Officially Licensed USMC MALS-16 Immortals Sticker — The First MALS to Deploy, the First to Fight, and the Last to Quit
When Desert Storm kicked off, MALS-16 didn't just show up — they wrote the playbook for every MALS deployment that followed.
Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 16 (MALS-16) — the 'Immortals,' formerly the 'Forerunners' — is the aviation logistics backbone of MAG-16 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, currently based at MCAS Miramar, California. The squadron traces its lineage to March 1, 1952, when it was activated as Headquarters Squadron 16 at Marine Corps Air Facility Santa Ana, California, supporting the newly formed MAG-16 — the first helicopter group ever established in the Marine Corps. The squadron deployed to Japan in 1953, operated from multiple bases across the Pacific, and in March 1965 moved to Da Nang Air Base to support MAG-16 in Vietnam — one of the largest Marine Air Groups in the history of the Corps. After redesignation as MALS-16 on October 1, 1988, the squadron made history during Desert Shield and Desert Storm by becoming the first MALS to deploy, the first to deploy in support of combat operations, and the first to deploy aboard an Aviation Logistics Support Ship — the SS Curtiss (T-AVB-4). MALS-16 provided logistical support to over 106 aircraft dispersed across multiple sites in a brutally harsh desert environment. On January 18, 1991, MALS Marines landed at El Jabbar airfield during an active firefight and began EOD clearing operations to prepare the field for flight ops — earning Combat Action Ribbons in the process. The squadron became the first MALS in the Marine Corps to receive the Department of Defense 'Phoenix Award' and the first in 3rd MAW to earn the Mike Yunick Award for superior performance. In December 1992, MALS-16 forward deployed to Somalia for Operation Restore Hope, supporting all Marine aircraft in-country while providing base and convoy security — one Marine earned a Purple Heart. From the rice paddies of Vietnam to the deserts of Kuwait and the streets of Mogadishu, the Immortals have set the standard for what a logistics squadron can do under fire. This sticker carries the legacy of every wrench-turner and supply Marine who made it possible.
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