page_title: VMGR-252
section_title: The Gulf War & the 1990s
hierarchical_section_title: VMGR-252 / History / The Gulf War & the 1990s
caption_attribution_description: Two U.S. Marine Corps Hawker Siddeley AV-8A Harrier aircraft receive fuel from a Marine Refueler-Transport Squadron 252 (VMGR-252) Lockheed KC-130R Hercules aircraft (BuNo 160625) during a flight out of Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina (USA), in 1978.
context_page_description: Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 is a United States Marine Corps KC-130J squadron. They are a part of Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and provide both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aerial refueling capabilities to support Fleet Marine Force air operations in addition to assault air transport of personnel, equipment, and supplies. The squadron, known as "Otis" is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. It also has the distinction of being the oldest continually active squadron in the Marine Corps.
context_section_description: In December 1988, VMGR-252 achieved another milestone in when it surpassed 300,000 accident free flight hours and won the distinction of achieving the most accident-free flight hours of any squadron in the Marine Corps and Navy.
  The decade of the nineties started in earnest with VMGR-252 deploying aircraft to Freetown, Sierra Leone in support of 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit operations following civil unrest in nearby Liberia. In addition, the first night-vision-goggle landing in a Marine Corps KC-130 was accomplished in May 1990.
  With little down time the squadron found itself facing an even greater challenge with the mobilization of forces for Operation Desert Shield.  Six squadron aircraft were deployed to form VMGR-252 Detachment Alpha. When Operation Desert Storm commenced on January 16, 1991, the detachment transitioned to combat operations and provided over 10 million pounds of fuel to strike aircraft during the course of 937 combat sorties.
  During the remainder of the 1990s, the squadron continued to support East Coast Marine Expeditionary Unit's for operations in Kenya, Rwanda, the Republic of the Congo, Albania, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Kosovo. They also continued support for taskings Operation Northern Watch and Operation Southern Watch.
caption: A VMGR-252 KC-130R refueling two Harriers, in 1978.
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