History HMLA-167

1 history

1.1 vietnam war
1.2 1970s & 1980s
1.3 gulf war & 1990s
1.4 global war on terror

history
vietnam war

on april 1, 1968, @ marble mountain air facility, republic of vietnam, marine light helicopter squadron 167 commissioned. commissioning date until june 1971, hml-167 participate in operations against communist forces in republic of vietnam. flying uh-1es duration of tenure in vietnam. on june 21, 1969, hml-167 dropped first helicopter bomb. accomplished using helicopter trap weapon (htw).

an hml-167 uh-1e on marble mountain, christmas 1970.

in may 1971, hml-167 last operating marine helicopter squadron in republic of vietnam. on may 26, 1971, squadron held official stand down, concluding on 60,000 combat flight hours. on june 19, 1971, hml-167 transferred mcas new river, jacksonville, north carolina , became part of marine aircraft group 26, 2nd marine aircraft wing.

1970s & 1980s

in april 1972, hml-167 received marine corps’ first uh-1n. hml-167 acquired additional responsibilities training squadron , model manager uh-1n. on may 16, 1972, hml-167 transferred marine aircraft group 29. squadron performed first coast coast uh-1n flight in 1973.

from 11 22 august 1980 personnel , equipment squadron deployed throughout haiti provide disaster relief after effects of hurricane allen. when hurricane david , hurricane frederic hit dominican republic, hml-167 on scene provide disaster relief 1 17 september 1980.

in 1982, hml-167 reorganized , transferred mag-26 @ same air station. evident hml-167’s role in peacekeeping force in lebanon october 1982 through november 1983. on october 1983, hml-167 achieved ten years of mishap free flying, accumulating approximately 65,000 flight hours. through years hml-167 awarded following: cno aviation safety award (1972,76, 78, 81, 92, 93), fmflant aviation award (1975, 83), national defense transportation award 1981, , commandant of marine corps certificate of commendation 1981.

hml-167 received first ah-1t cobras on january 17, 1984, , became hmla-167 on april 1, 1986. first unit officially designated light attack squadron permanent composite mix of uh-1n , ah-1t helicopters.

throughout 1986 , 1987, hmla-167 demonstrated flexibility. hmla-167’s main body deployed aviation combat element (ace) contingency magtf 2-88 in persian gulf participating in operation praying mantis. magtf 2-88 conducted assault on sassan gas/oil separation platform complex in response iranian mine attack on uss samuel b. roberts. hmla-167 escorted eleven earnest oil tanker convoys ten minesweeper transits during deployment in persian gulf. 1989 came close, hmla-167 took delivery of first 3 ah-1w super cobras during ceremony @ national helicopter association’s annual convention.

the gulf war & 1990s

beginning in june 1990, detachments hmla-167 supported 22nd marine expeditionary unit during largest noncombatant evacuation operation (neo) since evacuation of saigon evacuation of on 3,000 american citizens , foreign nationals embattled capital in monrovia, liberia.

in august, hmla-167 recalled deployment in support of operation desert shield. 6 ah-1ws , sixteen pilots detached mag-29 , subsequently deployed saudi arabia later month , remain in theater through completion of operation desert storm. separate detachments hmla-167 participate in operation provide comfort , operation encourage hope in eastern turkey , northern iraq during spring , summer months of 1991.

detachments squadron begin participating in operation operation provide promise in adriatic sea during balkans crisis. special purpose magtf, formed detachment of uh-1ns, embarked aboard aircraft carrier uss theodore roosevelt in response continuing crisis in balkans. supported operation southern watch in red sea during renewed tensions iraq. deployment marked first time marine ground , helicopter assets embarked aboard aircraft carrier.

in october 1993, hmla-167 activated in support of operation support democracy in expectation of contingency operations in haiti. operation first time warrior aircraft executed immediate embarkation aboard amphibious transport. support operations in caribbean sea continued 1994 while hmla-167 tasked support counter drug operations within united states. hmla-167 won cno’s safety award 1992 , 1993.

1994 saw squadron detachments support operation deny flight off of bosnia , assisted in withdrawal of united states forces somalia.

on february 28, 1995, squadron became first hmla on east coast receive ah-1w super cobra night targeting system. flir , laser designator giant leap in technology , capability warriors.

from 1995-2001, warriors supported mag-26 designated marine expeditionary unit deployments. these detachments supported numerous contingency operations include: operation joint endeavor in bosnia, operation silver wake in albania , operation guardian retrieval , operation noble obelisk in africa. squadron sourced 1 2 plane uh-1n detachment special purpose magtf-8 in support of operation assured response/quick response in liberia, africa. special purpose magtf huey detachment conducted medical evacuation of numerous civilians merchant vessel borren mill after caught fire , rendered unseaworthy 100 miles (160 km) off west coast of africa. in fall of 1998, special purpose magtf/jtf full provider supported humanitarian relief operations in puerto rico, dominican republic , haiti 2 warrior uh-1ns after hurricane georges ripped through caribbean.

the global war on terror

in 2003, hmla-167 supported marine aircraft group 29 providing 9 aircraft , 17 personnel hmla-269 in support of operation iraqi freedom.

in february 2004 hmla-167 again deployed in support of operation iraqi freedom. squadron deployed 18 ah-1ws, 9 uh-1ns, , small detachment of marines in january aboard uss bataan. on february 22, 27 aircraft made transit kuwait al asad, iraq. home of hmla-167 next 6 months. during operation vigilant resolve in fallujah in april 2004, hmla-167 sent detachment surge operations al taqaddum. warriors operated 3 forward operating bases (fobs), fob al qaim, fob korean village , fob kalsu.

at same time warriors in iraq, hmla-167 had detachment 22nd meu operating out of afghanistan. air combat element meu, operated out of kandahar international airport, outside of khandahar, afghanistan , flew in support of marine, army, special forces, , afghan national army operations in southwestern afghanistan.

on august 24, 2004 warriors returned mcas new river. fell under command of mag-26. having left aircraft in iraq follow on units, warriors began reassemble squadron. first aircraft delivered 167 former unit deployment program (udp) aircraft okinawa. these dropped off russian transport aircraft mcas cherry point. hmla-167 accept , transfer on 111 aircraft during next year.

hmla-167 ah-1ws , uh-1n @ al asad, iraq, in 2008.

on august 7, 2005 hmla-167 departed mcas new river , rejoined mag-26 in al asad, iraq. trip iraq third in less 3 years many of marines. hmla-167 redeployed mcas new river on march 1, 2006. during same period, hmla-167 had detachment 22nd marine expeditionary unit operated out of al asad during 6-month deployment.

in august 2006, hmla-167 departed mcas new river after 5 months @ home join mag-16 in al asad, iraq. hmla-167 redeployed mcas new river in march 2007. squadron has again deployed in support of operation iraqi freedom leaving mcas new river on march 11, 2008 seven-month tour in iraq. after few months home, hmla-167 split 2 detachments, main body deploying iraq , small 4 ah-1w cobra detachment deploying afghanistan on february 8, 2009.

in march 2011 during libya civil war hmla 167 sent detachment of uh-1n hueys , ah-1w cobras in support of 22nd meu, 11-month deployment.

on may 3, 2013 hmla 167 returned middle east in support of operation enduring freedom being deployed camp bastion afghanistan, supporting combat operations @ cop camp dwyer , cop shukvani in afghanistan s helmand province. first time hmla 167 deployed uh-1y yankee . in june 2013 hmla 167 sent detachment of 4 ah-1w cobras okinawa kick start udp deployment cycle again. in november 2013 , december 2013 both marines of oef , udp returned deployments respectively.

in october 2015 detachment of ah-1w s , uh-1y s hmla-167 joined vmm-162(rein) of 26th meu in deployment 5th , 6th fleet area s of operation. in november 2015 hmla-167 departed mcas new river , moved okinawa, japan take part in udp 16.1 completing training exercises in thailand cobra gold 2016 , philippines balaktan 2016. marines on 26th meu returned home in april 2016, , marines in okinawa returned in may 2016. in july 2016 hmla-167 received chief of naval operations safety award.