  marine corps air station beaufort or mcas beaufort  is a united states marine corps air base located three miles (5&nbsp;km) northwest of the central business district of beaufort, a city in beaufort county, south carolina, united states. about 4,700 personnel serve at the station, and it is home to seven marine corps f/a-18 hornet fighter-attack squadrons plus two navy f/a-18 strike fighter squadrons. ==resident units== * headquarters and headquarters squadron * marine aircraft group 31 * marine wing support squadron 273 * marine air control squadron 2, detachment "a" * combat logistics company 23 ==history== left|200px|thumb|the watertower on the air station emblazoned with the base nickname "fightertown." naval air station beaufort was commissioned on june 15, 1943 for advanced training operations of anti-submarine patrols during world war ii. it was then deactivated in 1946 and reactivated in 1956. on march 1, 1960, it was re-designated marine corps air station beaufort. on september 19, 1975, the airfield was named merritt field in honor of major general lewie g. merritt, usmc, a 1917 graduate of the citadel, the military college of south carolina. he was from ridge spring, south carolina. the air station encompasses 6,900 acres (28&nbsp;kmÂ²). it is also associated with a large air-to-air combat area off the coast of south carolina and georgia as well as a 5,200 acre (21&nbsp;kmÂ²) air-to-ground combat and bombing ra
Airports_in_South_Carolina Buildings_and_structures_in_Beaufort,_South_Carolina Military_facilities_in_South_Carolina United_States_Marine_Corps_air_stations