Officially Licensed USMC MALS-26 Patriots Sticker

Officially Licensed USMC MALS-26 Patriots Sticker — Seven Decades of Keeping Marine Helicopters Combat-Ready from Cherry Point to Al Anbar

From the beaches of Grenada to the oil platforms of the Persian Gulf, the Patriots have been fixing what the fleet breaks since 1952.

Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 26 (MALS-26) — the 'Patriots' — is one of the longest-serving aviation logistics squadrons in the Marine Corps, with a lineage stretching back to June 16, 1952, when Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron 26 was commissioned at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. Redesignated H&MS-26 in February 1954 and finally MALS-26 in October 1988, the Patriots consolidated all aviation maintenance and supply responsibilities under one roof to support MAG-26 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at MCAS New River. The Patriots earned their first major combat stripes in 1983 when an H&MS-26 detachment deployed with HMM-261 aboard USS Guam for Operation Urgent Fury — the invasion of Grenada and Carriacou Island — the Marine Corps' first major combat action since Vietnam. The following year, squadron elements supported the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1988, a detachment deployed to the Persian Gulf for Operation Praying Mantis and earned the Joint Meritorious Unit Award alongside HMM-261 for meritorious achievement during the destruction of the Sirri and Sassan oil platforms. In August 1990, a MALS-26 detachment participated in Operation Sharp Edge — the evacuation of 1,648 American and foreign nationals from Monrovia, Liberia — before the squadron provided aviation supply, intermediate maintenance, and engine repair for eleven MAG-29 and MAG-26 squadrons during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Through the 1990s, the Patriots supported operations across the globe — Provide Comfort in Turkey and Iraq, Deny Flight in Yugoslavia, peacekeeping in Bosnia, and the Kosovo conflict. MALS-26 was named 2nd MAW MALS of the Year four times and received the Secretary of the Navy Award for Safety Excellence Ashore. During OIF, the squadron managed the drawdown and closing of Al Asad Air Base, earning a Navy Unit Commendation for the effort. This sticker honors every Patriot who ever turned a wrench, shipped a part, or loaded ordnance to keep the rotors turning.