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Fighting Bengals Deploy from MCAS Beaufort by Jonathan Derden. Additional photos by Tim Lachenmaier
On a still and unusually chilly morning in mid-November, the low country of South Carolina’s southern coast roars to life with the sound of F/A-18 Hornets departing on morning sorties from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. A seemingly popular stop for transient aircraft, MCAS Beaufort is home to one US Navy squadron, VFA-86 Sidewinders, plus the following Marine Air Group 31 (MAG-31) units:
- VMFA-115 Silver Eagles
- VMFA-251 Thunderbolts
- VMFA-312 Checkerboards
- VMFA(AW)-533 Hawks
- VMFA(AW)-224 Fighting Bengals
A Short History
The latter squadron, the Fighting Bengals, traces its their beginnings to May 1st, 1942, when the unit was commissioned at NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii as Marine Fighter Squadron 224 (VMF-224). First flying the Grumman F4F Wildcat, the Bengals were assigned to Henderson Field at Guadalcanal. The unit was credited with destroying over 60 Japanese aircraft during its first two months at Henderson and its support of Allied ground troops directly contributed to the success of the Allied campaign. Thus began the long and distinguished history of the Fighting Bengals.
After World War II, the Bengals found themselves rotating between the US and various overseas deployments, a cycle that remains very familiar to the squadron. The squadron received its first jet aircraft in 1951, and was redesignated Marine Attack Squadron (VMA-224) a year later with the arrival of the Grumman F9F Panther. The Bengals also became the first operational Marine unit to fly the Douglas A4D Skyhawk, employing this aircraft until November 1966 when the squadron acquired the Grumman A-6A Intruder. This new airframe also resulted in redesignation of the unit, and the Bengals became a Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron, VMA(AW)-224).
The upgraded A-6E arrived in 1974, and the Bengals flew the Intruder with much success until 1993 when they received the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D Hornet are were redesignated VMFA(AW)-224. Several of the Bengals' aircraft are configured with the Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System (ATARS), which replaces the nose gun and gives the squadron all-weather reconnaissance capability.
Preparations and Challenges
The Fighting Bengals are currently underway for yet another Unit Deployment Program (UDP) to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. There they will temporarily join the Bats of VMFA(AW)-242, who permanently relocated to Iwakuni from MCAS Miramar in March of 2008. While on deployment, the Bengals plan to participate in multiple exercises, as the experience to be gained training with other nations, flying with or against dissimilar aircraft, is invaluable. Other recent deployments for the Bengals have included Iraq, but with no real aerial threat the USMC has shifted away from deploying F/A-18 units to Iraq in favor of the dedicated ground attack AV-8B Harrier.
Mid-November found the Bengals immersed in preparations for their deployment, including cross-country flights from Beaufort to Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada and MCAS Yuma in Arizona. The squadron utilizes a hot-pit/hot-seat procedure, which is an efficient way of swapping pilots while keeping the jets running to minimize ground time. This way numerous pilots were able to practice hook-ups from an orbiting tanker to regain currency and prepare for the long journey across the Pacific. Before continuing to Iwakuni, the Bengals will stop in Hawaii and Guam to train with other military assets in the region.
One hurdle arose during the Bengals’ preparations as several USMC F/A-18s were found to have fatigue cracks in the ailerons. However, due to the diligence and efficiency of the maintenance units involved, the Bengals will not suffer any ill effects from this unfortunate discovery and will deploy on schedule.
Not surprisingly, one of the hardest, yet most principal, elements of the deployment is ensuring that every squadron member’s family is properly prepared so that the Marines can focus on the job at hand, rather than their situation at home, to ensure a successful deployment.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Sgt Gina Rindt of Media/Community Relations, Major Clay “Jungle” Berardi and Capt Rob “Champ” Guyette, and wish all the Bengals a safe and successful deployment.
