The Marines have deployed the V-22 Osprey to Iraq – sort of.

BAGHDAD — The controversial V-22 Osprey has arrived in a combat zone for the first time.

It was an epic trip for the innovative tilt-rotor plane, one that took more than 25 years of development and cost 30 lives and $20 billion. Even the last short hop — from an aircraft carrier into Iraq — went awry, U.S. military officials said Monday.

A malfunction forced one of the 10 Ospreys that were deployed to land in Jordan on Thursday. The Marines flew parts to it from Iraq and repaired it. After it took off again Saturday, the problem recurred, and it had to turn back and land in Jordan a second time, said Maj. Jeff Pool, a U.S. military spokesman in western Iraq. It finally was repaired and arrived at al Asad Air Base in western Iraq late Sunday afternoon.

So, apparently one of these beasts just barely made it to shore, rather embarrassing for a new plane that has been 25 years in the making. I don’t know much about airplanes so there isn’t much point in asking whether these machines have that 20th century “pre-flight” thing I used to hear so much about. But still, 9 out of 10 is all right, supposedly.

It’s unfortunate that they didn’t check it out before flying it ashore, and when it had to be landed in Jordan for emergency reasons it took two trips to get the right parts for it.

What happened? Were those replacement parts made by the company building our Taj Mahal in the Green Zone? Here’s hoping that the Osprey’s fire extinguisher system works better than the one in our embassy’s kitchen. (“Even Sprinkler Systems Fail at US Embassy in Baghdad”)

Maj. Eric Dent, an Osprey spokesman at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, declined to identify the problem. "The nature of the malfunction was a minor issue, but our aircrews are top-notch when it comes to safety," he wrote by e-mail. "Rather than continue, the aircrew opted to land at a pre-determined divert location and further investigate the issue."

Now the Osprey is on the world stage, and the burden of proving it's safe, reliable and effective in combat is on the North Carolina-based Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, nicknamed the Thunder Chickens. The unit's mission will be transporting troops and cargo in western Iraq.

A stupid man might not understand why a “minor issue” required two trips to the parts store to get it fixed. He might think that the Osprey requires left hand wrenches, since the birds cost $110 million a copy.

Huh. Hey, buddy, nice to see you at the Tailhook Reunion! What squadron are you from? “Why, I‘m from the fighting Thunder Chickens!” Oh, yah. They’ll be popular.

The machine itself is a big step forward for the Corps and I know we’re all rooting for it to deliver the snuffies somewhere near the crash and clangor of battle – but not too close, since they only carry one .30 machine gun for defensive fire, and the rear ramp has to be lowered to use it. Current plans are to fly near the battle site and unload the troops there and let them march to the sound of the guns, as Napoleon ordered his generals 200 years ago.

It’s also planned to lug cargo in the thing, making it the most expensive delivery truck in the history of mankind.

The Osprey should be a success, though - must be a success, as officers used to say years ago, as they reached for the Mk II pencil. One could say it can only go up, considering its past:

The problem with the flight into Iraq recalled one of the V-22's first big journeys, a transatlantic flight last year to an English air show. One Osprey suffered engine problems and had to made[sic] a precautionary landing in Iceland.

The aircraft has had worse moments, though, including three fatal crashes:

_ In 1992, seven crewmembers were killed when a tilt-rotor crashed into the Potomac River.

_ In April 2000, a V-22 with 19 crew and Marine passengers aboard crashed in Arizona, killing all.

_ In December of the same year, a mechanical problem compounded by a software glitch caused a crash in North Carolina that killed the crew of four.

Any new military hardware can expect teething problems during testing, and more problems appear during operational use. Iraq is a hard test bed; the sandy environment ages equipment faster than anticipated. In expectation of these problems the contractor, Boeing-Bell, has been stockpiling parts - $100 million worth – and has shipped much of them to Iraq, along with 14 technicians to ease the planes into service.

They’ve arrived just in time for the big move. Some Marine and Army leaders have suggested separating the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, and staffing them separately, as discussed below.