Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 (MWSS-273) is an aviation ground 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 ...

. The squadron is based out of

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 ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and falls under the command of

Marine Air Control Group 28 Marine Air Control Group 28 (MACG-28) is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point that is currently composed of four command and control squadrons and a low altitude air defens ...

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 ...

. MWSS-273 has supported Marine Corps aviation operations around the world to include during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and multiple combat tours in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

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 ...

Mission

Provide limited aviation ground support to enable a composite Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) and supporting or attached elements of the Marine Air Control Group (MACG) to conduct expeditionary operations.

History

Commissioning and the 1980s

MWSS-273 was commissioned on June 13, 1986, at

. The squadron was formed from elements of Marine Air Base Squadron 31, and Detachment Bravo, Marine Wing Support Group 27. In 1989, MWSS-273 provided extensive disaster relief support to the city of Charleston, South Carolina, during the aftermath of

Hurricane Hugo Hurricane Hugo was a powerful tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread destruction across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. The eleventh tropical cyclone, eighth Tropical cyclone naming, named st ...

The Gulf War & the 1990s

During The Persian Gulf War in 1991, Marines were reassigned from MWSS-272 and MWSS-274 to augment the squadron which was deployed in December 1990 and played a direct role in providing aviation ground support for UN forces conducting combat operations against

. The Marines of MWSS-273 assisted in the construction of the largest expeditionary airfield in Marine Corps history at Al Khanjar, Saudi Arabia, in addition to several other major construction and transportation projects located at Ras Al Jubail, Ras Mishab, and on the Kuwait/Saudi Arabian border located at "LoneSome Dove". While conducting unit activities at Ras Mishab, the squadron received numerous FROG missile attacks from Iraqi enemy units located north of Ras Al Khafji during the first days of the "Air War Campaign". Throughout the 1990s, the squadron provided extensive operational support for

Aviano Air Base Aviano Air Base () is a base in northeastern Italy, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. It is located in the Aviano municipality, at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps or Southern Carnic Alps, about from Pordenone. The Italian Air Force has ...

, Italy,

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

contingency operations Deny Flight and Provide Promise,

Operation Uphold Democracy Operation Uphold Democracy was a multinational military intervention designed to remove the military regime led and installed by Raoul Cédras after the 1991 Haitian coup d'état overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The op ...

in Haiti,

Operation Joint Forge The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian War. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It was replaced by EUFOR Alth ...

in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Operation Allied Force 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 a ...

and Joint Task Force Noble Anvil in Taszar, Hungary, and numerous

Marine Expeditionary Unit A Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU, pronounced as one syllable "" IPA: ) is the smallest Marine air-ground task force, air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.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 ...

taking place in

Iraq and Afghanistan

MWSS-273 deployed twice in squadron strength to Iraq in support of

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 ...

. The "Sweathogs" conducted 24-hour Aviation Ground Support operations at

Al Asad Al-Asad Airbase is an Iraqi airbase located in al-Anbar Governorate of western Iraq. It was originally known as Qadisiyah Airbase. It was the second largest US military airbase in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Until January 2010, it was ...

Airbase, the Forward Operating Base at Al Qa'im and the Forward Arming and Refueling Point Mudayasis. During the squadron's last deployment to Iraq it was responsible for the tactical recovery of an unprecedented seven Coalition Aircraft. In only seven months, MWSS-273 provided over 28 million gallons of fuel to Coalition aircraft, conducted over of motor transport operations, rendered safe 126 enemy explosive devices, destroyed ten enemy weapons caches, conducted over 11,000 hours of heavy equipment operations, two water main repairs, and four outside-the-wire construction missions to improve living conditions at local Combat Outposts. From March to September 2012, MWSS-273 deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Squadron: provided over 9 million gallons of fuel to over 25,000 aircraft and 2500 ground vehicles; built the largest High Power Run-Up in Marine Corps history; executed two aircraft recoveries including the first-ever combat recovery of an MV-22B Osprey; executed numerous Combat Logistics Patrols; constructed an air-site at Combat Outpost (COP) Shukvani; and prepared 1.78 million square feet of Aluminum Matting 2nd Generation for redeployment – all while providing first-class Aviation Ground Support to seven different air sites. As a result of these efforts, MWSS-273 earned three awards:

Marine Corps Aviation Association 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 * Marin ...

's 2012 James E. Hatch Marine Wing Support Squadron of the Year;

Marine Corps Engineer Association 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 * Marin ...

Engineer Company of the Year; and the

American Petroleum Institute The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in extraction of petroleum, production, oil refinery, refinement, pipeline ...

Tactical Unit of the Year.

Awards

Unit Awards include the Navy Commendation Streamer, the National Defense Service Streamer, and the Southwest Asia Streamer with three bronze stars. MWSS-273 earned the James E. Hatch Marine Wing Support Squadron of the Year five times: 2000, 2005, 2007 and 2009, and 2012. *

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

* National Defense Service Streamer *

Southwest Asia Service Streamer The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

Mission

History

Commissioning and the 1980s

The Gulf War & the 1990s

Iraq and Afghanistan

Awards

See also

References

Citations

External links