VMFA - 122 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 ( VMFA - 122 ) is a United States Marine Corps F / A - 18 Hornet squadron . The squadron , known as the " Werewolves " , is based out of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort , South Carolina and fall under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 31 ( MAG - 31 ) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing ( 2nd MAW ) . Their traditional call sign is " Nikel " . Their mascot , known as " Mach Altus " ( after the Mach number and the Latin word for " high " ) , is a statue of a Crusades - era knight . Mission . Conduct anti - air warfare and offensive air support operations in support of Fleet Marine Forces from advance bases , expeditionary airfields , and aircraft carriers , and to conduct such other air operations as may be directed . History . World War II . Marine Fighter Squadron 122 ( VMF - 122 ) was commissioned on March 1 , 1942 at Camp Kearny in San Diego , California . Outfitted with the F4F Wildcat , the squadron , then known as the " Candystripers " , saw their first combat tour in October 1942 . During this tour they were part of the Cactus Air Force at Henderson Field and also operated out of Espiritu Santo . In April 1943 , while under the command of Major Pappy Boyington , the squadron transitioned to the F4U Corsair and accounted for 35½ kills . The squadron ' s first combat tour ended on July 23 , 1943 after which they returned to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on August 16 . For the next year after their return to the States , the squadron was reorganized and retrained at Marine Corps Air Station El Centro , California . For its second tour , VMF - 122 ' s flight echelon embarked upon the escort carrier in July 1944 while the ground echelon steamed out on the . Beginning in October 1944 both echelons would be reunited when they were reunited and began operating from an airstrip on Peleliu . At times they provided close air support for Marines during the Battle of Peleliu at distances of just over 1000 yards from where they took off . The squadrons ability to provide napalm and rockets , both new weapons systems , greatly aided in the destruction of the last Japanese strongholds on the island . For the remainder of the war they remained on the island conducting combat operations until August 1945 . Following the surrender of Japan , VMF - 122 returned home to Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station Oak Grove , North Carolina in January 1946 . They remained there for less than two years before being moved to MCAS Beaufort which was followed by another move to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point , North Carolina . 1950s . The squadron was reactivated in November 1947 , flying the FH Phantom , becoming the first Marine squadron to employ jet - propelled aircraft . During this time , the squadron also fielded the first and only Marine aerial demonstration team known as the " Flying Leathernecks " . They toured the country for two years before being disbanded with the transition to the F2H Banshee . In April 1951 , the squadron became the first Marine jet squadron to be both day and night qualified for carrier operations . On 15 May 1951 , the squadron deployed from Naval Air Station Quonset Point aboard the to the Mediterranean Sea , returning to the Marine Corps Air Station , Cherry Point in early October 1951 . In 1952 , they again transitioned to the F9F Panther and after a Mediterranean cruise in 1953 , they were assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 24 at MCAS Cherry Point . January 1954 again saw the squadron transitioning aircraft , this time to the FJ Fury . The next few years saw a litany of small deployments on board a multitude of aircraft carrier s . The squadron relocated to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in September 1957 and in December of that year they became the first squadron in the Marine Corps to fly the F - 8 Crusader . It was at this time that they transitioned from being the " Candystripers " to the new nickname of " Crusaders . " The squadron became VMF ( AW ) - 122 upon receiving all weather capable F - 8Es in 1962 . That year they also deployed to Key West , Florida to fly combat air patrol during the Cuban missile crisis . Vietnam War . In 1964 , VMF ( AW ) - 122 deployed to Naval Air Facility Atsugi for a year and returned to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in January 1965 . While at MCAS El Toro they transitioned to the F - 4B Phantom and were redesignated VMFA - 122 . They deployed to the Republic of Vietnam in August 1967 and operated from the airbase at Danang . For the next five months , the squadron flew 2540 sorties and delivered 4800 tons of ordnance . In February 1968 , while supporting Marines during the Siege of Khe Sahn the squadron flew 629 sorties and dropped 1300 tons of ordnance . They rotated to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in September 1968 and returned to Vietnam during the summer of 1969 , this time operating from Chu Lai . 1970s through 1990s . Following their time in Vietnam , the Crusaders were assigned to MCAS Kaneohe Bay , Hawaii in September 1970 . They were then ordered to MCAS Iwakuni , Japan as a Joint Chiefs of Staff directive to counter a North Vietnamese offensive against South Vietnam . The squadron returned to Kaneohe Bay , Hawaii on 27 December 1972 . On August 14 , 1974 , VMFA - 122 was placed in a cadre status in anticipation of becoming the Marine Corps ’ first F - 14A squadron . With the decision not to accept the Tomcat into the Marine Corps inventory , VMFA - 122 was reactivated at MCAS Beaufort , South Carolina and refitted with the F - 4J in September 1975 . On September 25 , 1985 , VMFA - 122 flew its last F - 4 sortie , completing 20 years of service as a F - 4 “ Phantom ” squadron . On January 22 , 1986 , the squadron began a new era with the acceptance of its first F / A - 18A Hornet . Throughout the 1980s , 1990s , and into the 2000s ( decade ) , VMFA - 122 conducted multiple training deployments to Europe and throughout the United States . Global War on Terror . In October 2001 , the Crusaders increased their combat capabilities by transitioning to the F / A - 18C . The squadron participated in the Unit Deployment Program ( UDP ) , completing eleven deployments to the Western Pacific . From July 2002 to July 2003 , the Crusaders completed a year long UDP due to the " stop - move " order implemented by the Marine Corps . This allowed Hornet squadrons from Beaufort to deploy to Kuwait in anticipation of Operation Iraqi Freedom ( OIF ) in January 2003 . The Crusaders were dispatched from MCAS Iwakuni to many locations in the Pacific Rim , including Marine Corps Air Facility Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii and Clark AB in the Philippines . In January 2005 , the “ Crusaders ” continued the UDP rotation , deploying to MCAS Iwakuni , Japan . In September 2006 the " Crusaders " again returned to MCAS Iwakuni with detachments to Clark AB in the Philippines , Kadena Air Force Base on Okinawa , and Khorat , Thailand . Prior to another squadron deployment in support of OIF later in 2008 , the squadron ' s commander reverted the unit to their older WWII nickname , the " Werewolves " . The squadron began its first combat deployment in more than 30 years when it left MCAS Beaufort on August 29 , 2010 for Kandahar Airfield , KAF . The Werewolves returned from their seven month deployment on March 21 , 2009 . In April , 2012 , the new commander of VMFA - 122 , LtCol Wiegel , decided the squadron would henceforth revert to the " Crusaders " nickname . However , after the nonprofit Military Religious Freedom Foundation threatened to sue the military under the Establishment Clause to forbid the Crusaders name and logo , the Marine Deputy Commandant for aviation directed VMFA - 122 to revert the unit identification back to " Werewolves . " Unit awards . A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited . Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation . VMFA - 122 has been presented with the following awards :