Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point ( * ) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock , North Carolina , USA , in the eastern part of the state . It was built in 1941 , and was commissioned in 1942 and is currently home to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing . Resident units . MCAS Cherry Point also maintains a satellite field at MCALF Bogue , in Bogue , North Carolina , as well as an outlying airfield at Marine Corps Outlying Field ( MCOLF ) Atlantic in Atlantic , NC . Several former outlying landing fields have been converted to regional airports , such as MCOF Greenville , MCAA Kinston , and MCOF New Bern . History . Congress authorized Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on July 9 , 1941 , with an initial appropriation of $ 14 , 990 , 000 for construction and clearing of an 8 , 000 acre ( 32 km² ) tract of swamps , farms and timberland . Actual clearing of the site began on August 6 , 1941 , with extensive drainage and malaria control work . Construction began in November just 17 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor . On May 20 , 1942 , the facility was commissioned Cunningham Field , named in honor of the Marine Corps ' first aviator , Lieutenant Colonel Alfred A . Cunningham . The completed facility was later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point , after a local post office situated among cherry trees . Cherry Point ' s primary World War II mission was to train units and individual Marines for service to the Pacific theater . The air station also served as a base for anti - submarine operations , with an Army Air Corps ( 22d Antisubmarine Squadron ) and later a Navy squadron each being responsible for the sinking of a German U - boat just off the North Carolina coast during 1943 . Cherry Point ' s contribution to the Korean War effort was to provide a steady stream of trained aviators and air crewmen as well as maintenance and support personnel as replacements to forward deployed aviation units . During the Vietnam War , Cherry Point deployed three A - 6 Intruder squadrons to the Far East and again provided a constant source of replacements for aircrews and enlisted aviation personnel . In Operation Desert Storm , Cherry Point was a major contributor to the victory in Southwest Asia by supporting the deployment of three AV - 8B Harrier squadrons , two A - 6E Intruder squadrons , one KC - 130 Hercules squadron , one EA - 6B Prowler squadron , and headquarters detachments from Marine Aircraft Group 14 , Marine Aircraft Group 32 , and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing . Cherry Point Marines and Sailors participated in strike missions and follow - on operations in Afghanistan and its surrounding region during Operation Enduring Freedom , which was initiated on October 7 , 2001 . On September 8 , 2007 , the headquarters building ( 198 ) was gutted by a fire . The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Headquarters Building was on 29 July 2009 , with completion planned for sometime in 2011 . The air station and its associated support locations occupy more than 29 , 000 acres ( 120 km² ) . Its runway system is large enough that the air station served as an alternate emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle launches out of Cape Canaveral , Florida . USAF use . On 1 July 1957 the United States Air Force 614th Airborne Control and Warning Squadron established an Air Defense Command Phase I Mobile Radar station ( M - 116 ) at Cherry Point . This station was part of the planned deployment of forty - four Mobile radar stations . The Air Force activated an AN / FPS - 6 and two AN / FPS - 8 radars located adjacent to Base Flight Operations . These radars were placed on top of towers without radomes , and initially the station functioned as a Ground - Control Intercept ( GCI ) and warning station . As a GCI station , the squadron ' s role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit ' s radar scopes . In addition to the radars on the air station , two unmanned AN / FPS - 14 " Gap Filler " sites , one at Engelhard , NC ( M - 116B ) and one at Holly Ridge , NC ( M - 116C ) were set up for additional coverage . One of the AN / FPS - 8s was damaged by Hurricane Donna in 1960 . The radars were turned over to the Navy on 30 April 1960 , and the Marine Corps retained the other undamaged AN / FPS - 8 radar for a number of years for base air traffic control . During 1961 M - 116 joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , initially feeding data to DC - 04 at Fort Lee AFS , Virginia . After joining , the squadron was re - designated as the 614th Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 1 March 1963 . The radar squadron provided information 24 / 7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range , direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile . Air Force radar operations continued at MCAS Cherry Point until 1 August 1963 when budget reductions and a general draw - down of antiaircraft radar sites closed the facility .