V-22 Controversy

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V-22 Controversy

P. Tracy

In the early to late 198015, the V-22 Osprey was on-track to full production, until the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) unexpectedly canceled the program in 1989. Cancellation of the V-22 program caused a firestorm of opposition in Congress in the end all sides appear to have won. OSD cancellation of the V-22 program and subsequent Congressional reaction set the stage for a unique political battle amongst varied interests. The 'bureaucratic politics' employed by the various actors in the cancellation and resurrection of the V-22 will be examined under the lights of Congressional, OSD, Bell-Boeing and Marine Corps interests. The essence of 'bureaucratic politics' as applied to this case can be characterized as the malevolently emotional and tangential political route the V-22 program has travelled.