Existing comment:
"No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy": 1976-2012:
Myriad Missions:
Marine aviation emerged from Vietnam to face a tumultuous period of budget cuts and technological change. Their missions became more diverse. Whether rescuing American citizens and dependents, enforcing United Nations mandates, or providing emergency relief to the victims of natural disasters, Marine aviation had become a vital component of American foreign policy.
Marines responded to many crises, both manmade and natural, in California, Haiti, Grenada, Beirut, Bosnia, Somalia, Liberia, Pakistan, and elsewhere.
In the summer of 1990, more than half of the Marine Corps deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. As coalition forces repelled the Iraqi army from Kuwait, Marine helicopters closely supported the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's drive to Kuwait City, while Marine attack aircraft struck Iraqi units behind the line of battle.
Afghanistan and Iraq:
Since October 2001, Marine aviation has supported operations against the Taliban and its allies in Afghanistan, where Marine units operate across large distances, often without mutual support and at the end of long and tenuous supply lines. The unique capability of Marine aviation to provide aerial support day and night for extended periods, while operating from basic forward bases, had proven crucial.
In Iraq, as American-led forces removed Saddam Hussein from power, Marine aviation covered the 1st Marine Division [Reinforced] as it advanced into Baghdad. It then found innovative ways to face the challenges posed by the Iraqi insurgency.
In both Afghanistan and Iraq, Marine aviation's ability to deliver humanitarian aid and enable local government officials to reach distance villages has been an effective weapon against terrorist forces.
Modernizing the Fleet:
Over the past four decades, Vietnam-era aircraft operated by the Marine Corps have been retired or modernized. New and more capable aircraft have entered the fleet, including the F/A-18 fighter-bomber; the AV-8A Harrier, the first American combat aircraft that can take off and land vertically; and the advanced AV-8B Harrier II. After a long and difficult development program, the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor made its first combat deployment in 2007.
"The Marine Corps' ability to serve as our nation's Expeditionary Force in Readiness is built on a century of achievements in naval aviation. From our first forays into the skies to today. Marines have done what we always do: We respond to today's crisis, with today's forces, today!"
-- Gen. James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps |