Congressman Gaetz T-45 Committee on Armed Services Letter

Admiral John M. Richardson, USN
Chief of Naval Operations

Dear Admiral Richardson:

We are writing to you as Members of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces as a result of a briefing we received by Vice Admiral Mike Shoemaker, Commander of Naval Air Forces, and Vice Admiral Paul Grosklags, Commander of the Naval Air Systems Command, regarding the Navy’s recent actions being taken to address increasing rates of physiological episodes associated with the Navy’s T-45 Aircraft.

We recognize the Navy’s commitment to determine the root cause of these episodes and we understand that currently no one specific cause has been identified as of yet. As such, we require additional information as to how the Navy is assessing the on-board oxygen generating systems (OBOGS) used in the T-45 fleet, as well as require additional information regarding the engineering testing and analysis being conducted by the Navy at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

We ask that you provide the Subcommittee with the current schedule or timeline for all test and evaluations of equipment associated with T-45 aircraft to include the specific equipment being tested, the location of where testing is being conducted, the frequency of those tests, and how the results of these tests are informing the Navy’s way forward.   

The subcommittee remains committed to working with you and your staff to determine a root cause of these physiological episodes. We look forward to receiving your timely response.

 

Sincerely,


 

Michael Turner                                   Niki Tsongas                                      Matt Gaetz
Chairman,                                           Ranking Member                               Member of Congress
Tactical Air and Land Forces             Tactical Air and Land Forces
Subcommittee                                     Subcommittee