Corps aviation units to conduct an operational reset for a 24 hour-period where no flight operations will take place but no operational commitments will be impacted,” the Marine Corps said in a statement.

The pause will affect all Marine Corps aircraft, including those with tilt-rotors, helicopters and fixed-wing planes.

Each unit commander will have the flexibility to carry out the pause at his or her discretion within a two-week period, meaning not all aircraft will be grounded at the same time. This will allow Marines currently performing combat missions to continue operating and come up with a plan to ensure that operational commitments are not affected by the pause.

The operational reset is not related to any equipment issues, and the Marines plan to use the 24-hour period “to focus on the fundamentals of safe flight operations, standardization, and combat readiness.” Flying squadrons will review selected incidents and study historical examples of completed investigations “in order to bring awareness and best practices to the fleet.”

The pause comes after two major Marine Corps aviation accidents. An MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed last week while operating off the coast of Australia, killing three of the 26 Marines on board. A KC-130T transport plane crashed in Mississippi in July, resulting in the death of 15 Marines and a Navy corpsman

“Pauses in operations are not uncommon and are viewed as a responsible step to refresh and review best practices and procedures so our units remain capable, safe, and ready,” the Marine Corps statement said. </s> Marine Corps aviation units have been ordered to ground all aircraft for 24 hours to focus on safety.

Gen. Robert Neller, Marine Corps commandant, said unit commanders could schedule the pause at their discretion within a two-week period. A statement said the halt to flight operations will not affect operational commitments.

The order comes after two recent crashes of Marine Corps aircraft.

Last weekend, a Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey crashed off the coast of Australia. Three Marines died in the crash.

July 10, a Marine Corps C-130 crashed in Mississippi. All 16 aboard were killed: 15 Marines and a Navy corpsman.

As yet, investigators have not announced a cause for either crash.

The Marine Corps statement said aviation units will use the 24-hour suspension:



"...to focus on the fundamentals of safe flight operations, standardization, and combat readiness. The intent is for flying squadrons to review selected incidents which occurred enterprise-wide and study historical examples of completed investigations in order to bring awareness and best practices to the fleet. Pauses in operations are not uncommon and are viewed as a responsible step to refresh and review tbest practices and procedures so our units remain capable, safe, and ready." </s> The US Marine Corps on Friday announced a 24-hour operational pause for all of its aircrafts after two major deadly crashes in recent weeks. “Gen. Robert B. Neller, Commandant of the US Marine Corps, directed US Marine Corps aviation units to conduct an operational reset for a 24 hour-period where no flight operations will take place but no operational commitments will be impacted,” Xinhua quoted a statement from Marine Corps as saying. “Pauses in operations are not uncommon and are viewed as a responsible step to refresh and review best practices and procedures so our units remain capable, safe, and ready,” the statement added.

The halt will affect all Marine Corps aircrafts, including those with tilt-rotors, helicopters and fixed-wing planes. However, each unit commander can carry out the pause at his or her discretion within a two-week period, meaning those currently performing combat missions can continue operating and come up with a plan to ensure these missions are not affected by the pause.

Last week an MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed while operating off the coast of Australia, killing three of the 26 Marines on board. In July, a KC-130T transport plane crashed in the southern state of Mississippi, resulting in the death of 15 Marines and a Navy corpsman. </s> The commandant of the US Marine Corps announced a 24-hour operational pause for all of the branch’s aircraft Friday, a move that comes after the Marines suffered two deadly crashes in recent weeks.

“Gen. Robert B. Neller, Commandant of the US Marine Corps, directed US Marine Corps aviation units to conduct an operational reset for a 24 hour-period where no flight operations will take place but no operational commitments will be impacted,” the Marine Corps said in a statement.

The pause will affect all Marine Corps aircraft, including those with tilt-rotors, helicopters and fixed-wing planes.

Each unit commander will have the flexibility to carry out the pause at his or her discretion within a two-week period, meaning not all aircraft will be grounded at the same time. This will allow Marines currently performing combat missions to continue operating and come up with a plan to ensure that operational commitments are not affected by the pause.

The operational reset is not related to any equipment issues, and the Marines plan to use the 24-hour period “to focus on the fundamentals of safe flight operations, standardization, and combat readiness.” Flying squadrons will review selected incidents and study historical examples of completed investigations “in order to bring awareness and best practices to the fleet.”

The pause comes after two major Marine Corps aviation accidents. An MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed last week while operating off the coast of Australia, killing three of the 26 Marines on board. A KC-130T transport plane crashed in Mississippi in July, resulting in the death of 15 Marines and a Navy corpsman

“Pauses in operations are not uncommon and are viewed as a responsible step to refresh and review best practices and procedures so our units remain capable, safe, and ready,” the Marine Corps statement said.

The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mac Thornberry, issued a statement shortly after the announcement which said that the pause underscored a need for increased defense spending.

“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,” Thornberry said.

“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,” he added.

Thornberry’s committee has proposed a major defense spending increase, with a significantly higher topline number than what has been proposed by President Donald Trump’s budget.

The Defense Department has long said that budget constraints and the need to carry out ongoing operations has caused readiness and training to become less of a priority in past years.

“Because readiness is something you can defer to the future, we deferred a lot of training during that time period in order to make those numbers work,” Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month.

But Selva cautioned tying individual accidents like the KC-130T crash to a reduction in training, saying senators and others “should be careful” about drawing snap conclusions. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — The Marine Corps commandant has ordered all of the Marine aviation units to stop flight operations for a 24-hour period at some point in the next two weeks to focus on safety and combat readiness.

Gen. Robert Neller’s order comes days after three Marines were killed when their MV-22 Osprey aircraft crashed into the sea off the coast of Australia. The Osprey had launched from the USS Bonhomme Richard, and 23 of 26 personnel on the aircraft were rescued.

The flying squadrons will review flight incidents and other crash investigations to make Marines better aware of procedures and best practices. The goal is to make sure units are capable, safe and ready.

Units will determine the timing of the 24-hour stand-down so it will not affect any combat operations. </s> FILE PHOTO: Two U.S. Marines MV-22 Osprey Aircraft sit on the apron of Sydney International Airport in Australia, June 29, 2017. Picture taken June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo

(Reuters) - The U.S. Marine Corps on Friday ordered its aircraft squadrons to suspend flight operations for 24 hours sometime during the next two weeks to review procedures after two of its planes crashed, killing dozens.

General Robert Neller, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, directed aviation units to time the suspensions in a way that would not disrupt “operational commitments,” the Marine Corps said in a statement on Friday. Commanders will determine the schedule for their units.

“Pauses in operations are not uncommon and are viewed as a responsible step to refresh and review best practices and procedures so our units remain capable, safe, and ready,” the statement said.

Last weekend, a Marine MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed off northeastern Australia, killing three Marines aged 19 to 26. Twenty-three others on the craft were rescued.

In July, a KC-130 Hercules transport plane crashed in Mississippi, killing 16 service members, including reservists from New York state and active-duty Marines based in North Carolina.

The Osprey is built by Boeing Co and Textron Inc’s Bell Helicopter. It is designed to lift off like a helicopter and then rotate its blades to fly like a plane.

The KC-130 Hercules is produced by Lockheed Martin Corp. It carries cargo, conducts in-air refueling, and can carry 92 ground troops or 64 paratroopers, according to the U.S. Navy website.

Last December, the U.S. grounded its MV-22 Osprey aircraft in Japan at the request of Tokyo following a crash southwest of Okinawa. The aircraft has been a lightning rod for opponents to the heavy U.S. military presence on Okinawa, which lies south of the main Japanese island group. </s> JAPAN — Five U.S. Marines who were missing after two aircraft collided mid-air off the coast of Japan on Thursday morning have been declared dead, the U.S. Marine Corps said.

The U.S. military called off its search for the Marines on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Marine Expeditionary Force.

“The Marine Corps has pronounced the five remaining Marines involved in the F/A-18 and KC-130 aviation mishap deceased,” the Marine Corps said in a statement. “The change in status comes at the conclusion of search and rescue operations.”

The identities of the Marines have not been released, but the Marine Corps said their next of kin have been notified.

“Every possible effort was made to recover our crew, and I hope the families of these selfless Americans will find comfort in the incredible efforts made by the U.S., Japanese, and Australian forces during the search,” Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, commander of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, said in the statement.

U.S., Japanese and Australian forces conducted more than 800 hours of air and maritime search operations, covering more than 35,000 square miles of ocean, US Forces Japan said in a statement.

The five Marines were among seven crew aboard two aircraft — a KC-130 and F/A-18 — that collided Thursday at 1:42 a.m. local time about 200 miles (320 kilometers) off the coast of Japan. The planes had launched from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, the Marine Corps said in a statement.

The death toll from the accident now stands at six. Two Marines were rescued following the crash. One of them, Capt. Jahmar F. Resilard, 28, later died, the Marine Corps said.

The Marine Corps initially said the accident occurred during an aerial refueling that was part of routine training, but on Tuesday said it is “not confirmed” that refueling was ongoing when the collision occurred. The primary mission of a KC-130 is airborne refueling.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The two planes belonged to the U.S. Marine Corps, assigned to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

While the cause of Thursday’s crash is under investigation, it comes a year after a spate of incidents — most involving ships assigned to the U.S. 7th Fleet — that included the deaths of 17 sailors.

In August 2017, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin was relieved of his duty as the commander of 7th Fleet following a deadly collision between the destroyer USS John S. McCain and a merchant ship off Singapore that left 10 U.S. sailors dead.

In June the same year, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, also of the 7th Fleet, collided with a cargo ship off Japan, killing seven U.S. sailors.

Those two fatal collisions were “avoidable” and “numerous failures occurred on the part of leadership,” a Navy report concluded November last year.

Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee as part of an investigation into the series of fatal crashes and collisions at sea, the Navy’s No. 2 officer, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Moran, said the Navy was trying to do too much with too little.

“We continue to have a supply-and-demand problem which is placing a heavy strain on the force,” said Moran. “All of these things culminate with this notion we aren’t big enough to do everything we’re being tasked to do.”

Surveys of sailors aboard the Japan-based guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh carried out between June 2015 and August 2017 pointed to severe morale problems.

One sailor described serving aboard the ship as being akin to being on “a floating prison,” according to surveys obtained via the Freedom of Information Act by Navy Times.

In the wake of the incidents, the U.S. Navy began reevaluating its operations and included efforts to improve conditions for sailors and personnel, according to the Navy Times in April.

Still, accidents have continued. Most recently, a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier the USS Ronald Reagan in the Philippine Sea in October, injuring 12 personnel on board.
Because of a recent pair of deadly crashes, the U.S. Marine Corps will ground its flight operations for 24 hours for an operational reset. The suspensions will be spread out over the next two weeks.