Airmen of the 321st Contingency Response Squadron / 621st Contingency Response Group based at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst attach a Humvee vehicle to a CH-53E at Lakehurst Maxfield Field during a training with HMH-772 (-). The 321st CRS is specialized in training and rapidly deploying personnel globally to quickly open airfields and establish, expand, sustain, and coordinate air mobility operations during a variety of contingency operations.
First Steps
The history of the unit goes back to April 1958 when HMR- 772 was established as part of the USMC Reserve Training Command at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove in Pennsylvania. The squadron was renamed Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 772 (HMM-772) in April 1962 and became part of Marine Aircraft Group 43 / 4th Marine Aircraft Wing in 1965. In 1970, the unit was relocated for a short period to Naval Air Station-Lakehurst where it switched on Sept. 1, 1971 to its current name: Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 772. A year later, the unit returned again to Willow Grove where it became part of Marine Aircraft Group 49 / 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
From 1958 until 1960, the unit operated the Piasecki UH- 25B, which was replaced by the Sikorsky UH-34D Seahorse helicopter. The UH-34D remained in service until December 1971, with it being the last USMC unit to operate this specific
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aircraft type. The unit received its first CH-53A Sea Stallion helicopters in 1971 and replaced them with the newer RH-53D in 1991. In 1994 the CH-53E Super Stallion was introduced, and the unit is still flying it today after many life-extending modifications.
Proud history
The unit actively participated in Operation Desert Storm from March until April 1991, Relief Operation Sea Angel after a cyclone hit Bangladesh in May 1991, Operation Fiery Vigil in the Philippines in June 1991, and Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom from October 2002 until May 2003. The unit subsequently participated in humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations in the wake of hurricanes Rita and Katrina during September/October 2005. From May until November 2009, HMH-772 deployed back to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, operating from Camp Leatherneck in the Helmand Province.
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