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Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 774 (VMM-774) 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 ...
medium tiltrotor squadron consisting of
V-22 Osprey The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport aircraft, military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed ...
tiltrotor aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Wild Goose", is a
United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...
unit 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 falls under the command of
Marine Aircraft Group 49 Marine Aircraft Group 49 is a United States Marine Corps Reserve aviation unit based at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, New Jersey that is currently composed of squadrons that fly the MV-22B, CH-53E, AH-1Z, UH-1Y, UC-35D and UC-12F/W ...
(MAG-49) and 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 ...
(4th MAW). With the deactivation of training squadron HMMT-164 and re-designation as
VMM-164 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 164 (VMM-164), is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron operating the MV-22B Osprey. Known as the ''Knightriders'', they fall under the command Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39) and the 3rd Marine Aircr ...
on 9 April 2015, HMM-774 was the last dedicated CH-46E squadron in the Marine Corps; itself transitioning to the MV-22B Osprey and re-designating as VMM-774 in January of 2016.


Mission

Support the MAGTF Commander by providing assault support transport of combat troops, supplies, and equipment, day or night, under all weather conditions during expeditionary, joint or combined operations.


History

Marine Medium Helicopter 774 was activated 5 September 1958, at
Naval Air Station New York 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 ...
as Marine Transport Helicopter Squadron 774 (HMR-774). The squadron operated the SH-34G/J Sea Bat helicopter. In April 1962 the squadron was redesignated Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 774, but was deactivated on 30 September 1962. HMM-774 was reactivated at
Naval Air Station Norfolk 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 ...
(Chambers Field) on 1 July 1969. HMM-774 initially operated UH-34D Sea Horse helicopters. In 1970, the
CH-46 The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is an American medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing. Develo ...
replaced the UH-34 and in 1971 the squadron was assigned under the command of 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 ...
. In January 1991, HMM-774 was mobilized as an element of
Marine Aircraft Group 26 Marine Aircraft Group 26 (MAG-26) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station New River composed of seven MV-22 Osprey squadrons, one of which is the Fleet Replacement Squadron, an aviation logistics squadro ...
,
I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It i ...
(I MEF) in support of Operation
Desert Shield , 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
Desert Storm , 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- ...
. In July 2004, the squadron was mobilized and deployed to
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 ...
,
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 ...
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 ...
from August 2004 to March 2005 and from September 2005 to March 2006. The squadron was demobilized during July 2006. On 12 July 2010, HMM-774 embarked aboard in support of Continuing Promise 2010. During this humanitarian mission, HMM-774 provided support to numerous countries in South America, to include Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Guatemala, Suriname and Costa Rica. HMM-774 also played a vital role in the aftermath of Hurricane Thomas while deployed to South America and the Caribbean. Shortly after
Hurricane Tomas Hurricane Tomas was a moderately powerful late-season tropical cyclone which became the latest Atlantic hurricane on record in the calendar year to strike the Windward Islands. The nineteenth named storm and twelfth hurricane of the 2010 Atlan ...
passed through the
Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
, HMM-774 pulled out of
Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
in short notice and followed the storm to
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
. Once Hurricane Thomas made landfall, USS ''Iwo Jima'' rushed to the scene. Within hours of Hurricane Tomas' destruction, USS ''Iwo Jima'' was on the site and HMM-774 was flying aerial recon to assess the situation and decide if further assistance was required. Following a brief detachment aboard the as a participant in Amphibious Southern Partnership Station 2012, HMM-774 no longer embarked on any further navy vessels. The squadron was present for Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) 4-13, providing a portion of the aviation combat element (ACE), as well as the same exercise, 4-14, the following year at
Twentynine Palms, California Twentynine Palms (also known as 29 Palms) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It serves as one of the entry points to Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Desert region. History Native Americans, such as the S ...
. Following the return from Twentynine Palms in June 2014, the squadron turned attention to preparing for the upcoming transition to the
MV-22B The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionalit ...
Osprey aircraft. HMM-774 became designated as VMM-774 in January 2016 as the squadron received its first V-22 and later took its first test flight in April 2016. VMM-774 declared Final Operating Capability in April 2018 under command of Lt. Col Eric G. Burns. VMM-774 was mobilized in 2019, and was deployed to Moron, Spain in September of 2019 in support of a Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force. The squadron returned from that deployment in March of 2020. In July 2022, VMM-774 completed a move to its current home in
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. In June of 2023, VMM-774 embarked 3 MV-22B Ospreys aboard the
USS New York (LPD-21) USS ''New York'' (LPD-21) is a , and the fifth ship of the United States Navy named after the state of New York. Naming Shortly after September 11, 2001, List of Governors of New York, Governor of New York George E. Pataki wrote a letter to Un ...
for a one month deployment to South America in support of
UNITAS Unitas may refer to: Places * 306 Unitas, a main belt asteroid * Housing complex Unitas, an apartment complex from 1931 in Bratislava, Slovakia * Johnny Unitas Stadium, Towson, Maryland, USA; a multipurpose stadium People * Johnny Unitas (1933-2 ...
2023, a multi-national amphibious exercise. This was the first time that VMM-774 embarked aircraft aboard US Navy ships since 2012, and the first time the squadron had ever embarked MV-22B Ospreys aboard ship.


See also

*
List of active United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons This is a list of all of the active Squadron (aviation), squadrons that exist in the United States Marine Corps, sorted by type. Most squadrons have changed names and designations many times over the years, so they are listed by their current de ...
*
United States Marine Corps Aviation The United States Marine Corps Aviation (USMCA) is the aircraft arm of the United States Marine Corps. Aviation units within the Marine Corps are assigned to support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, as the aviation combat element, by providi ...


Notes

Surpassed 85,000 Mishap-Free Flight Hours


References

: ;Bibliography ;Web
HMM-774's official website

Unit Blog from Iraq
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hmm-774 Military units and formations in Virginia 4th Marine Aircraft Wing Medium 9F