Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 (MALS-31) is an aviation

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

support unit of the

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 ...

. Known as the "Stingers", they fall under the command of

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 ...

(MAG-31) and

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) and are currently based at

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort or MCAS Beaufort is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) air base located northwest of the central business district of Beaufort, South Carolina, Beaufort, a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, Beaufort C ...

Mission

Provide aviation logistics support, guidance, planning, and direction to Marine Aircraft Group squadrons on behalf of the commanding officer, as well as logistics support for Navy funded equipment in the supporting Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS), Marine Air Control Group (MACG), and Marine Aircraft Wing/Mobile Calibration Complex (MAW/MCC).

History

World War II

Headquarters Squadron 31 (HQSQ-31) was activated on 1 February 1943 at

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 an ...

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 ...

, as an element of the

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (abbreviated as 3rd MAW) is the major west coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, ...

Fleet Marine Force The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general and special forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Fleet Marine ...

. Six month later, Headquarters Squadron 31 as part of MAG-31, was en route to Miramar, California, finally departing the United States from

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, embarked on board the USS ''Nassau'' and USAT ''Puebla''. On 10 November 1944, the 4th Marine Bases Defense Air Wing, was redesignated to the

4th Marine Aircraft Wing The 4th Marine Aircraft Wing is the reserve airwing of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana but its subordinate units are scattered throughout the United States. Mission Conduct air operations in sup ...

. On 11 March 1945, MAG-31, became part of the 2nd MAW. Headquarters Squadron 31 and other MAG-31 elements began moving from

Roi-Namur Island Roi-Namur ( ) is an island in the north part of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Today, the island is a major part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, hosting several radar systems used for tracking and character ...

, sailing for the most active front at that time-the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

. Ground personnel of MAG-31 went ashore on

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

on 3 April 1945 to prepare to support MAG-31, which landed from the and began operations four days later. En route from the carrier to shore, two MAG-31 pilots shot down a Japanese bomber making a suicide run on their CVE, and gave MAG-31 the distinction of having the first land based aircraft to make a kill in the Okinawa campaign.

1950s

In the midst of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, MAG-31 was reactivated on 17 March 1952, with its subordinate elements, at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, NC, but its location was shortly changed when it moved to

Marine Corps Air Station Miami 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 * Mari ...

, Florida. A major redesignation occurred on 15 February 1954, as the squadron became Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 31 (H&MS-31). Marine Aircraft Maintenance Squadron 31 was disbanded and its personnel transferred to Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 31. Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 31 was redesignated on 22 August 1958 to become part of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. The squadron along with the group was reduced to a paper organization as it moved to Cherry Point with a small complement of personnel. On 31 January 1959, MAG-31 and its squadron were deactivated at Cherry Point.

1960s – present

In October 1988, Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 31 was redesignated Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 (MALS-31) and transferred its

A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company, and later, McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D und ...

aircraft to

Davis Monthan Air Force Base Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Station, an Australian base and research outpost in the Vestfold Hills * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Sask ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. MALS-31 successfully completed the transformation of its aviation logistics support mission from

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

s to the

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

in 1990. Since then, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 has participated in numerous unit deployments, carrier detachments, as well as:

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

Operation Deny Flight Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation that began on 12 April 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations (UN) no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Nations and NATO later expanded the ...

Operation Noble Anvil The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an ag ...

. MALS-31 participated in and supported both

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

Mission

History

World War II

1950s

1960s – present

See also

Notes

References

External links