Authentic MWSS-371 Sandsharks Sticker Collection

Description

Officially Licensed MWSS-371 Sandsharks Stickers — The Marines Who Build the Airfield Before the First Jet Arrives

No runway, no fuel, no fire trucks, no flight ops. The Sandsharks make sure the airfield exists so the aircraft can do their job.

Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 (MWSS-371) — the ‘Sandsharks’ — is an aviation ground support unit of the United States Marine Corps, responsible for building, operating, and defending the expeditionary airfields from which Marine aircraft fly and fight. Activated on June 2, 1986, at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California, the squadron relocated to MCAS Yuma, Arizona, in April 1987 and has been based in the Sonoran Desert ever since. MWSS-371 falls under Marine Wing Support Group 37 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and its mission is to provide all essential aviation ground support to the fixed-wing component of an Aviation Combat Element — including heavy equipment operations, motor transportation, aircraft rescue and firefighting, weather services, expeditionary airfield operations, fuels, utilities, explosive ordnance disposal, food service, and combat engineering. The Sandsharks’ first combat deployment came in support of Operation Desert Storm in Southwest Asia from August 1990 to April 1991, where they built and sustained the airfields that kept Marine aircraft in the fight. Elements of the squadron went on to support Operation Restore Hope in Somalia from January to May 1993, Operation Southern Watch over Iraq from March to June 2001, and deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, where they played a critical role in expeditionary airfield establishment and sustainment in combat zones. The nickname ‘Sandsharks’ reflects both their desert home at MCAS Yuma and the aggressive, tenacious spirit of Marines who specialize in turning bare desert into fully operational airfields. Without MWSS-371, the jets don’t fly, the fuel doesn’t flow, and the fires don’t get put out. This sticker represents the Marines who make Marine aviation possible from the ground up.

Perfect For: MWSS-371 Sandsharks Marines past and present, Marine wing support squadron community members, MCAS Yuma personnel, 3rd MAW and MWSG-37 Marines, combat engineers, ARFF firefighters, and anyone who has built, fueled, or defended an expeditionary airfield.

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