VMA-542

For half a century the Tigers flew the jump jet. VMA-542 was reactivated on January 12, 1972, as the second Marine squadron to fly the AV-8A Harrier, and for the next 50 years its kanji-marked jets went wherever the Marine Corps needed close air support — into the Kuwaiti desert, over Kandahar and Fallujah, off the deck of USS Kearsarge against Libya, and finally into the Baltic as Russia invaded Ukraine. The squadron retired its last Harriers and became VMFA-542 on December 1, 2022, the Marine Corps’ first East Coast operational F-35B squadron.

Quick Facts

Nickname: Tigers

Harrier years: January 1972 – December 2022

Aircraft: AV-8A and AV-8C Harrier, AV-8B Harrier II and the radar-equipped Harrier II Plus

Home base: MCAS Beaufort, S.C., then MCAS Cherry Point, N.C.

Parent units: Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing

Tail code: WH

Distinction: The second AV-8A squadron in the Marine Corps, and the squadron chosen to bring the radar/night-attack Harrier II Plus to the fleet

Today: VMFA-542, flying the F-35B Lightning II

The Harrier Years

1972 — Reactivated on January 12 at MCAS Beaufort as VMA-542, the second Marine squadron equipped with the AV-8A.

1974 — Moves to MCAS Cherry Point.

1977–79 — Selected Marine V/STOL Squadron of the Year two years running.

1979 — During Operation Solid Shield, six AV-8As fly 42 sorties in two hours, averaging 6.4-minute turnarounds — a new record for turnaround time.

1986 — The first AV-8B Harrier IIs arrive in April; the transition is complete by May.

1989–90 — Six-month Unit Deployment Program tour at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan.

1990–91 — Desert Shield and Desert Storm, from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia: more than 1,000 combat sorties.

1993 — Selected to introduce the radar/night-attack AV-8B Harrier II Plus to the fleet. The Tigers write the radar syllabus and train the Marine Corps’ first radar Harrier pilots.

1995 — Deployments to Iwakuni and Kadena, and an Operation Strong Resolve detachment to Norway.

1999 — Kosovo: Operation Noble Anvil.

2001 — On September 11, a detachment is in workups with the 22nd MEU aboard USS Wasp; it goes on to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

2003 — Embarks aboard USS Bataan in January for Southern Watch and the invasion of Iraq.

2004 — A detachment flies from Kandahar, Afghanistan, while the rest of the squadron fights in Iraq, including the battle of Fallujah.

2006 — Operation Enduring Freedom with the 24th MEU.

“542 was highly professional, and that’s what they were known for.”

— Trevor Felter, VMA-223 pilot, 2006–10, later VMA-542 commanding officer

2007–08 — Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, from September 2007 to April 2008.

2010–11 — Detachments with the 31st MEU in the Pacific and the 26th MEU aboard USS Kearsarge, which strikes Libya in Operation Odyssey Dawn.

2014 — Returns to Iwakuni for the Unit Deployment Program.

2016 — Supports the 22nd and 31st MEUs at the same time; the 22nd MEU detachment strikes ISIS in Libya from USS Wasp.

2018 — Operation Inherent Resolve with the 26th MEU, and Exercise Fjord Fury in Norway.

2019–20 — Operation Inherent Resolve with the 26th MEU, December 2019 to July 2020.

2022 — Final Harrier deployment, aboard USS Kearsarge in the Baltic. Redesignated VMFA-542 on December 1.

Going to War

Desert Storm. The Tigers deployed to Bahrain in August 1990 for Desert Shield, then moved forward to King Abdul Aziz Naval Base near Jubail, Saudi Arabia. In the 42-day war the squadron flew more than 1,000 combat sorties and more than 1,200 hours and delivered over 1,000 tons of ordnance. On the night of February 23, Capt. James “Trey” Wilbourn III was lost on a bombing mission over Kuwait.

“Right next to us was 542. … they were our nemesis, so to speak.”

— Mark, VMA-231 ordnance Marine, on the Desert Storm flight line at King Abdul Aziz

Kosovo. In 1999 the Tigers flew in Operation Noble Anvil, the U.S. part of NATO’s air campaign over Kosovo.

Afghanistan and Iraq. In January 2003 the squadron embarked aboard USS Bataan and flew more than 600 sorties and 1,000 combat hours in Operations Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. In 2004 six Tigers Harriers with the 22nd MEU flew from Kandahar Airfield in support of Task Force Linebacker, flying their first close-air-support strikes on June 2 over Oruzgan Province. At the same time, the rest of the squadron fought in Iraq, including the battle of Fallujah. It returned to Iraq from September 2007 to April 2008, flying from Al Asad Air Base in Anbar Province.

Libya, 2011. Six VMA-542 Harriers sailed with the 26th MEU aboard USS Kearsarge, part of a deployment that lasted 258 days. Before dawn on March 20, 2011, four of them launched from Kearsarge with laser-guided bombs and struck Libyan government armor near Benghazi in Operation Odyssey Dawn. The next day an Air Force F-15E crew ejected east of Benghazi. Two Harriers covered the Marine recovery team and bombed vehicles near the downed airman. The 26th MEU’s Harriers flew about 80 sorties in 13 days and destroyed 75 tanks and other military vehicles.

Libya, 2016. Flying with the 22nd MEU from USS Wasp, Tigers Harriers struck ISIS fighters in Sirte during Operation Odyssey Lightning.

Against ISIS. Deployed with the 26th MEU, the squadron dropped ordnance for Operation Inherent Resolve in 2018, then flew combat missions throughout its December 2019–July 2020 deployment.

The Baltic. The Tigers’ last Harrier detachment sailed aboard USS Kearsarge with the 22nd MEU in 2022, just after Russia invaded Ukraine. It operated in the Baltic Sea and flew from Estonia for a time.

“We deployed right after Russia invaded Ukraine, on the Kearsarge again. … We were in the Baltic. … we’d flown in … Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Finland, Norway. We’ve been in all those countries.”

— Lt. Col. Trevor Felter, VMA-542 commanding officer, 2020–22