USMC HQHQ Squadron MCAS New River Patch
Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron (H&HS) – Marine Corps Air Station New River
Marine Corps Air Station New River traces its origins to 1941, when the federal government purchased 29 parcels of tobacco farmland in Jacksonville, North Carolina, for $64,502 to support aviation operations at the nearby Camp Lejeune. Commissioned on 26 April 1944 as Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Camp Lejeune—named Peterfield Point after the original landowner—the installation initially trained paratrooper Marines, glider troops, and air delivery personnel during World War II. After a period of caretaker status following the war, the airfield was reactivated in the early 1950s when Marine Aircraft Group 26 relocated there in July 1954, and the facility was officially redesignated as a full Marine Corps Air Station on 1 September 1968. In 1972, the airfield was named McCutcheon Field in honor of General Keith B. McCutcheon, one of the founding fathers of Marine Corps helicopter aviation.
Today, MCAS New River is the premier United States Marine Corps rotary-wing and tiltrotor installation on the East Coast, covering approximately 2,600 acres and supporting roughly 9,000 active-duty personnel. The Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron provides the essential leadership, administrative oversight, and base operations support that enables the station's tenant units—including Marine Aircraft Groups 26 and 29—to execute their missions. The air station is home to approximately 200 aircraft operating from two paved runways exceeding 5,000 feet, and was the first Marine Corps base to receive the revolutionary MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. In January 2022, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 (HMH-461) became the first operational unit in the Marine Corps to receive the CH-53K King Stallion at New River, introducing advanced heavy-lift capabilities to the fleet. MCAS New River continues to serve as the backbone of East Coast Marine rotary-wing operations, supporting the 22nd, 24th, and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units and Combined Arms Exercises across the nation.
Perfect For: MCAS New River personnel past and present, H&HS squadron members, MAG-26 and MAG-29 Marines, Camp Lejeune community members, and Marine Corps aviation base collectors.
This patch represents the heart of East Coast Marine helicopter and tiltrotor aviation—the headquarters squadron that keeps the rotors turning at one of the Corps' most vital air stations.
