A black and white badge design featuring a fighter jet at the top, a black sheep with a crown and jeer on its head, blue stars around the sheep, and text that reads 'VMA-214 BLACKSHEEP'.

VMA-214

Black Sheep — Harrier Operations 1989–2022

The squadron Pappy Boyington made famous in the Solomons flew the Harrier for 33 years. In June 1989 VMA-214 became the Marine Corps’ first operational squadron of AV-8B Night Attack Harrier IIs, and from MCAS Yuma the Black Sheep carried the jump jet to Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and the fight against ISIS. On March 25, 2022, the squadron was redesignated VMFA-214, closing out Harrier operations on the West Coast.

Quick Facts

Nickname: Black Sheep

Harrier years: June 1989 – March 2022

Aircraft: AV-8B Harrier II, beginning with the Night Attack Harrier

Home base: MCAS Yuma, Ariz.

Parent units: Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

Tail code: WE

Distinction: The first operational AV-8B Night Attack Harrier squadron, and the last Harrier squadron at MCAS Yuma

Today: VMFA-214, flying the F-35B

The Harrier Years

1989 — The Black Sheep retire the A-4M Skyhawk after 30,000 accident-free hours. In June they become the first operational squadron of AV-8B Night Attack Harrier IIs.

“I was in charge of the cadre that had to teach the new avionics for the night attack birds.”
— Richard Campbell, avionics instructor, MCAS Yuma

1991 — In October, the first squadron to take the night attack capability into the Unit Deployment Program, sending 20 Night Attack Harriers to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, for seven months.

1992 — Capt. Jeffrey J. Smith is killed after his Harrier crashes on takeoff at the Quad City Air Show in Davenport, Iowa.

1993 — A dedicated Night Systems deployment to Twentynine Palms, Calif., in July.

1993–94 — Aboard USS Peleliu off Somalia for Operations Restore Hope and Quick Draw.

1994 — A detachment sails with the 13th MEU aboard USS Essex: Operation Southern Watch and Operation United Shield off Somalia.

1996 — A detachment aboard USS Tarawa with the 13th MEU supports Southern Watch and Operation Desert Strike.

1997 — Wins the Lawson H.M. Sanderson Award as Attack Squadron of the Year for the third time.

1998–99 — Aboard USS Boxer to the northern Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Fox.

2000 — The squadron deploys to Iwakuni while Detachment Bravo sails with the 13th MEU aboard USS Tarawa: East Timor, and the recovery of the destroyer USS Cole off Yemen.

2003 — Goes to war in Iraq from Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait.

2004 — Returns for Operation Iraqi Freedom II, with jets at Al Asad Air Base and aboard USS Belleau Wood.

2005–06 — Two six-plane detachments deploy at once, leaving the squadron “tri-sited” for eight months.

2007 — Deploys to Japan in support of the 31st MEU.

2009 — A detachment aboard USS Boxer hunts pirates off Somalia while the rest of the squadron flies combat from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

2010 — Named Attack Squadron of the Year on May 22.

2020 — Deploys ashore to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.

2021–22 — Final Harrier deployment, with the 11th MEU aboard USS Essex, including Operation Inherent Resolve.

2022 — Redesignated VMFA-214 on March 25, ending Harrier operations on the West Coast.

Going to War

Somalia. From December 1993 to July 1994, VMA-214 Marines deployed aboard USS Peleliu for Operations Restore Hope and Quick Draw off the coast of Somalia, while the squadron’s Det B took part in Operation Distant Runner in Burundi and Rwanda. A 13th MEU detachment that sailed aboard USS Essex in October 1994 returned to the Somali coast for Operation United Shield.

The Persian Gulf. Black Sheep detachments flew Operation Southern Watch from USS Essex in 1994 and from USS Tarawa in 1996, when they also supported Operation Desert Strike in northern Iraq. In 1998–99 the squadron sailed aboard USS Boxer directly to the northern Persian Gulf to take part in Operation Desert Fox.

Iraq. In February 2003 the Black Sheep deployed 16 Harriers and more than 250 Marines to Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, and flew more than 1,900 combat sorties, dropping 236,000 pounds of ordnance. For Operation Iraqi Freedom II in 2004 the squadron sent ten Harriers to Al Asad Air Base and six aboard USS Belleau Wood, flying 1,978 combat sorties between them.

“We were always carving out dets, taking … some of our best jets, and either sending them off with our squadron detachment, or sometimes forced to give up some jets to the squadron who’s trying to put out a boat det.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), former VMA-214 maintenance officer

Pirates. In 2009 a six-jet detachment of about 100 Marines and sailors sailed with the 13th MEU aboard USS Boxer on counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and played a role in the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips, the American merchant captain taken hostage by Somali pirates.

Afghanistan. In May 2009 most of the squadron deployed to Kandahar with Marine Aircraft Group 40, supporting the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Helmand Province as part of the 2009 increase in U.S. forces. Under Lt. Col. Eric Schaefer the Black Sheep flew about five missions a day, including a show of force on August 8, 2009, over Marines of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines under fire in Garmsir. “Within 40 seconds of our show of force, the enemy disengaged,” Schaefer said. The squadron flew 1,375 combat sorties and 3,200 hours before handing Kandahar over to VMA-231 and returning to Yuma in late 2009.

The Last Deployments. In 2020 VMA-214 operated ashore from Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia. Its final Harrier deployment, with the 11th MEU aboard USS Essex in 2021–22, included Operation Inherent Resolve.

At Sea

1991–92 — Unit Deployment Program to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan: 20 Night Attack Harriers for seven months.

1993–94 — USS Peleliu: Restore Hope and Quick Draw off Somalia; Det B in Operation Distant Runner.

1994 — USS Essex, 13th MEU: Southern Watch and United Shield.

1996 — USS Tarawa, 13th MEU: Southern Watch and Desert Strike.

1998–99 — USS Boxer: Operation Desert Fox.

2000 — MCAS Iwakuni, with Detachment Bravo aboard USS Tarawa, 13th MEU: East Timor and the USS Cole recovery.

2004 — USS Belleau Wood: Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

2005–06 — Two six-plane detachments deployed at once.

2007 — Japan, with the 31st MEU.

2009 — USS Boxer, 13th MEU: counter-piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

2021–22 — USS Essex, 11th MEU: the squadron’s final Harrier deployment.

The Maintainers

Night attack jets, split detachments and a constant tug-of-war over airframes kept the Black Sheep maintainers at Yuma busy. Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock, who flew some 2,000 hours in the Harrier, served as the squadron’s maintenance officer. When VMA-311 owed the Black Sheep a jet in return for Harriers VMA-214 had loaned it for a shipboard detachment, Hancock went next door and test-flew the long-grounded replacement himself — and nursed it back to Yuma after an electrical fire broke out in the rear fuselage.

“I was the maintenance officer of VMA-214, the real famous Black Sheep.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.)

“Very challenging airplane to maintain. The guys … busted their butt on that airplane. Not just the engine, but the airframe.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), former VMA-214 maintenance officer

The Black Sheep

VMA-214 was commissioned as Marine Fighter Squadron 214 on July 1, 1942, at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, Hawaii. Reformed in August 1943 under Maj. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, it took the name Black Sheep and became one of the best-known squadrons in Marine Corps history. Redesignated VMA-214 on July 9, 1957, it flew attack aircraft for 58 years, the last 33 of them in the Harrier. In March 2025 a Harrier whose last active-duty assignment was with the Black Sheep, Bureau Number 165572, arrived at the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum in Irvine, Calif., for display.

Awards and Milestones

1989 — 30,000 accident-free hours and six years of accident-free flying, completed in the year the squadron traded the A-4M for the Harrier.

1989 — The first operational squadron of AV-8B Night Attack Harrier IIs.

1991 — The first squadron to take the night attack capability into the Unit Deployment Program.

1997 — Lawson H.M. Sanderson Award, Attack Squadron of the Year, for the third time.

2003 — More than 1,900 combat sorties and 236,000 pounds of ordnance in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

2009 — 1,375 combat sorties and 3,200 flight hours in Afghanistan.

2010 — Attack Squadron of the Year, presented May 22 at the Marine Corps Aviation Awards in Dallas.

In Memoriam

Capt. Jeffrey J. Smith — June 29, 1992, Davenport, Iowa (died of his injuries the next day)

This record is still being compiled. If you served with VMA-214 and can help us honor the Black Sheep we lost, please share your story.

Harrier Commanding Officers

Lt. Col. Eric Schaefer — 2009, Afghanistan

Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew — until March 2022, final Harrier commanding officer

This list is still being compiled. If you commanded or flew with VMA-214, help us complete it.

Today

On March 25, 2022, at MCAS Yuma, Marine Attack Squadron 214 was redesignated Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 as it began its move from the AV-8B to the F-35B Lightning II. Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew handed command to Lt. Col. Christopher Kelly, and Maj. Gen. Bradford J. Gering, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing commander, who had served in VMA-214 and flown the AV-8B for many years, said the Black Sheep and the Harrier “hold a special place in my heart.” VMA-214 was the last Harrier squadron at Yuma.

“The re-designation of VMA-214 to VMFA-214 is the end of a legacy for the Black Sheep and Marine Aircraft Group-13. This symbolic event finalizes the sundown for Harriers on the West Coast and closes the chapter on 58 years of attack aircraft operations for the Black Sheep.”
— Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew, VMA-214 commanding officer, 2022

“The AV-8B will be missed in the skies of Yuma,” Bucklew said, “but it is time to transition to the next generation.”

The Harrier Legacy Project

The Black Sheep’s story is part of The Harrier Legacy Project, CALLSIGN Publishing’s 136-page commemorative book on the Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier community, built from more than two years of embedded reporting, original photography and firsthand oral histories. Learn about the book →

More Harrier Squadrons

VMA-211 Wake Island Avengers · VMA-223 Bulldogs · VMA-231 Ace of Spades · VMA-311 Tomcats · VMA-331 Bumblebees · VMA-513 Flying Nightmares · VMA-542 Tigers · VMAT-203 Hawks · VX-4 Evaluators · VX-5 Vampires · VX-9 Vampires · VX-31 Dust Devils

Frequently Asked Questions

When did VMA-214 fly the Harrier? From June 1989, when it became the first operational AV-8B Night Attack Harrier squadron, until its redesignation as VMFA-214 on March 25, 2022 — 33 years.

Why is VMA-214 called the Black Sheep? The squadron took the name in 1943, when it was reformed under Maj. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington during World War II.

Where was VMA-214 based? At MCAS Yuma, Ariz., with Marine Aircraft Group 13 of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. It was the last Harrier squadron at Yuma.

What wars did VMA-214 fight in with the Harrier? Operations off Somalia in 1993–94, Southern Watch and Desert Fox over Iraq, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and Iraqi Freedom II, Afghanistan in 2009 and Operation Inherent Resolve.

Who was VMA-214’s last Harrier commanding officer? Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew.

What does the squadron fly now? The F-35B Lightning II, as VMFA-214.