Officially Licensed HMHT-302 Phoenix Leather Squadron Patches — Where Every CH-53 Pilot Earns Their Wings
Before you fly the Super Stallion in the fleet, the Phoenix has to sign off on it.
Marine Heavy Helicopter Training Squadron 302 — the "Phoenix" — is the Marine Corps' Fleet Replacement Squadron for the CH-53E Super Stallion, training every heavy-lift helicopter pilot and aircrew member bound for the Fleet Marine Force. Based at MCAS New River, North Carolina under MAG-29 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, HMHT-302 takes newly designated Naval Aviators, conversion pilots, refresher pilots, and enlisted aircrew and turns them into combat-capable CH-53E operators. Originally designated HMMT-302 on November 1, 1966, at Marine Corps Air Facility Santa Ana, California, the squadron first trained pilots on the CH-46 Sea Knight before merging with HMT-301 in 1972. Reactivated in November 1987 as HMT-302, the Phoenix transitioned to the CH-53A and CH-53E, relocated from California to New River in 1996, and was rebranded HMHT-302 in 2010. The squadron has logged over 82,000 Class A mishap-free flight hours in the H-53 — a safety record that reflects the discipline required to train pilots on the heaviest, most complex rotary-wing aircraft in the Marine Corps inventory. In 1998, HMT-302 deployed to South Africa in support of a presidential operation — the first Fleet Replacement Squadron to deploy overseas for a real-world military operation. This leather patch honors the schoolhouse that has produced every CH-53 pilot in the Corps for decades.
Perfect For: HMHT-302 Phoenix instructors and graduates, CH-53E Super Stallion pilots and crew chiefs, MAG-29 and 2nd MAW Marines, MCAS New River personnel, and anyone who earned their heavy-lift wings through the Phoenix pipeline.
Every Super Stallion pilot in the fleet flew through the Phoenix first.
