V-22 factory finished

After an investment of $30 million for a new fuselage assembly center in Philadelphia, the revolutionary V-22 aircraft has a state-of-the-art home that will help pay dividends in quality and cost for years to come.

On June 2, more than 1,000 people, including customers, program personnel, local government officials and employees, gathered at the new facility for a dedication ceremony. The event marked the end of more than a year of work to renovate the new area and relocate the old line.

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Easier does it

Boeing Aerospace Support's Bill Grant always liked the logic of his former boss, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

It's been more than a decade since the two worked together on the National Security Council. Yet Powell's influence still resonates with Grant, who leads Boeing's Special Operations Forces Aerospace Support Center in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Grant's office displays a saying Powell often used: "Leaders accomplish what the science of management says can't be done."

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How about a HUG?

Thanks in part to an upgrade program started five years ago, Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18s were able to play a significant role in coalition operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Australia sent 14 F/A-18As from 75 Squadron ("the Magpies") to support coalition forces as part of what Australia dubbed Operation Falconer. The 14 F/A-18s flew more than 670 sorties, including 350 combat sorties, without a loss.

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When your customer calls

Employees go the extra mile to support products in combat

Many employees support Boeing Integrated Defense Systems products in the field. They
often go where the products go to help ensure they perform well—even if that means going
into a combat situation. Below are the stories of two such employees, who responded to
customer requests to help provide support to coalition forces—U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers
and U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets—during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Love of the Harrier spurs senior tech rep to action

When the U.S. Marine Corps put out a call late last year for technical representatives to support AV-8B Harrier IIs in the fight against terrorism, Dave McGrath was one of the first to sign up.

McGrath knew Harriers well. One of his last jobs in his 21-year career in the Marine Corps was working with AV-8Bs. When he retired from the Marines in 1978, it was only natural that he join McDonnell Douglas to continue his support of the Harrier fleet.

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Engineer takes a trip ‘I will never forget’

It was supposed to be a two-week stay aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln for Tony Slade, a Boeing Integrated Defense Systems manufacturing engineer.

All he had to do was verify that maintenance processes on U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets were in place, then fly home to St. Louis.

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