VMM - 266 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 ( VMM - 266 ) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV - 22 Osprey transport aircraft . The squadron , known as the " Fighting Griffins " , is based at Marine Corps Air Station New River , North Carolina falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 26 ( MAG - 26 ) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing ( 2nd MAW ) . Mission . Support the Marine Air Ground Task Force ( MAGTF ) commander by providing tactical mobility and logistical support for the MAGTF , day or night , in all weather conditions . VMM - 266 does this by conducting mission essential tasks , which include shipboard operations , sea and air deployment operations , air assault , amphibious assaults and raids , distribution of supplies and other transport services , joint personnel recovery , and conduct of noncombatant evacuation . History . The Early years . HMM - 266 was activated on April 26 , 1983 at Marine Corps Air Station ( MCAS ) New River , North Carolina . In its first year , the squadron established a foundation that would make it the cold weather assault support experts for 2nd MAW . Over the course of the next six years , the squadron participated in fourteen exercises from the High Sierras of the Mountain Warfare Training Center ( MWTC ) in Bridgeport , California to the arctic climes of northern Norway . The Gulf War and the 1990s . Following the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 , HMM - 266 initially provided aircraft and personnel to other MAG - 26 squadrons as they prepared for deployment . On December 31 , 1990 , HMM - 266 became the first CH - 46E squadron from II Marine Expeditionary Force ( II MEF ) to deploy to Southwest Asia ( SWA ) . On January 4 , 1991 , the squadron arrived in Jubail , Saudi Arabia , and provided assault support in the form of Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel ( TRAP ) , troop movement , casualty evacuation ( CASEVAC ) , and re - supply missions . The squadron moved to Combat Outpost Lonesome Dove with the rest of MAG - 26 for Operation Desert Storm and conducted combat support from this location until offensive operations ceased on February 28 , 1991 . In May , the Fighting Griffins were the last MAG - 26 squadron to return to MCAS New River . In 1992 , while off the coast off Italy , the CH - 46s of HMM - 266 ( Rein ) made worldwide news . They provided heavy lift support when Mount Etna erupted and lava flow threatened to wipe out the town of Zafferana , Sicily . In February - March 1994 , the squadron supported Operation Continue Hope and Operation Quick Draw in Somalia . After successfully completing these operations , the Fighting Griffins proceeded to the Adriatic Sea in support of Operation Provide Promise and Operation Deny Flight . HMM - 266 ( Rein ) returned to MCAS New River on 23 June , and ten days later was recalled to deploy to the Caribbean in support of Operation Support Democracy in Haiti . The squadron deployed in November 1998 and immediately detached three CH - 46Es and its two UH - 1N s to conduct contingency operations off the coast of Albania concurrent with Operation Silver Knight . In March 1999 , the Fighting Griffins were designated the TRAP stand - by force in support of Operation Allied Force and Joint Task Force ( JTF ) Noble Anvil strike missions into Serbia . Upon arriving on station , the Combined Air Operations Center ( CAOC ) assigned the aviation combat element ( ACE ) AV - 8B s six excess combat strike sorties per day . The AV - 8Bs flew their first combat sortie on April 14 with strike missions into Kosovo . A total of thirty four combat sorties and 65 . 3 combat hours were flown in support of Operation Allied Force / JTF Noble Anvil . In addition to AV - 8B strike missions , two CH - 46Es successfully extracted a Navy Special Warfare Team Personal Security Force from Petrovic , Macedonia . Global War on Terror . In February 2004 , the HMM - 266 ( Rein ) boarded the USS Wasp and sailed east for the Mediterranean Sea . They passed through the Suez Canal and debarked in April to establish a base of operations in Kandahar , Afghanistan to participate in Operation Mountain Storm . Operation Mountain Storm was extended one month , and HMM - 266 ( Rein ) ceased combat operations on July 10 , returning home on September 16 , 2004 . On August 7 , 2005 , the Fighting Griffins deployed to Al Asad , Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom . The Fighting Griffins assumed the mission of medium lift assault support from HMM - 264 at 0700HRS on August 20 , 2005 . The squadron stood down as Marine Medium Helicopter 266 on June 15 , 2006 , as a CH - 46E squadron and stood up as Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 ( VMM - 266 ) on March 23 , 2007 . After VMM - 263 and VMM - 162 , VMM - 266 became the third operational Osprey unit of the Marine Corps . In September 2008 , the squadron again deployed to Al Asad Airbase to support OIF .