Description
VMM-163 Ridge Runners REIN 11th MEU Patch — Embroidered Patch
The Evil Eyes on Deployment
When VMM-163 deploys with a Marine Expeditionary Unit, every pilot, crew chief, and maintainer carries decades of combat aviation heritage into the fight. This patch marks a specific chapter in that legacy — the Ridge Runners reinforced as the aviation combat element of the 11th MEU, ready for anything from humanitarian response to full-spectrum combat operations.
VMM-163’s lineage stretches to December 1951, when HMR-163 was commissioned at MCAS Santa Ana. The squadron earned its original “Ridge Runners” nickname during typhoon rescue operations in the mountains near Hanshin, Japan, in 1953. In Vietnam, HMM-163 flew thousands of combat sorties from Soc Trang, Da Nang, and Marble Mountain — their iconic painted eyes, suggested by squadron intelligence officer Captain Al Barbes, gave them the secondary callsign “Evil Eyes.” The squadron executed the longest amphibious assault in American military history during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, seizing a forward operating base deep in southern Afghanistan with the 15th MEU. Now flying MV-22B Ospreys out of MCAS Miramar under MAG-16, the Ridge Runners continue to project Marine aviation power worldwide.
Perfect For:
VMM-163 aircrew and maintainers, 11th MEU veterans, Marine tiltrotor and helicopter aviation enthusiasts, MAG-16 alumni, and collectors of squadron deployment patches.
Painted eyes forward, rotors turning — the Ridge Runners are always mission-ready.
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