Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 (MALS-12) is an aviation

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

support unit of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Known as the "Marauders", they fall under the command of

Marine Aircraft Group 12 Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) is an active air group of the United States Marine Corps, tasked with providing fighter and assault support aircraft. It is currently part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW), itself an integral part of th ...

(MAG-12) and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW) and are currently based at

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni is a United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki river delta, southeast of Iwakuni Station in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History The Japanese government bought a large portion of what is today MCAS Iw ...

Mission

Provide aviation logistics expertise, planning and material to MAG-12 and its subordinate tactical aircraft squadrons in order to support operational contingencies, theater security cooperation plans, and training exercises in the Pacific Command area of responsibility.

History

World War II

Activated as Headquarters and Services Squadron 12 (HQSQ-12) on 1 March 1942, the squadron was assigned in May of that year to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and was re-designated on 1 July as Headquarters Squadron 12 (HS-12). Throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, HS-12 was attached to both the 1st and 2nd Marine Aircraft Wings and participated in numerous campaigns throughout the Northern Solomons,

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, and the

Southern Philippines Mindanao ( ) (Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: مينداناو) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the ...

. Re-deployed to Peiping, China in October 1945, to participate in the post-war occupation of Northern China.

Korean War

The squadron was called to action on the Korean peninsula at the outbreak of hostilities. Deployed to Wonson, Korea in October 1950, HS-12 distinguished itself in combat during the

Battle of Chosin Reservoir The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of t ...

, East Central Front, and the Western Front Campaigns until June 1956. In July 1956, the newly re-designated Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 12 (H&MS-12) re-deployed from

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

to its current home base at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan.

Vietnam War

In May 1965, H&MS-12 deployed in support of combat operations at

Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Với Khu Kinh T� ...

and

Bien Hoa Bien may refer to: * Bien (newspaper) * Basic Income Earth Network * Bień, Poland {{disambiguation ...

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. Returning to Iwakuni in February 1970, elements of H&MS-12 returned to Vietnam, participating in combat operations at Bien Hoa from May 1972 to January 1973.

1970s & 1980s

From January 1973 until September 1988, H&MS-12 continued to provide support for aviation units assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) and various units throughout the Western Pacific. On 1 October 1988, the squadron was combined with H&MS-15 and re-designated as Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 (MALS-12). During December 1989, MALS-12 deployed a substantial detachment to the Philippines in support of MAG-12 operations during the attempted coup.

1990s

In 1990, MALS-12 supported the pre-deployment aircrew training and aircraft grooming of two squadrons in preparation for their deployment to Southwest Asia for participation in

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. During June 1993, in concert with the six aircraft AV-8B detachment to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), MALS-12 began the ongoing support to the 31st MEU.

Mission

History

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam War

1970s & 1980s

1990s

See also

Notes

References

External links