VMAT-203

Hawks — Harrier Operations 1974–2021

Nearly every Marine who flew the Harrier learned it first with the Hawks. VMAT-203 took delivery of its first AV-8A at MCAS Cherry Point in September 1974, and for the next 47 years it served as the Marine Corps’ Harrier schoolhouse. It taught new pilots in the two-seat TAV-8A, was the first Marine squadron to receive the AV-8B Harrier II, and kept training Harrier pilots until it was deactivated on October 29, 2021.

Quick Facts

Nickname: Hawks

Harrier years: September 1974 – October 2021

Aircraft: AV-8A and two-seat TAV-8A Harrier, AV-8C, AV-8B Harrier II and two-seat TAV-8B

Home base: MCAS Cherry Point, N.C.

Parent units: Marine Aircraft Group 32, later Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing

Tail code: KD

Distinction: The Marine Corps’ Harrier training squadron, and the first Marine squadron to receive the AV-8B Harrier II

Today: Deactivated October 29, 2021. Its training mission passed to a Harrier Fleet Replacement Detachment at Cherry Point.

The Harrier Years

1974 — The squadron’s first AV-8A Harrier is delivered on September 29. The Hawks fly their first Harrier sortie on October 9.

1976 — Two-seat TAV-8A trainers are on the flight line at Cherry Point.

Late 1970s–early 1980s — As part of Marine Aircraft Group 32, the Hawks are the training squadron for the AV-8A and the upgraded AV-8C.

1983 — The first AV-8B Harrier II is delivered in December. VMAT-203 is the first Marine squadron to receive it, and until March 1985 it trains pilots on both the old Harrier and the new one.

1985 — The last AV-8A/C pilot finishes training in March. From here on, the Hawks train AV-8B crews only.

“That thing was a screaming machine, and to take off and to come back and … take it to a hover, and it was very, say, at best neutral stability, and in some cases unstable.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), on learning the TAV-8A as a VMAT-203 student, 1985

1986 — Receives the Commandant’s Aviation Efficiency Award.

1987 — On August 12, a TAV-8A crashes in Pamlico County, N.C., killing Capt. Daniel P. Campbell and Navy flight surgeon Lt. Stephen J. Chetneky.

2001 — On February 3, a TAV-8B crashes at Cherry Point, killing instructor Maj. Todd S. Denson and student Capt. Jason K. Meiners. On August 2, the squadron receives its first upgraded TAV-8B.

2004 — Flying 14 single-seat AV-8Bs and 13 two-seat TAV-8Bs, the squadron trains about 40 Marine and Italian pilots a year.

2008 — Capt. Alberto N. Bencosme is killed on December 29 when his Harrier crashes near Cherry Point.

2021 — Deactivated at Cherry Point on October 29. Harrier training continues with a Fleet Replacement Detachment.

The Mission

The schoolhouse. VMAT-203 was the Harrier’s fleet replacement squadron. It turned newly winged aviators into Harrier pilots and trained the maintainers who kept the jets flying. Richard Campbell, an avionics Marine who joined the Hawks in 1976, recalls that the earliest Harrier pilots had no two-seat trainer. They learned the systems on the ground and then went straight up in the single-seat jet.

“The first guys didn’t have anything. … They’re stuck in a single seat and off they go basically.”
— Richard Campbell, VMAT-203, 1976

Two seats. The squadron’s two-seat TAV-8A trainers let instructors fly with students. Ben Hancock went through training in 1985. He recalls about 14 flights in the TAV-8A before a student could solo the single-seat jet, with no procedural errors allowed.

“They’d expect you to be a master of the airplane, but safe. You had to prove that you were proficient and safe, or you were not going to solo …”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), VMAT-203 student, 1985, and later instructor pilot

The Harrier II. The first AV-8B was delivered to the squadron in December 1983. For the next 15 months the Hawks ran two courses at once, one on the AV-8A/C and one on the new Harrier II. By the late 1980s they had trained more than 130 AV-8B pilots and 2,000 AV-8B maintenance personnel. Hancock returned to the squadron as an instructor pilot after Desert Storm. He worked in operations and interviewed new students arriving from the Navy training command.

The syllabus. In 2004 the course took about 36 weeks. It included 69 flights totaling 80 hours, 50 simulator events and about 250 hours of academics. The squadron flew about 7,000 hours a year and trained about 40 Marine and Italian pilots.

The final years. In its last three years as a squadron, VMAT-203 trained 53 Harrier pilots, flew more than 12,000 hours and made eight instructor and student training deployments.

The Maintainers

A training squadron flies its jets hard, and the Hawks’ maintainers kept a fleet of single-seat and two-seat Harriers flying for nearly five decades. The squadron also trained the Marines who would maintain the jet in the fleet. By the late 1980s it had trained more than 2,000 AV-8B maintenance personnel. In 2004 it was made up of about 60 officers and 220 enlisted Marines.

“When I came back in ’76, I went to 203, and they already had the T’s in ’76.”
— Richard Campbell, avionics, VMAT-203, 1976

The Hawks

VMAT-203 traces its lineage to July 1, 1947, when it was activated at Cherry Point as Marine Training Squadron 1 (VMT-1). The squadron was disestablished in 1951 and reestablished in 1967. It became VMT-203 in December 1967 and Marine Attack Training Squadron 203 on May 1, 1972, two years before its first Harrier arrived. Its aircraft carried the tail code KD.

Awards and Milestones

1974 — First Harrier delivered September 29, and first Harrier sortie October 9.

1983 — The first Marine squadron to receive the AV-8B Harrier II.

1986 — Commandant’s Aviation Efficiency Award.

Late 1980s — More than 130 AV-8B pilots and 2,000 AV-8B maintenance personnel trained.

2001 — Received the first upgraded TAV-8B trainer, on August 2.

Final three years — 53 Harrier pilots trained, more than 12,000 flight hours and eight training deployments.

In Memoriam

Capt. Paul L. Spargo Jr. — April 1983, MCAS Cherry Point

Capt. Daniel P. Campbell — August 12, 1987, Pamlico County, N.C.

Lt. Stephen J. Chetneky, USN, flight surgeon — August 12, 1987, Pamlico County, N.C.

“He was a very respected, very accomplished Harrier pilot, AV-8A to AV-8B guy.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), on Capt. Dan Campbell

Maj. Todd S. Denson — February 3, 2001, MCAS Cherry Point

Capt. Jason K. Meiners — February 3, 2001, MCAS Cherry Point

Capt. Alberto N. Bencosme — December 29, 2008, near MCAS Cherry Point

This record is still being compiled. If you served with VMAT-203 and can help us honor the Hawks we lost, please share your story.

Harrier Commanding Officers

Lt. Col. Daniel Fiust — 2021, final commanding officer

This list is still being compiled. If you commanded or flew with VMAT-203, help us complete it.

Sundown

On October 29, 2021, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing held a deactivation ceremony for VMAT-203 at the squadron’s hangar at MCAS Cherry Point. The ceremony was part of the Marine Corps’ move from the Harrier to the F-35B Lightning II under Force Design 2030. “We’ve got a long history of training pilots well, and I think that’s going to continue,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Fiust, the squadron’s last commanding officer. Harrier training moved to a Fleet Replacement Detachment under Marine Aircraft Group 14, which was to keep training Harrier pilots until the jet was retired. The Marine Corps flew its last Harrier operations on June 3, 2026, with VMA-223.

The Harrier Legacy Project

The Hawks’ 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-311 Tomcats · VMA-331 Bumblebees · VMA-513 Flying Nightmares · VMA-542 Tigers · VX-4 Evaluators · VX-5 Vampires · VX-9 Vampires · VX-31 Dust Devils

Frequently Asked Questions

What was VMAT-203? Marine Attack Training Squadron 203, the Hawks, was the Marine Corps’ Harrier training squadron at MCAS Cherry Point, N.C. It turned newly winged naval aviators into Harrier pilots.

When did VMAT-203 fly the Harrier? The squadron received its first AV-8A on September 29, 1974. It flew Harriers until it was deactivated on October 29, 2021.

What aircraft did VMAT-203 use to train Harrier pilots? The single-seat AV-8A and AV-8C and the two-seat TAV-8A, then from December 1983 the AV-8B Harrier II and the two-seat TAV-8B.

How long did Harrier pilot training take? In 2004 the course took about 36 weeks, with 69 flights, 50 simulator events and about 250 hours of academics.

Who trained Harrier pilots after VMAT-203 was deactivated? A Harrier Fleet Replacement Detachment under Marine Aircraft Group 14 at Cherry Point.

Who was VMAT-203’s last commanding officer? Lt. Col. Daniel Fiust.