Description
Officially Licensed USMC MALS-31 Stingers Sticker — The East Coast’s Aviation Logistics Backbone Since 1943
Every Hornet and Lightning that launches from Beaufort owes the Stingers a debt — and the Stingers always collect.
Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 (MALS-31) — the ‘Stingers’ — has been keeping Marine tactical aircraft in the fight since World War II. Originally activated on February 1, 1943, at MCAS Cherry Point as Headquarters Squadron 31, the unit deployed to the Pacific in September 1943, operating from bases across Samoa and the Marshall Islands before coming ashore on Okinawa in April 1945 to support combat operations from Yontan Airfield during one of the war’s fiercest campaigns. The squadron’s Marines maintained aircraft through kamikaze attacks, close air support missions, and strikes ranging from Formosa to Kyushu. Reactivated during the Korean War and eventually settled at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, MALS-31 was redesignated from Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 31 in October 1988. The Stingers managed the transition from legacy F-4 Phantom IIs and A-4 Skyhawks to the F/A-18 Hornet by 1990, and their Marines have deployed for Operations Desert Storm, Deny Flight over Bosnia, Noble Anvil during the Kosovo campaign, and both Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Recognized with the Donald E. Davis MALS of the Year Award in 1997 and 2002 and Meritorious Unit Commendations in both of those eras, MALS-31 has consistently proven it runs one of the tightest logistics operations in Marine aviation. Today, the Stingers provide intermediate-level maintenance, avionics, ordnance, and supply support for MAG-31’s fleet of F/A-18 Hornets and F-35B/C Lightnings under the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. This sticker represents every wrench turned and every sortie made possible by the Marines who keep the East Coast’s fighter jets flying.
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