VMM-265 Dragons ‘Remove Before Flight’ Keychain

Description

Official VMM-265 Dragons Remove Before Flight Key Ring — Fire-Breathing Tiltrotor Power, Clipped to Your Gear

The Dragons have been hauling Marines into the fight since before most of today’s aviators were born — and this key ring lets you carry a piece of that legacy everywhere you go.

Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 — the ‘Dragons’ — was commissioned on October 1, 1962, at Marine Corps Air Facility Jacksonville, North Carolina. Originally flying the UH-34, the squadron deployed almost immediately in support of the Mississippi Crisis, a critical moment in the American civil rights movement. By 1964, HMM-265 became the first Fleet Marine Force squadron to fly the CH-46 Sea Knight, logging 10,000 accident-free hours by February 1966 — a remarkable achievement during an era when the aircraft was still working through its growing pains. The Dragons went to war in Vietnam in 1966, operating out of Marble Mountain Air Facility near Da Nang, and went on to serve in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as part of the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, participating in what was then the largest troop lift in Marine Corps history in Oman. The squadron deployed for Operation Desert Fox in 1998, helped end the civil war in East Timor during Operation Stabilise, and flew combat support missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom from Al Asad Airbase. Now flying the MV-22B Osprey out of MCAS Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, VMM-265 falls under Marine Aircraft Group 36 and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, providing assault support transport across the Indo-Pacific — one of the most strategically critical regions in the world. The iconic ‘Remove Before Flight’ key ring is a staple of aviation culture, and this one carries the Dragons’ fire with it.

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