Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station - South Carolina
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort is home to Marine Aircraft Group 31, one of the largest aircraft groups, which includes approximately 4,200 Marines and Sailors working here. Its size, combined with MAG-31's reputation for tactical proficiency, has earned the Air Station the title "Fightertown."
In America's war against terrorism, military forces have fought against a shadowy adversary. Fighting in the forefront of this unprecedented war are Marines and Sailors from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
After September 11, 2001, Marine and Navy pilots from the Air Station were called into action. For six months, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 and Navy Strike Fighter Squadrons 82 and 86 flew their F/A-18s over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Together, the three squadrons dropped more than 1.3 million pounds of ordnance on Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters.
In March 2002, more than 500 Marines and Sailors returned home from the USS Roosevelt to a hero's welcome as hundreds of friends and family members swarmed the flight line.
Operation Enduring Freedom is just one of many conflicts that squadrons from the air station have been involved in.
During the war against Iraq, squadrons from the air station saved many American service members' lives by conducting a successful air campaign during Operation Desert Shield/Storm, and the years following during Operation Southern Watch.
In 1993, squadrons from the station participated in Operation Deny Flight during the Balkans conflict, which prevented warring parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina from using air space as a means for war.
Then in 1999, Beaufort squadrons participated in Operation Allied Force and Noble Anvil in the skies above Serbia and Kosovo.
Commissioned Naval Air Station Beaufort on June 15, 1943, the facility was home base for advanced training and operation of anti-submarine patrols operating along the United States' Southeastern seaboard during World War II. Deactivated in 1946, the facility was reactivated a Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield in 1956 and on March 1, 1960, the facility was re-designated Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. On September 19, 1975, the airfield was named Merritt Field in honor of Ridge Spring, S.C. native, Major General Louis G. Merritt, USMCR.
The main portion of the MCAS Beaufort remains Merritt Field, 3.9 million square yards of runways and taxiways, which has played a key role in national and worldwide training exercises and operations. It has also been designated as an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle.
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort is also the home of several other Fleet Marine Force (FMF) units to include Marine Wing Support Squadron 273, Marine Air Control Squadron 2 and Combat Service Support Detachment 23.
The Air Station covers 6,900 acres within Beaufort County and controls an additional 5,200 acres at the Townsend Bombing Range in Macintosh County, Ga. This range is managed by the Georgia Air National Guard and provides Fightertown pilots the opportunity to train for air-ground combat.
Continuous training is the focus of the seven F/A-18 Hornet fighter-attack squadrons which, along with a headquarters element, comprise MAG-31, The Hornet squadrons, also known as "gun squadrons," are VMFAs '115, '122, '251 and '312, as well as VMFA (AW)s 224, '332 and '533. The MAG-31 headquarters element and these squadrons are Fleet Marine Force units under 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC. Two Navy F/A-18 squadrons also call MCAS Beaufort home. Strike Fighter Squadrons 82 and 86 falls under the operational command of Commander Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic, headquartered at NAS Oceana, Virginia.
Other major tenant Fleet Marine Force units headquartered at MCAS Beaufort include Marine Wing Support Squadron 273. It has combat engineer, utilities, heavy equipment, motor transport and construction sections. Another is Marine Air Control Squadron 2, capable of establishing a fully functioning expeditionary airfield. Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 performs maintenance on the complex jet aircraft and "keeps them flying." Combat Service Support Detachment 23 is under the command of 2nd Force Service Support Group headquartered at Camp Lejeune, N.C. This detachment supports the Air Station with: communications, supply, dental, medical personnel and military police.
Air Station military members, their families and civilian employees number nearly 13,000 and have long been an integral part of the Lowcountry community. They are pleased to call the greater Beaufort area "home."
Main
phone numbers: Commercial (843)228-7100 or
DSN 335-7100
Mailing
address: MCAS, Beaufort, SC 29904-5001
Population:
4,476 active duty; 6,970 family members; 892
civilians
Housing: 214
officer family units; 1,062 enlisted family units; 120
unaccompanied officer spaces; 1,820 unaccompanied enlisted
spaces; wait up to two year; 157-unit mobile home park
(843)228-7079/7676
Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station - South Carolina
has a small exchange (843)228-7751. Recreation at Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station - South Carolina
includes arts and crafts, bowling, library, auto hobby,
recreation center, golf, gym, swimming, outdoor
activities, and stables.
