History VMM-161

1 history

1.1 korean war
1.2 vietnam war , 1980s
1.3 gulf war , 1990s
1.4 global war on terror

history
korean war

the squadron activated on january 15, 1951 @ marine corps air station el toro, california, marine helicopter transport squadron 161 (hmr-161) air fleet marine force pacific, squadron moved month later marine corps air facility, santa ana, california train on new helicopter, sikorsky hrs-1. except commanding officer, ltcol george herring, pilots in squadron had flown fighters during world war ii. in august 1951 squadron deployed korea , attached 1st marine aircraft wing (1 maw), operated in central , western fronts.

hrs-1s of hmr-161 flying uss sicily in september 1952.

after becoming first helicopter squadron deploy troops combat, hmr-161 flew uss sicily (cve-118) test new concept of combining vertical envelopment amphibious assault during operation marlex-5 off coast of inchon on september 1, 1952. while not first ever ship shore helicopter flight marines aboard, having been done hmr-162 during operation lex baker off coast of southern california in february, 1952, first on foreign shores. during course of korean war, hmr-161 flew 16,538 hours during 18,607 sorties accounting on 60,000 troop movements , moving 7.5 million pounds of cargo. greyhawks participated in defense of korean demilitarized zone (dmz) july 1953 march 1955. squadron relocated month marine corps air station kaneohe bay, hawaii, , attached marine aircraft group 13 (mag 13). while in hawaii, hmr-161 redesignated on december 31, 1956 marine helicopter transport squadron (light) 161 (hmr(l)-161), mag 13, 1st maw. in may 1960, squadron received new sikorsky h-34 seahorse.

on february 1, 1962, unit once again re-designated marine medium helicopter squadron 161 (hmm-161), mag 13, 1st marine brigade. on october 3, 1962 greyhawks assisted nasa recovering astronaut wally schirra , mercury capsule friendship 7 out of pacific after successful launch space.

during 1963, marine medium helicopter squadron 161 (hmm-161) assisted in several biological warfare tests conducted under project shad @ pearl harbor, kaneohe naval air station , in pacific ocean, near oahu, hawaii.

the rest of 1960s spent conducting anti-guerrilla training in preparation deployment vietnam.

vietnam war , 1980s

a helicopter hmm-161 waiting transport prisoners south of chu lai during operation starlite in 1965.

hmm-161 deployed in may 1965 phu bai combat base, republic of vietnam , attached mag-16, 1st marine aircraft wing. relocated in january 1966 marine corps air station futenma, okinawa receive new vertol ch-46 sea knight. april 1966, greyhawks had redeployed da nang, republic of vietnam move phu bai june. on september 25, 1966 uh-34d hus hmm-161 struck friendly artillery shell while conducting medevac mission during operation prairie resulting in death 5 marines on board. known case of friendly artillery fire shooting down american helicopter during war. squadron relocated once again in november 1966 futenma, okinawa, attached marine aircraft group 15 (mag-15), 9th marine amphibious brigade. month later greyhawks returned conus, attached marine aircraft group 26 (mag-26), 2d maw @ marine corps air station new river, north carolina. hmm-161 redeployed in may 1968 quảng trị combat base, republic of vietnam , attached provisional marine aircraft group 39 (mag-39), 1st maw. squadron finished vietnam years final deployment phu bai in october 1969 while attached mag-16, 1st maw.

hmm-161 came home in september 1970 , attached mag-56, 3rd marine aircraft wing, fleet marine force pacific. reassigned in july 1971 mag-16, 3d maw. elements of squadron participated in august 1989 cleanup of exxon valdez oil spill in prince william sound, alaska.

ch-46e


the gulf war , 1990s

old hmm-161 insignia.

in 1990 deployed on august 17 saudi arabia part of mag-70, 7th marine expeditionary brigade in support of operation desert shield. squadron participate in operation desert storm in saudi arabia , kuwait. in 1995, participated in operation united shield, withdrawal of united nations forces somalia. end of year, unit had relocated mcas el toro, california. in 1997, greyhawks deployed in march aboard uss boxer westpac , persian gulf ace 15th meu(soc), flew missions in support of operation southern watch in iraq. in february 1999, hmm-161 moved mcas el toro mcas miramar, california.

global war on terror

the new millennium began squadron, won edward c. dyer marine medium helicopter squadron of year 2001. followed 2000 westpac deployment, saw greyhawks provide humanitarian assistance in east timor. on january 6, 2003, hmm-161 (rein) deployed part of 15th meu westpac float end supporting operation enduring freedom , operation iraqi freedom. greyhawks assigned mission of tactical recovery of aircraft , personnel (trap). although no trap missions necessary during oif, squadron did fly casevac , numerous other missions. squadron returned home mcas miramar on july 12, 2003.

in november 2003, marines of hmm-161 told redeploying iraq operation iraqi freedom ii (oif ii). immediate preparations begun, , squadron used december deployment indian springs, nevada train conditions faced during oif ii. while @ indian springs, marines of hmm-161 made mark in squadron history surpassing 40,000 mishap-free flight hours plateau. climb history books began in august 1995 , culminated ground crew appreciation flight on hoover dam , las vegas strip.

after receiving cargo , aircraft @ ash shu aybah port, kuwait, squadron flew al taqaddum, iraq during first week of march set relief in place 82nd airborne brigade. squadron made 752 consecutive mission launches in support of mef operations during oif ii, logging 3072.8 hours of flight time. greyhawks relieved on september 1, 2004 hmm-268 main body arriving @ mcas miramar on september 6. throughout service during oif ii, greyhawks moved 116,480 pounds of cargo , 2,929 passengers, including 328 patients needed urgent care.

hmm-161 phrog painted squadron s 55th anniversary celebrated in iraq on january 15, 2006.

in august 2005, squadron redeployed iraq third oif deployment. greyhawks provided around-the-clock casualty evacuation , assault support in al anbar province. during deployment, squadron flew 5,199 combat flight hours, transported more 2,100 wounded personnel , conducted 19 raids , assault support missions led capture of numerous insurgents. greyhawks safely completing 2,999 assault support requests without mishap or damage enemy action.

on february 8, 2006, hmm-161 marked 50,000th flight hour without class mishap during latest deployment al taqaddum, iraq. during time period, began february 19, 1995, squadron flew 9,100 combat hours during 3 combat deployments.

the squadron returned third oif deployment on march 4, 2006. following deployment squadron awarded fourth consecutive chief of naval operations safety award , marine corps aviation association s 2006 commandant s aviation award in recognition year s best overall performance marine squadron.

on february 3, 2007, hmm-161 embarked upon fourth combat deployment in support of operation iraqi freedom , global war on terror sending small advance party al taqaddum, iraq prepare arrival of squadron s main body on march 1. greyhawks officially resumed role in casualty evacuations , general support on march 9, 2007.

on september 24, hmm-161 returned al taqaddum, iraq, casevac bell, symbol of mission in area. took bell them instead of leaving next squadron because mission of casevac had been temporarily turned on soldiers of army blackhawk detachment on same base.

as of end of deployment, squadron @ record of on 58,000 class mishap free flight hours total. achievement unable surpassed other ch-46e squadron due fact new mv-22 osprey replacing ch-46e, , no other squadron has record close enough greyhawks able beat it.

in december 2009, hmm-161 became first of ten west coast squadrons transition mv-22 osprey , changed name marine medium tiltrotor squadron 161 during change of command.