VMU - 1 Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 ( VMU - 1 ) is an unmanned aerial vehicle squadron in the United States Marine Corps that operates the RQ - 7 Shadow and ScanEagle . They are based out of Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms , California and provide aerial surveillance for the I Marine Expeditionary Force . They fall under the command of Marine Air Control Group 38 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing History . Early years . On January 21 , 1987 , 1st Remotely Piloted Vehicle Company was activated at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center ( MCAGCC ) Twentynine Palms , California as part of the 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade . On June 24 , 1987 , 3rd RPV Company was activated at ( MCAGCC ) also as part of the 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade . On December 15 , 1989 , 1st and 3rd RPV Companies were reassigned to 1st Surveillance , Reconnaissance , and Intelligence Group . Operation Desert Storm . From January 29 through March 3 , 1990 , 1st RPV Company operated from LaSalle County Airport in Cotulla , Texas in support of Joint Task Force Six ' s drug interdiction Operation Border Eagle . 1st RPV Company Pioneer UAVs helped law enforcement agencies apprehend 372 illegal aliens and confiscate more than $ 850 , 000 worth of marijuana during the operation . During September 1990 through March 1991 , both 1st and 3rd RPV Companies were deployed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm . 1st RPV Company flew 169 sorties for 568 flight hours and 3rd RPV Company flew 239 sorties for 695 flight hours in support of the operations . In what was the United States ’ first combat test of the Pioneer UAV and throughout the operation it detected a host of enemy activity including troop movements , artillery positions , armored formations , surface - to - surface missiles , and air defense sites . 1990s . On January 6 , 1994 , 1st RPV Company merged with 3rd RPV Company to form 1st Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ( UAV ) Company then on January 15 , 1996 , 1st UAV Company was re - designated Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 ( VMU - 1 ) and was reassigned to Marine Aircraft Group 13 , 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing . From June 5 , through October 22 , 1996 , VMU - 1 was deployed to Bosnia - Herzegovina in support of the NATO peacekeeping Operation Joint Endeavor and was the first 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing unit to arrive in - theater . From its base at Boyington Airfield near Tuzla , VMU - 1 flew 36 sorties for 84 . 4 flight hours in support of Task Force Eagle . During July 13 , through August 15 , 1998 , VMU - 1 operated from Cameron County Airport in Port Isabel , Texas in support of Joint Task Force Six drug interdiction and immigration enforcement operations . The squadron flew 35 sorties for 74 . 7 flight hours in coordination with the United States Coast Guard and the National Park Service . From September 13 , through October 2 , 1999 , VMU - 1 operated from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma , Arizona in support of Joint Task Force Six drug interdiction and immigration enforcement operations along the US / Mexico border . The squadron flew 40 . 2 flight hours in support of the operation . During January 21 through March 3 , 2001 , VMU - 1 operated from Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio , Texas in support of Joint Task Force Six drug interdiction and immigration enforcement operations along the US / Mexico border . The squadron flew 26 sorties for 56 . 9 flight hours during the operation . During 30 July through 28 August 2002 , VMU - 1 operated from Boundary County Airport in Bonner ' s Ferry , Idaho in support of Joint Task Force Six drug interdiction and immigration enforcement operations along the US / Canada border . The squadron flew 26 sorties for 65 . 3 flight hours and helped law enforcement agencies confiscate more than $ 1 , 000 , 000 worth of marijuana during the operation . Global War on Terror . On February 9 , 2003 VMU - 1 deployed to Ali As Salem Airbase , Kuwait in support of Operation Southern Focus . The squadron subsequently moved to Tactical Assembly Area Coyote near the Iraqi border and on February 28 commenced reconnaissance and surveillance flights over Iraq in support of I Marine Expeditionary Force . March 19 , 2003 saw the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom with VMU - 1 in direct support of the 1st Marine Division . During its first combat sortie in support of the invasion , the squadron located and reported an enemy artillery battery that was subsequently destroyed by friendly artillery . On March 22 , VMU - 1 crossed the line of departure into Iraq and redeployed to Jalibah Airfield from where they supported Task Force Tarawa ’ s assault through An Nasariyah . On April 1 , the squadron convoyed to Qalat Sikar to support Regimental Combat Team 1 operations in the vicinity of Al Kut . VMU - 1 moved to An Numaniyah on April 4 from where one of their Pioneers was the first Marine UAV to fly over Baghdad . April 8 , saw the squadron return to Qalat Sikar , once again in direct support of Task Force Tarawa . On April 10 , the squadron returned to An Numaniyah , still in direct support of Task Force Tarawa . On April 25 , the squadron relocated to Ad Diwaniyah in support of 1st Marine Division and remained there until May 25 when they returned to Al Kut . VMU - 1 returned to the United States on September 12 , 2003 having flown 414 sorties for 1414 flight hours , relocated on eight occasions , and convoyed more than 1000 road miles . For their exceptional achievement , VMU - 1 was recognized with the Marine Corps Aviation Association ’ s prestigious James Maguire Award for 2003 . On August 1 , 2004 VMU - 1 returned to Iraq . Operating the Pioneer UAV from Camp Taqaddum , Iraq , the squadron detected and reported armed enemy personnel on 93 occasions , enemy weapons systems on 37 occasions , enemy personnel emplacing improvised explosive devices on 14 occasions , and enemy personnel preparing to ambush friendly personnel on six occasions . Perhaps the squadron ’ s most significant achievement however was its participation in Operation Phantom Fury between 7 and 19 November 2004 . During that operation , the I Marine Expeditionary Force took back the city of Fallujah from insurgents . VMU - 1 flew more than 50 sorties and 250 flight hours during the offensive and adjusted artillery , coordinated air strikes , and collected battle damage assessment against more than 50 targets in and around Fallujah . The squadron gained national attention for this effort in author Bing West ’ s article “ Nowhere to Hide , ” featured as the cover story for the February 2005 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine . The essence of this article was later republished as a chapter in the same author ’ s best - selling book No True Glory , published in September 2005 . VMU - 1 returned to the United States on March 4 , 2005 having flown 757 sorties for 3159 flight hours , a staggering total that equated to more than a decade ’ s worth of peacetime flight hours flown in only seven months . VMU - 1 returned to Iraq for a third time during August 2005 . This deployment saw the integration of the SE - 15 Scan Eagle UAV with the venerable Pioneer . Along with its Pioneer facility at Camp Taqaddum , VMU - 1 fielded Scan Eagle Detachment Bravo at Camp Al Qaim near the Syrian border and Scan Eagle Detachment Charlie at Camp Al Asad . Of particular significance during the deployment was VMU - 1 ’ s participation in Operation Steel Curtain , the Regimental Combat Team 2 offensive to kill or capture insurgents and restore order in the Western Euphrates River Valley cities of Husaybah , Karabilah , Sadah , and Ubaydi during November 2005 . The Watchdogs detected and positively identified more than 20 enemy combatants who were subsequently dispatched by friendly air power and helped coordinate more than 30 fixed and rotary - wing air strikes during the two - week battle . The VMU - 1 Watchhogs flew 780 Pioneer sorties for 3215 flight hours , and 573 Scan Eagle sorties for 5261 flight hours during the deployment . In October 2007 , VMU - 1 became the first squadron in the Marine Corps to begin flying the RQ - 7 Shadow in combat in Iraq .