MALS-31 Stingers Patch
Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 (MALS-31), 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 (MALS-31), the "Stingers," traces its lineage to 1 February 1943, when Headquarters Squadron 31 was activated alongside Marine Aircraft Group 31 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina as an element of the 3rd Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force. Six months later, the squadron embarked aboard USS Nassau and USAT Puebla, departing San Diego for the Pacific Theater, where MAG-31 was stationed across the Samoan Islands as part of the 4th Marine Base Defense Aircraft Wing.
By February 1944, forward elements of HQ Squadron 31 had moved into the Marshall Islands, arriving at Roi Island, Kwajalein Atoll, where Japanese bombers soon attacked and inflicted heavy casualties, destroying much of the equipment and supplies that had been moved ashore. From March 1944, the squadron supported a year of aerial warfare against Japanese forces on bypassed Marshall bases. In March 1945, MAG-31 moved to the Battle of Okinawa, going ashore on 3 April 1945 and launching operations from Yontan Airfield four days later—with two MAG-31 pilots shooting down a Japanese bomber making a kamikaze run on their escort carrier, earning the distinction of the first land-based aircraft kill of the Okinawa campaign.
Redesignated as Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 31, the unit reactivated on 1 November 1961 at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina. In October 1988, H&MS-31 became Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 and completed the logistics support transition from F-4 Phantom IIs to the F/A-18 Hornet by 1990. The Stingers have since supported Operations Desert Storm, Deny Flight, Noble Anvil, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom, earning the Donald E. Davis Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron of the Year Award in 1997 and 2002 and Meritorious Unit Commendations in 1997 and 2004.
Perfect For: MALS-31 Stingers members and veterans, MAG-31 personnel, 2nd MAW aviation logisticians, MCAS Beaufort Marines, and supporters of the maintenance and supply professionals who sustain Marine Corps tactical aviation.
The Stingers of MALS-31—keeping Marine fighter jets armed, fueled, and mission-ready from the atolls of the Pacific to the flight lines of Beaufort since 1943.
