Watch Marine One And three HMX-1 Ospreys Land On Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford.
On Mar. 2, U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to Virginia’s Newport News Shipbuilding facility to visit pre-commissioning unit USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN78) the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier.
The following video shows the Presidential VH-3D “Marine One” operated by the U.S. Marine Corps HMX-1 (Marine Helicopter Squadron One) along with the green-painted MV-22 Ospreys (also referred to as “Green Tops”) that fly the White House Staff during the President’s travels, land on USS Ford and take off after the speech during which Trump vowed to launch a “great rebuilding” of American military power.
Interestingly, the Bell-Boeing tilt-rotor aircraft fly also the Secret Service agents that follow “Marine One” (when President of the U.S. travels aboard the VH-3D or any other chopper operated by HMX-1 the helicopter uses the radio callsign “Marine One” by which the aircraft is known) and take care of him or her in case the helicopter goes down due to a failure.
Both the “White Tops” (12x VH-3Ds and 8x VH-60Ns), that usually fly the POTUS and accompanying VIPs at home and abroad as part of the Executive Flight Detachment, and the “Green Tops” (12x MV-22 Ospreys) that fly the supporting staff, are based at Quantico, Virginia, south of Washington DC.
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The Executive Flight Detachment actually operates extensively out of an alert facility at Naval Support Facility Anacostia in Washington DC, much closer to the White House than Quantico.
H/T to @juanmab for the heads-up
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