Official HMH-461 Iron Horse Flightline Qual Patches

Official HMH-461 Iron Horse Flightline Qual Patches — Earned on the Line, Not in a Classroom

If you haven't been on the HMH-461 flightline, you haven't earned this patch.

HMH-461 "Ironhorse" is Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461, founded on March 15, 1944, and currently based at MCAS New River under MAG-29 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. The Ironhorses have been the Marine Corps' heavy-lift backbone for decades, making history as the first Marine aviation unit to aerial refuel using night vision goggles and the first to externally lift a Riverine Assault Craft with the CH-53E. In January 1991, the squadron flew almost 500 miles from the sea into war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia to execute the non-combatant evacuation that opened Operation Eastern Exit — after already deploying for Desert Storm aboard USS Iwo Jima. From Djibouti to Afghanistan to Haiti earthquake relief, the Ironhorses have logged deployments across the globe, earning the Keith B. McCutcheon Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron of the Year Award and racking up over 300,000 mishap-free flight hours. These flightline qual patches represent the Marines who keep the big iron turning.

Perfect For: HMH-461 crew chiefs, maintainers, and aircrew, CH-53E and CH-53K professionals, MAG-29 Marines, and anyone who's been covered in hydraulic fluid and proud of it.

Heavy lift. Heavy commitment. Ironhorse strong.