Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is 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 ...

airfield located in

Havelock, North Carolina Havelock is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, Craven County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 20,735 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. The city is home to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, the world's lar ...

, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and is currently home to 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 ...

History

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

authorized Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on 9 July 1941, with an initial appropriation of $14,990,000 for construction and clearing of an 8,000 acre (32 km²) tract of

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, farms and timberland. Actual clearing of the site began on 6 August 1941, with extensive drainage and malaria control work. Construction began in November just 17 days before the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. Cushman served as the Marine Corps representative supervising construction by the Navy

Civil Engineer Corps The Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) is a staff corps of the United States Navy. CEC officers are professional engineers and architects, acquisitions specialists, and Seabee Combat Warfare Officers who qualify within Seabee units. They are responsib ...

and later served as the first commanding officer of the air station. On 20 May 1942, the facility was commissioned Cunningham Field, named in honor of the Marine Corps' first aviator, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred A. Cunningham. The completed facility was later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, after a local post office situated among cherry trees. Cherry Point's primary

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

mission was to train units and individual Marines for service to the Pacific theater. The air station also served as a base for anti-submarine operations, with an

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

( 22nd Antisubmarine Squadron) and later a

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

squadron each being responsible for the sinking of a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

just off the North Carolina coast during 1943. Cherry Point's contribution to 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 ...

effort was to provide a steady stream of trained aviators and air crewmen as well as maintenance and support personnel as replacements to forward deployed aviation units. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, Cherry Point deployed three A-6 Intruder squadrons to the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

and again provided a constant source of replacements for aircrews and enlisted aviation personnel. In

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 ...

, Cherry Point was a major contributor to the victory in

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

by supporting the deployment of three

AV-8B Harrier The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine Attack aircraft, ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier jump jet, Harrier family, capable of V/STOL, vertical or short takeoff and l ...

squadrons, two A-6E Intruder squadrons, one

KC-130 Hercules The Lockheed Martin (previously Lockheed) KC-130 is a family of the extended-range Tanker (aircraft), tanker version of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The KC-130J is the latest variant operated by the United Sta ...

squadron, one

EA-6B Prowler The Northrop Grumman (formerly Grumman) EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, mid-wing electronic-warfare aircraft. Operated by both the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy between 1971 and 2019, it was derived from the A- ...

squadron, and headquarters detachments from Marine Aircraft Group 14, Marine Aircraft Group 32, and the

. Cherry Point Marines and Navy Corpsmen participated in strike missions and follow-on operations in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and its surrounding region during

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 ...

, which was initiated on 7 October 2001. On 8 September 2007, the headquarters building (198) was gutted by a fire. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Headquarters Building was on 29 July 2009, with completion planned for sometime in 2011. The air station and its associated support locations occupy more than 29,000 acres (120 km²). Its runway system is large enough that the air station served as an alternate emergency landing site for the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

launches out of

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. In 2013, Cherry Point hosted warfighters, technology teams and testers under the flags of 10 nations and each of the U.S. military services for the 11th Bold Quest coalition demonstration. The

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...

, J6 Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT) led the test plan design, execution control, and emplaced the necessary infrastructure to connect the numerous geographic sites across seven states. Cherry Point was chosen for its ideal location for hosting East Coast military assets, supporting two U.S. Navy warships operating offshore, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer and Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser . In 2024, VMFA-251 received their first

Joint Strike Fighter Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a development and acquisition program intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlan ...

aircraft, making it the first active duty

F-35C Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic ...

squadron on the East Coast.

USAF use

On 1 July 1957 the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF) 614th Airborne Control and Warning Squadron established an

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...

Phase I Mobile Radar station (M-116) at Cherry Point. This station was part of the planned deployment of forty-four Mobile radar stations. The USAF activated an AN/FPS-6 and two AN/FPS-8 radars located adjacent to Base Flight Operations. These radars were placed on top of towers without radomes, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. In addition to the radars on the air station, two unmanned

AN/FPS-14 The AN/FPS-14 was a medium-range search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. This medium-range search radar was designed and built by Bendix as a SAGE system gap-filler radar to provide low-altitude coverage. Operating ...

"Gap Filler" sites, one at Engelhard, NC (M-116B) and one at Holly Ridge, NC (M-116C) were set up for additional coverage. One of the AN/FPS-8s was damaged by

Hurricane Donna Hurricane Donna, known in Puerto Rico as Hurricane San Lorenzo, was the strongest hurricane of the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season, and caused severe damage to the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, and the East Coast of the United States, ...

in 1960. The radars were turned over to the Navy on 30 April 1960, and the Marine Corps retained the other undamaged AN/FPS-8 radar for a number of years for base air traffic control. During 1961 M-116 joined the

Semi Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of mainframe computer, large computers and associated computer network, networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image ...

(SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-04 at Fort Lee AFS, Virginia. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the 614th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 March 1963. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. USAF radar operations continued at MCAS Cherry Point until 1 August 1963 when budget reductions and a general draw-down of antiaircraft radar sites closed the facility.

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at MCAS Cherry Point.

United States Marine Corps

Marine Corps Installations – East * Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron – UC-35D Citation 2nd Marine Logistics Group * Combat Logistics Regiment 25 (CLR-25) ** Combat Logistics Company 21 (CLC-21)

* Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2 * Marine Air Control Group 28 ** 2d Low Altitude Defense Battalion (2D LAAD Bn) ** Marine Air Control Squadron 2 (MACS-2) ** Marine Air Support Squadron 1 (MASS-1) ** Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron 28 (MATCS-28) ** Marine Wing Communications Squadron 28 (MWCS-28) * Marine Aircraft Group 14 ** Marine Aerial Refueller Squadron 252 (VMGR-252) – KC-130J Hercules ** Marine Attack Squadron 223 (VMA-223) – AV-8B Harrier II ** Marine Attack Squadron 231 (VMA-231) – AV-8B Harrier II ** Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 542 (VMFA-542) – F-35B Lightning II ** Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14 (MALS-14) ** Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2 (VMU-2) – RQ-21A Blackjack ** Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 (MWSS-271) * Marine Aviation Training Support Group 42 ** Marine Attack Training Squadron 203 (VMAT-203) Squadron Augment Unit – AV-8B Harrier II and TAV-8B Harrier II

United States Navy

Naval Air Systems Command The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides materiel support for aeronaval aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. It is one of the Echelon II Navy systems commands (SYSCOM), and was established in 1966 as the succe ...

* Fleet Readiness Center East

Supported facilities

MCAS Cherry Point also maintains a number of satellite airfields: * MCALF Bogue, a staffed installation in Bogue Sound, North Carolina which is used for Field Carrier Landing Practice. * MCOLF Oak Grove, a minimally staffed outlying airfield near Pollocksville, North Carolina specializing in operations on unimproved surfaces in a reduced visibility environments. * MCOLF Atlantic, an outlying airfield near

Atlantic, North Carolina Atlantic is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in eastern Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 543. It is situated along Core Sound, located in what was known to ear ...

used as an arming and refueling point and base for rotary-wing base supporting training activities in the region. Several former outlying landing fields have been converted to regional airports, such as MCOF Greenville, MCAA Kinston, MCASE near Edenton NC and MCOF New Bern.

References

;Notes : ;Bibliography * ;Web
MCAS Cherry Point's official website

External links

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry PointMCAS Cherry Point's official DVIDS pageUSMC Life Cherry Point
An Insider's Guide to Cherry Point Marine Base

at GlobalSecurity.org
USMC Air Station Cherry Point Overview & PCS Information
(MarineCorpsUSA.org) * * {{Authority control Military installations in North Carolina Military Superfund sites Populated places established in 1941 Populated places in Craven County, North Carolina Populated places on the Neuse River Radar stations of the United States Air Force Superfund sites in North Carolina active World War II airfields in the United States Military installations established in 1942 1941 establishments in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Craven County, North Carolina Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites