Officially Licensed USMC MALS-31 Stingers Sticker

Officially Licensed USMC MALS-31 Stingers Sticker — Keeping Beaufort's Hornets and Lightnings Mission-Ready Since World War II

From the beaches of Okinawa to the flight line at Beaufort, the Stingers have been keeping Marine fighters in the fight for over eighty years.

Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 (MALS-31) — the 'Stingers' — is one of the oldest continuously serving aviation logistics units in the Marine Corps. Activated on February 1, 1943, at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, as Headquarters Squadron 31, the unit shipped out to the Pacific just six months later, embarking aboard the USS Nassau and USAT Puebla from San Diego. By late 1943, MAG-31 and its support elements were spread across Samoan bases before pushing forward into the Marshall Islands. On Roi Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Japanese bombers attacked the base and inflicted heavy casualties, destroying a major portion of the equipment and supplies that had been moved ashore. Despite the losses, the squadron's Marines pressed forward, supporting a full year of aerial warfare against bypassed Japanese garrisons. In April 1945, MAG-31 came ashore on Okinawa and began operating from Yontan Airfield, putting 80 of 109 aircraft into the fight immediately to help combat the devastating kamikaze attacks against the American fleet. After the war, the unit was reactivated during the Korean War era and eventually settled at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, where it remains today under MAG-31 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Redesignated as MALS-31 in October 1988, the Stingers transitioned their logistics support from F-4 Phantom IIs and A-4 Skyhawks to the F/A-18 Hornet by 1990, and have since supported Operations Desert Storm, Deny Flight, Noble Anvil, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. MALS-31 earned the Donald E. Davis MALS of the Year Award in both 1997 and 2002, along with Meritorious Unit Commendations in 1997 and 2004. Today, the Stingers keep MAG-31's Hornets and F-35 Lightnings flying — the logistics backbone of Marine fighter aviation on the East Coast. This sticker is for every maintainer who's earned their stripes on the Beaufort flight line.