Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 467 (HMLA-467) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

helicopter squadron consisting of

AH-1W SuperCobra The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engined attack helicopter that was developed on behalf of, and primarily operated by, the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J Se ...

attack helicopters and

UH-1Y Venom The Bell UH-1Y Venom (also called Super Huey) is a twin-engine, 4-blade, medium-sized utility helicopter built by Bell Helicopter under the H-1 upgrade program of the United States Marine Corps. One of the latest members of the numerous Huey ...

utility helicopters. The squadron, nicknamed the "Sabers", was based at

Marine Corps Air Station New River Marine Corps Air Station New River is a United States Marine Corps helicopter and tilt-rotor base in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in the eastern part of the state. In 1972, the airfield was named McCutcheon Field for General Keith B. McCut ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and was under the command of

Marine Aircraft Group 29 Marine Aircraft Group 29 (MAG-29) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. The group is currently composed of four CH-53E Super Stallion squadrons including the Fleet Replacemen ...

(MAG-29) and the

2nd Marine Aircraft Wing The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) is the major East Coast of the United States, east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Wing provides the ...

(2nd MAW). The squadron's aircraft markings are grey & white stripes on the aircraft tail to replicate the tail markings on a

Diamondback Rattlesnake Diamondback rattlesnake may refer to: *'' Crotalus adamanteus'', a.k.a. the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, a venomous pitviper species found in the southeastern United States. *'' Crotalus atrox'', a.k.a. the western diamondback rattlesnake, a ve ...

and the markings on the lighthouses in North Carolina. The stand-up of HMLA-467 was part of the Commandant's plan to "grow the force" to better meet the demands of the Long War and the complexities of an evolving global threat. They were activated in October 2008.

Mission

Support the

Marine Air-Ground Task Force Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine current power * Marine debris * Marine energy * Marine habitats * ...

commander by providing offensive air support, utility support, armed escort and airborne supporting arms coordination, day or night under all weather conditions during expeditionary, joint or combined operations.

History

HMLA-467 began as a cadre in April 2008, and began to stand up using aircraft from the

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

squadron HMLA-775. During September 2008, pilots and aircrew from HMLA-467 received their first aircraft from HMLA-775 and flew them to MCAS Cherry Point for the squadron's activation ceremony on 23 October 2008, becoming the first HMLA to be activated in 37 years. Fifteen weeks later, in January, HMLA-467 supported

Marine Aircraft Group 31 Marine Aircraft Group 31 (MAG-31) is a United States Marine Corps aviation group based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina that is currently composed of two F/A-18C Hornet squadrons, one F/A-18A++ Hornet squadron, two F/A-18D ...

at Exercise Southern Fury. During the months of September and October 2009, the Sabers supported Enhanced Mojave Viper (EMV) at

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), also known as 29 Palms, is the largest United States Marine Corps base. The base covers a total area of 1,102 square miles. It was a census-designated place (CDP) officially known as Twentynin ...

. During this exercise the Sabers executed day/night

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

, FAC(A), Escort, Command and Control, SCAR/AR, and weapons delivery training, flying 74 total sorties. During Mojave Viper, on 1 October, the one-year anniversary of the squadron, HMLA-467 reached Full Operational Capability (FOC). In January 2010, a detachment of UH-1N Hueys deployed with HMH-461 as part of the

22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU) is one of seven Marine expeditionary unit, such units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. It is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. They are ...

in order to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster response in support of

Operation Unified Response Operation Unified Response was the United States military's response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. It was conducted by Joint Task Force Haiti and commanded by United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) Military Deputy Commander Lieutenant Gen ...

following the

2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...

. In 2010 HMLA-467 Det A attached to the

26th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26th MEU) is one of seven such marine expeditionary units (MEUs) currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. It is an air-ground task force with a strength of about 2,400 personnel when at full ...

and supported HADR operations in Pakistan as well as combat operations in Afghanistan and Libya. In 2011 HMLA-467 Det B was the first east coast HMLA to support the

31st Marine Expeditionary Unit The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 Marines an ...

attaching to

HMM-265 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 (VMM-265) is a United States Marine Corps assault support transport squadron consisting of MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Dragons", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenm ...

(REIN) and supporting exercises such as PHIBLEX. In 2012, a detachment of UH-1N Hueys deployed to

Retalhuleu The city of Retalhuleu () is situated in south-western Guatemala. It is the departmental seat of Retalhuleu Department as well as the municipal seat of Retalhuleu Municipality. Retalhuleu stands at about 240 metres above sea level. The city has ...

Guatemala in support of Operation Martillo. As a result of force structure reductions, HMLA-467 was deactivated on 16 June 2016.

Gallery

File:Activation32.jpg, The colorguard of HMLA-467 during its activation ceremony in 2008. File:HMLA467history.jpg, The first AH-1W of HMLA-467 to land at MCAS Cherry Point, October 2008. File:IMG_hellfire467.JPG, Marines of HMLA-467 carry ordnance during Mojave Viper operations, Twenty-nine Palms, CA. File:US Navy 100116-N-5345W-058 UH-1N Huey from the Sabers of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 467 prepares to touch down on the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5).jpg, UH-1N Huey from HMLA-467 prepares to touch down on the USS Bataan (LHD-5). File:Hueyin.jpg, A HMLA-467 UH-1N Huey flies into Prescott, AZ. File:HMLA-467 deactivation ceremony.jpg,

Casing of the Colors {{Short description, US military ceremony The Casing of the Colors is a Military tradition, traditional ceremony held by United States Army Command (military formation), commands, Brigade#United_States, brigades and Regiment#United_States_Army, r ...

during the HMLA-467 deactivation ceremony.

Unit Awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. HMLA-467 has been presented with the following awards:

References

External links