WEBVTT

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What was your reaction when you sat in

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the cockpit and flew it for the first

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time ? I thought

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This thing just got it had so much

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acceleration when you threw the

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throttle throttle forward . Just so

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much acceleration . You went from 0

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to 120 in about 7 or 8 seconds .

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And uh and then you rotated the nozzles

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down and then you were flying and

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rotating them out and accelerated away .

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Great , I just thought it was the best

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thing in the world . Still think that .

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The AV-8A Harrier , the first fully

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operational V-stall , vertical short

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takeoff , landing , attack and fighter

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aircraft in the free world , is now 4

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rotatable nozzles , 2 on each side of

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the aircraft fuselage , can be rotated

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through an arc of 100 degrees by a

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single lever in the cockpit . The

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Marine Corps has had a long-standing

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requirement for an aircraft such as the

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Harrier to provide essential close air

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support during all phases of amphibious

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operations . The Harrier with

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its unique basing flexibility ensures

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continuous responsive and survival .

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The Harrier is the first of a new

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generation of tactical aircraft .

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In the air , maneuverability , its

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small size , and high performance make

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carrier a difficult target for enemy

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gunners . With

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Harrier in the fleet Marine forces ,

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marine aviation is better equipped than

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ever before to support the landing

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forces in the attainment of our

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national objectives .

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I'll never forget the day I , I first

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was able to fly a B model , so single

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seat by myself and came after a ways

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of training but uh rewarding for sure .

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It was designed to be able to hop

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through Europe . We needed something

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that could go into a smaller area ,

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potentially in the woods , you know ,

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land vertically , rearm , and take off

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vertically and go fight , uh , and that

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was the concept the British came up

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with . We've bought into that , we

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being the Marine Corps , we're able to

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continue kind of that concept

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throughout landing on the LHD and LHA ,

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Navy ships only 800 ft long , right ?

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We always come in and land vertically .

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Uh , you can take off vertically as

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well and and follow on . You know , it

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was a requirement for one of the models

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of the F-35 to be able to do the same

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thing on those LHA LHD ship . Uh , the

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concept still proves valid today . From

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the mountains of Afghanistan to the

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desert of Iraq and even long before

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that in the conflict of the Middle East

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and through the 80s and 70s as the as

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the aircraft was being developed ,

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we've been able to maintain that

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relevance . Even now as we speak ,

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we're currently in the process of

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redeploying our last ever Harrier

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deployment .

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Operating the AVB from the MU ,

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specifically from the ship Iwo Jima ,

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it's incredibly demanding , high tempo ,

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very little workspace , very little

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room on the deck . Uh , we're sharing

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it with other type model series of

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aircraft . This

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isn't just a normal rotation force .

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This isn't a normal uh deployment .

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This is the last deployment of uh this

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incredible platform .

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We're representing over 50 years of the

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Harrier between 88A and then into the

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88B .

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We're wrapping up a big legacy for the

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Harrier and every maintainer , every

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admin marine , every pilot knows this .

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It was in many ways a groundbreaking .

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Triumph for the Marine Corps and naval

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aviation . Most of the carriers that we

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worked off of like the Nassau and the

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Saipan , they all had flight decks of

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about 850 ft long , but we only needed

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about 300 ft to take off with with what

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we call a short takeoff . You know , we

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are the benchmark for expeditionary air

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power operating from the ship , and

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then the big thing is we provide that

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benchmark for close air support ,

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delivering customer support for the

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marine on the deck , you know , on time ,

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on target , making sure we're keeping

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those guys where they need to be .

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Display gun sight projected on the

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windscreen deliver a wide variety of

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ordinance .

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Too many memories to explain , but you

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know . Definitely has a special place

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in my life , so I'll never forget , you

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know , I'll continue to tell those

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stories .

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Yeah just proud to be a part of this

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team and uh excited for the first week

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of June when we welcome back uh our

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Harrier , uh , our team Harrier , Harry

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nation . Over all the years , many

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decades of folks are coming back and so

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try to uh sun down this aircraft in a

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way that makes makes everybody proud is

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what our goal's been for a long time

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now , so I'm excited to do it .