Commissioned Naval Air Station Beaufort on June 15, 1943, the facility was the 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 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.
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.
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort is the home of several Fleet Marine Force (FMF) units to include Marine Aircraft Group 31. Continuous training is the focus of the seven F/A-18 Hornet Fighter-Attack Squadrons and one Aviation Logistics Squadron which, along with a headquarters element, comprise MAG-31. The Hornet squadrons, also known as "gun squadrons," are VMFA-115, '122, '251, '312, as well as VMFA(AW)-224, '332 and '533. The MAG-31 headquarters element and these squadrons are part of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. One Navy F/A-18 squadron also calls MCAS Beaufort home. Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 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, Detachment A, which is capable of establishing a fully functioning expeditionary airfield. Combat Logistics Company 23 is under the command of 2nd Marine Logistics Group headquartered at Camp Lejeune, N.C. This detachment supports the Air Station with communications, supply, dental and medical personnel as well as military police. Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron provides service support such as refueling, logistics, aircraft recovery, firefighting and Public Affairs support to all units aboard the installation.
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, is currently on track to have its squadrons replaced and increased by F-35B Joint Strike Fighters in 2014 or 2015 after air station improvements are completed. The transition of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighters will assure the continued presence of the military in the local area. Eighty eight of the new fighters, which is one quarter of the Marine Corps’ entire new fleet of 340 F-35Bs, are planned to be based at the Air Station.
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."
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