VMA-311

Tomcats — Harrier Operations 1988–2020

The Tomcats flew the AV-8B Harrier II out of MCAS Yuma for 32 years, and they were first into the fight more than once. In January 1991 VMA-311 became the first Marine squadron to employ the AV-8B in combat, and a decade later its Harriers were the first to fly combat missions in Afghanistan. The squadron was deactivated at Yuma on October 15, 2020, and returned in 2023 as VMFA-311, flying the carrier-based F-35C.

Quick Facts

Nickname: Tomcats

Harrier years: 1988 – October 2020

Aircraft: AV-8B Harrier II, including the Night Attack variant

Home base: MCAS Yuma, Ariz.

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

Tail code: WL

Distinction: The first Marine squadron to employ the AV-8B Harrier in combat

Today: VMFA-311, flying the F-35C Lightning II from MCAS Miramar, Calif.

The Harrier Years

1988 — The Tomcats trade the A-4 Skyhawk for the AV-8B Harrier II. Lt. Col. Gary O. Norris takes command in June as the first AV-8B commanding officer.

1990 — Deploys to Saudi Arabia on August 11 for Operation Desert Shield.

1991 — On January 17 the Tomcats become the first Marine squadron to employ the AV-8B in combat. They fly 1,017 combat sorties in Desert Storm and return in April.

1992 — Receives its first Night Attack AV-8B on April 9 and is formally assigned as a night attack squadron.

2001 — Tomcat Harriers with the 15th MEU aboard USS Peleliu become the first Harriers to fly combat missions in Afghanistan.

2003 — Flies in the opening combat sortie of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

2004–05 — Deploys to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, while a six-jet detachment serves with MAG-12 in Iwakuni, Japan.

2006 — A six-jet contingent sails with the 15th MEU aboard USS Boxer.

2008 — Returns to Al Asad with a six-jet detachment aboard USS Peleliu.

2010 — Spends more than two months aboard USS Essex with the 31st MEU for Cobra Gold and Balikatan.

2013 — Deploys to Afghanistan from April to September.

2017 — The last AV-8B squadron to forward-deploy to MCAS Iwakuni under the Unit Deployment Program.

2019 — Deploys to Bahrain with Special Purpose MAGTF–Crisis Response–Central Command 19.2.

2020 — Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew flies his last Harrier flight as commanding officer on October 14. The squadron is deactivated at a sundown ceremony the next day.

2023 — Reactivated on April 14 at MCAS Miramar as VMFA-311, flying the F-35C.

Going to War

Desert Storm. The Tomcats deployed to Saudi Arabia on August 11, 1990, just days after Iraq invaded Kuwait, and operated from King Abdul Aziz Air Base. On January 17, 1991, they became the first Marine squadron to employ the AV-8B Harrier in combat. By the war’s end they had flown 1,017 combat sorties, and in April they came home to Yuma.

First into Afghanistan. In November 2001, VMA-311 Harriers attached to the 15th MEU aboard USS Peleliu became the first Harriers to fly combat missions in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Iraq. The squadron deployed to the northern Persian Gulf in January 2003, flying from USS Bonhomme Richard and USS Tarawa, and took part in the opening combat sortie of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It returned to Iraq in October 2004 to fly from Al Asad Air Base, and again in 2008.

Back to Afghanistan. After a pre-deployment exercise at Twentynine Palms in early 2013 — the Marine Corps’ first Integrated Training Exercise — the Tomcats deployed to Helmand Province in April 2013. They returned to Yuma on September 25 after a five-and-a-half-month deployment.

Crisis Response. In 2019 the Tomcats took their AV-8Bs to Bahrain with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force–Crisis Response–Central Command 19.2, one of the squadron’s last deployments with the Harrier.

At Sea

2001 — USS Peleliu, 15th MEU: first Harrier combat missions over Afghanistan.

2003 — USS Bonhomme Richard and USS Tarawa, northern Persian Gulf: Operation Iraqi Freedom.

2006 — USS Boxer, 15th MEU.

2008 — USS Peleliu, 15th MEU.

2010 — USS Essex, 31st MEU: Cobra Gold and Balikatan.

2017 — Eight AV-8Bs to MCAS Iwakuni under the Unit Deployment Program, including two MEU patrols in the western Pacific.

The Maintainers

Harrier squadrons rarely deployed whole. They carved out detachments of their best jets and people for the amphibs, and the Marines left behind at Yuma kept the rest of the flight line alive. Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), then the maintenance officer of VMA-214 next door, remembers test-flying a Tomcats jet that had sat for months while VMA-311 Marines rebuilt it — with the whole squadron watching from the flight line.

“… as soon as I get airborne, I looked over the flight line, and these 311 Marines are jumping up and down … they thought, ‘Oh my God, he got airborne!’ So I made their day.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), then VMA-214 maintenance officer

The Tomcats

VMA-311 traces its lineage to December 1, 1942, when it was commissioned at Cherry Point, N.C. In 1948 it became the first Marine Corps squadron to receive jets, and in Korea it flew the first Marine jet combat mission. Its Harriers carried the squadron’s longtime WL tail code to the end.

“The reputable Tomcats have an exceptional level of esprit de corps representing 78 years of superior performance.”
— Sgt. Maj. Colin Barry, VMA-311 sergeant major, at the squadron’s 2020 sundown

Awards and Milestones

1988 — Marine Corps Aviation Association Attack Squadron of the Year, earned in the squadron’s final A-4 year, on the eve of the Harrier transition.

1991 — First Marine squadron to employ the AV-8B Harrier in combat (January 17), and Attack Squadron of the Year.

2001 — First Harriers to fly combat missions in Afghanistan.

2017 — The last AV-8B squadron to forward-deploy to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan.

In Memoriam

Lt. Col. Peter E. Yount — spring 1998, Southern California desert

A former Harrier test pilot, Lt. Col. Yount had been selected to command a Harrier squadron at MCAS Yuma — the Tomcats, as Col. Ben Hancock recalls — and was killed after ejecting from his Harrier before he could take command.

“By any account … an excellent pilot and an excellent test pilot. He had flown the Harrier as a test pilot. He was a … Jedi Knight. I mean, he was the cream of the crop.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), on Lt. Col. Peter Yount

This record is still being compiled. If you served with VMA-311 and can help us honor the Tomcats we lost, please share your story.

Harrier Commanding Officers

Lt. Col. Gary O. Norris — June 1988–June 1990, first AV-8B commanding officer

Lt. Col. Michael McKenney — to December 2018

Lt. Col. Robb McDonald — from December 2018

Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew — 2020, final Harrier commanding officer

This list is still being compiled. If you commanded or flew with VMA-311, help us complete it.

Today

Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew flew his last flight as commanding officer at MCAS Yuma on October 14, 2020, and VMA-311 was deactivated at a sundown ceremony there the next day, passing its Harriers to sister squadron VMA-214. On April 14, 2023, the Tomcats were reactivated at MCAS Miramar, Calif., as VMFA-311 under Lt. Col. Michael P. Fisher — the Marine Corps’ second F-35C Lightning II squadron, with Marine Aircraft Group 11. The squadron declared initial operational capability on July 31, 2024.

The Harrier Legacy Project

The Tomcats’ 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-214 Black Sheep · VMA-223 Bulldogs · VMA-231 Ace of Spades · 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-311 fly the Harrier? From 1988, when it traded its A-4 Skyhawks for the AV-8B Harrier II, until it was deactivated at MCAS Yuma on October 15, 2020.

Was VMA-311 the first squadron to fly the Harrier in combat? It was the first Marine squadron to employ the AV-8B Harrier in combat, on January 17, 1991, during Desert Storm.

Why is VMA-311 called the Tomcats? The Tomcats name has stayed with the squadron through its attack and fighter eras, and it carried over when the unit returned as VMFA-311.

What wars did VMA-311 fight in with the Harrier? Desert Storm, Afghanistan in 2001 and 2013, and Iraq from 2003 to 2008.

Who was VMA-311’s last Harrier commanding officer? Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew.

What does VMFA-311 fly now? The F-35C Lightning II, the carrier variant of the F-35, from MCAS Miramar, Calif.