Corps reactivates East Coast helicopter squadron it closed in 2022

The Marine Corps formally has reactivated one among two gentle assault helicopter squadrons it shut down in 2022 as a part of its general drive redesign.

Marine Gentle Assault Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 269, beneath 2nd Marine Plane Wing, stood again up at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, on Monday, in response to a Marine Corps press launch.

“It was a decidedly somber day when HMLA-269 deactivated,” Col. Davis Fitzsimmons, commander of Marine Plane Group 29, stated within the information launch. “That was definitely reversed in the present day.”

The “Gunrunners” squadron flies the AH-1Z Viper assault helicopter and the UH-1Y Venom utility helicopter.

The helicopter squadron was deactivated in December 2022 because the Marine Corps recalibrated its aviation wants and areas in a world shuffle that touched jets, fastened wing, helicopters and reached each coasts, Hawaii and Okinawa, Japan.

In his 2020 doc laying out Power Design 2030, then-Commandant Gen. David Berger defined the squadron drawdown as associated to the Corps chopping of three infantry battalions throughout the identical drive construction strikes.

“Whereas this functionality has a certain quantity of relevance to disaster and contingency missions which we should nonetheless be ready to execute, it’s operationally unsuitable for our highest-priority maritime challenges and extra to our wants with the divestment of three infantry battalions,” Berger wrote.

Personnel with the squadron rotated to different Marine items following its deactivation. However its tools was preserved to “preserve a versatile prepared bench for the service and protect the power to make future changes,” Marine officers stated on the time.

Retired Grasp Gunnery Sgt. Lawrence Reeve Jr. advised Marine Corps Instances earlier in 2024 when the reactivation was first introduced in March that he suspected, even in 2022, the squadron wouldn’t be gone for lengthy.

Lawrence first served with the squadron in 1994 and later deployed with the unit to Iraq 5 occasions.

He doubted its disappearance primarily as a result of the transfer left your complete East Coast with a single gentle assault squadron because the Marine Corps had shifted most of its property to California, Hawaii and Japan.

Marine Corps Instances tried to achieve the Marine Corps for touch upon specifics relating to the choice to reactivate the squadron and obtained no response as of Friday.

Whereas present variants of the Viper and Venom have been in energetic service since 2010 and 2008 respectively, that are comparatively younger for army plane, their primary designs date again to the Sixties and Seventies.

The Corps underwent a serious improve program planning to replace the plane’s Tremendous Cobra and Twin predecessors via the Nineteen Nineties that resulted in in the present day’s helicopters.

In March, Bell Textron introduced structural and energy upgrades to the plane that it expects will preserve them flying into the 2040s, which is the Corps’ present plan.

For what comes subsequent, the service was intently monitoring the Military’s Future Vertical Raise program. A portion of that program known as for a brand new future assault reconnaissance plane, which sought to interchange each the Military’s OH-58 Kiowa Scout helicopter and its AH-64 Apache, an identical functionality to the Viper.

Nevertheless, the Military canceled the long run assault reconnaissance plane portion of this system earlier in 2024, leaving a niche in how each companies plan to maneuver past present, getting old assault helicopters.

Together with HMLA 269, the Marines additionally deactivated HMLA-469 out of Camp Pendleton, California, in December 2022. That squadron stays deactivated.

The transfer aligned with the service’s most not too long ago printed aviation plan in 2022, which known as for the active-duty gentle assault squadrons to attract down from seven to 5 and integration of the 2 reserve squadrons for needed duties.

At the moment there have been seven energetic gentle assault squadrons, one fleet alternative squadron and one reserve squadron every containing 15 Vipers and 12 Venoms. One other reserve squadron held 10 Vipers and eight Venoms, in response to the aviation plan.

The service’s new configuration briefly had 5 energetic squadrons with the fleet alternative and reserve squadrons in the identical setup.

The reactivation will push the numbers again as much as six energetic squadrons.

In complete, the Corps requires a mixture of 284 Venoms and Vipers to satisfy these mission obligations. Over a five-year interval from 2017 to 2021 the Vipers averaged a 72% readiness rating whereas the Venoms managed 68%, in response to the aviation plan.

Greater than 84% of the elements wanted for the plane are interchangeable and the 2 platforms fly practically 1 / 4 of all Marine aviation flight hours.

On the fastened wing aspect, the Marine Corps deactivated its F/A-18 Hornet pilot coaching squadron in late 2023, and graduated its closing AV-8B Harrier II mechanics earlier in 2024 after disbanding its Harrier coaching unit in late 2021.

Strikes with the Hornet and Harrier are as a result of jets being changed by the F-35.

Squadron commander Lt. Col. Jens Gilbertson identified that HMLA-269 had been named the sunshine assault squadron of the 12 months by the Marine Corps Aviation Affiliation eight occasions, greater than every other such squadron within the Corps’ historical past.

“Finally, it was as much as these Marines to get it accomplished,” Gilbertson stated. “They’ve self-discipline, and so they have precision, and that’s the identical self-discipline and precision they’re going to carry after they preserve and fly our plane.”

The Viper plane made information not too long ago when a crew with the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 Strengthened, thirty first Marine Expeditionary Unit efficiently struck a transferring goal at sea for the primary time within the area with the brand new “hearth and neglect” AGM-179 joint air-to-ground missile.