Not Combat Ready: U.S. Marine Corps

Caption: Two CH-53E Super Stallions depart the flight deck of USS Essex. (Marvin E. Thompson Jr./U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

 

The United States Marine Corps aviation wing is suffering from the burden of 15-years’ worth of fighting and budget cuts. Fox News ran an exclusive story about this predicament on April 17. The article reported that the vast majority of U.S. strike fighter aircraft are not airworthy. But it wasn’t just F-18s grounded due to a lack of parts, maintenance or other complications. “Only 42 of 147 heavy-lift CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters are airworthy,” Fox reported.