Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 42 was a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

aviation logistics 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 ...

. They fell under the command of

Marine Aircraft Group 42 Marine Aircraft Group 42 was a United States Marine Corps reserve aviation unit based at Naval Air Station Atlanta, Georgia. Due to a re-organization within Marine aviation, MAG-42 was deactivated on 21 June 2008. History Marine Aircraft Group 4 ...

and

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 support ...

and were based at

Naval Air Station Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 li ...

. MALS-42 provided direct support to

VMFA-142 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142 (VMFA-142) was an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps Reserve that was active from 1942 to 2008. At the time of its inactivation, the squadron was based at Naval Air Station Atlanta, Georgia and fell ...

and

HMLA-773 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 (HMLA-773) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and Bell UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. The squadron is based at Joint Base McGuire–Di ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

squadrons

VAW-77 Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77) "Nightwolves" was an aviation unit of the United States Navy Reserve based at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans from 1995 to 2013. It comprised the U.S. Navy's only fully dedicated ...

and VR-46 and indirect support to two tactical Marine squadrons

Det A and

HMM-774 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 774 (VMM-774) is a United States Marine Corps medium helicopter squadron consisting of V-22 Osprey transport helicopters. The squadron, known as the "Wild Goose", is a United States Marine Corps Reserve unit based ...

. Due to a re-organization within

Marine aviation Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

, MALS-42 was deactivated in 2008.

Mission

Provide aviation logistics support to MAG-42 in garrison and contingencies to include (1) intermediate-level aviation maintenance, (2) aviation ordnance, (3) aviation supply, and (4) management information systems. As a unit, MALS-42 is also tasked to support the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) mission during major regional conflicts.

History

1990s

MALS-49 Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 49 (MALS-49) is a reserve aviation logistics support unit of the United States Marine Corps. They are currently based at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York and fall under the command of Marin ...

Detachment B was redesignated MALS-42 (-) on 18 June 1992. MALS-42 consists of a headquarters unit, MALS-42(-), located at NAS Alameda, DET A located at

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...

, DET B located at

Naval Air Station Norfolk A navy, naval force, 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 and related functions. It include ...

, and DET C located at

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans is a base of the United States military located in Belle Chasse, unincorporated Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. NAS JRB New Orleans is home to a Navy Reserve strike fighter squadron ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. MALS-42 has provided aviation logistical support at CAX during annual training periods, conducted off-site training evolutions at

MALS-14 Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14 (MALS-14) is an aviation logistics support unit of the United States Marine Corps. They are currently based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and fall under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG- ...

MALS-26 Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 26 (MALS-26) is an aviation military logistics, logistics support unit of the United States Marine Corps. They are currently based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina and fall under the command ...

and

MALS-39 Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 39 (MALS-39) is an aviation logistics support unit of the United States Marine Corps. Known as the "Hellhounds", they fall under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing ...

. In 1996, MALS-42 was tasked to draft the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) Plan under which a Reserve Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron (MALS) would be activated to replace an intermediate level maintenance squadron during a Major Regional Conflict (MRC).

Global War on Terror

MALS-42 was activated 13 February 2003 and assigned to

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (abbreviated as 3rd MAW) is the major west coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in San Diego, California and provides the aviation combat el ...

in order to execute the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) Mission in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

(OIF). As a unit, MALS-42 remained activated under the FRS until 12 February 2004. September 2003 found MALS-42 in receipt of orders to plan and execute the deployment of an MALS-42 detachment to

Bagram Air Base Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of above sea leve ...

, Afghanistan as part of

deployment in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

(OEF). As a whole three successive detachments supported combat operations until September 2005. On 29 August 2005, the squadron was called on to support

humanitarian relief Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...

efforts in support of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. Forward deployed personnel participated forward for 30 days and continued to provide maintenance support up through 3 December 2005.

Notes

References