VMFA - 112 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112 ( VMFA - 112 ) is a reserve United States Marine Corps F / A - 18 Hornet squadron . The squadron is based at NASJRB Fort Worth , Texas and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 41 ( MAG - 41 ) , 4th Marine Aircraft Wing ( 4th MAW ) . Their tail code is MA . During World War II the squadron saw extensive action throughout the Pacific Theater of Operations especially at the Battle of Guadalcanal as part of the Cactus Air Force . By the end of the war , its 140 air - to - air kills ranked it third among Marine Corps squadrons . Mission . Conduct of Air - to - Air - to - Ground operations in support of the Marine rifleman . History . World War II . Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112 , was originally activated as VMF - 112 , at San Diego , California on March 1 , 1942 . Deploying shortly after to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in their F4F Wildcat s , the Wolfpack joined the Cactus Air Force with Marine Aircraft Group 11 . In recognition of its valor and its contributions to victory during its service on Guadalcanal , VMF - 112 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation ( US ) for August 7 – December 9 , 1942 . VMF - 112 was withdrawn from Guadalcanal to Espiritu Santo for a respite . There it began to switch to the Vought F4U - 1 Corsair , the aircraft that it would fly for the rest of World War II . VMF - 112 returned to the United States on September 5 , 1943 and took up duty at MCAS Miramar , outside of San Diego . It was there that VMF - 112 was redesignated VMF ( CVS ) - 112 , denoting that the squadron was carrier qualified . In December 1944 , VMF - 112 was assigned to Air Group 82 aboard USS " Bennington " for its second combat tour . In mid - May 1945 , Lieutenant Robert Cook scored the only downing of a barrage balloon by a Marine squadron during the war when he shot one down over Kyūshū . By the completion of World War II , the Wolfpack was credited with the destruction of 140 Japanese aircraft in aerial combat , ranking it third among Marine Corps squadrons in terms of enemy aircraft destroyed . Following the surrender of Japan VMF - 112 returned to the United States where it was deactivated on September 10 , 1945 . Post World War II . The squadron was reactivated on July 1 , 1946 as the Marine Air Detachment , Marine Air Reserve Training Command , Naval Air Station ( NAS ) Dallas , Texas . VMF - 112 was reactivated with the Corsair , but eventually flew the Grumman F9F Panther and Vought F8U - 1 Crusader . When VMF - 111 was deactivated , its aircraft passed to VMF - 112 , which became the Marines ' largest reserve squadron . Upon receipt of the all - weather D / E model of the Crusader , the squadron was redesignated VMF ( AW ) - 112 and flew several more versions of the F - 8 until 1975 , when it switched to the McDonnell F - 4 Phantom II and was redesignated VMFA - 112 . On January 18 , 1992 , VMFA - 112 retired the last active F - 4S squadron in naval service . Some F - 4 Phantom IIs remained in naval testing facilities after this . VMFA - 112 flew the McDonnell Douglas F / A - 18A Hornet on their first official flight October 8 , 1992 . VMFA - 112 moved to NAS Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base ( JRB ) in September 1996 and continues to operate there . 2000 & beyond . In 2002 , VMFA - 112 ’ s aircraft were reconfigured to the F / A - 18A + platform . The Cowboys were the first Reserve squadron to deploy on a Western - Pacific exercise since the Korean War . In the summer of 2004 , the squadron supported Operation Jungle Shield and Exercise Southern Frontier while operating out of Japan , Guam and Australia . In 2005 , VMFA - 112 deployed to Oerland Main Air Station , Norway , for the multinational exercise : Battle Griffin . The exercise was conducted to enhance cohesive operations between multinational forces and hone air - to - ground combat skills . The Marines experienced cold weather and harsh conditions during the exercise . Currently , VMFA - 112 has been working closely with sister squadron VMGR - 234 on what has been called the “ Herc / Hornet Expeditionary Package . ” The conceptual program would allow an F / A - 18A + to land on a hasty runway refuel and rearm quickly without having to return to base , as is the current operating procedure . The program would be in keeping with the Marine Corps nature of self - sufficiency . The squadron was deployed to Al Asad Air Base , Al Anbar Province , Iraq in late 2009 . During their deployment , the Cowboys supported the ground withdrawal from the major cities in Iraq , supported special forces during numerous missions , and provided key aerial surveillance for intelligence . The squadron was the last fighter / attack squadron to leave Iraq closing that chapter on the Iraq War .