HMH - 465 Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 ( HMH - 465 ) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of CH - 53E Super Stallion transport helicopters . The squadron , known as " Warhorse " , is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar , California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 16 ( MAG - 16 ) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing ( 3rd MAW ) . History . Early years . Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 , the " Warhorse " , was established on December 1 , 1981 as the first West Coast squadron to fly the CH - 53E Super Stallion . It became the Marine Corps ' second and Marine Aircraft Group 16 ' s first CH - 53E Squadron . The " Warhorses " deployed and flew in combat for the first time during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm . On September 1 , 1990 the squadron arrived at Jubail , Saudi Arabia in support of all joint forces in theater . During this deployment , the squadron lost two aircraft leaving the unit with six helicopters for the remainder of the war . The squadron provided heavy lift support for I MEF throughout the entire conflict . HMH - 465 finally returned to Marine Corps Air Station Tustin on March 15 , 1991 . 1990s . Another challenge for HMH - 465 came on October 5 , 1991 . The squadron packed up all assets , both personnel and aircraft , on board five C - 5 ' s and two C - 141 ' s and deployed to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma , Okinawa , Japan for a seven month Unit Deployment . The squadron supported numerous exercises in this period throughout the Asian theater . On January 13 , 1995 two squadron aircraft assisted in the recovery of four Navy aircrew members who ejected when their F - 14D ' s collided . For this action 11 squadron members were awarded Sikorsky Aircraft Rescue Awards . In January 1998 HMH - 465 achieved 20 , 000 mishap free flight hours . Global War on Terror . The Warhorses have deployed numerous times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . On the night of April 1 , 2003 , the squadron comprised the CH - 53E element of Task Force 20 , the special team that extracted prisoner of war Army PFC Jessica Lynch . Their latest tour began in October 2006 , where they are based out of Al Asad and providing assault support to Marines in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq . On December 11 , 2006 , a helicopter from HMH - 465 carrying 21 personnel crashed while landing , killing 1 and injuring 17 . In the spring of 2007 , HMH - 465 has supplied detachments for the 15th and 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit s . Through these detachments the Squadron has continued to support the Global War on Terror throughout Southeast Asia and provide vital disaster relief . The Warhorses deployed three aircraft and 40 Marines to Naval Air Station Lemoore on July 2 , 2008after California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger requested military assistance to fight raging wildfires . The helicopters provided heavy lift rotary wing support to United States Northern Command and the National Fire Center . After nearly two weeks , where they dropped more than 68 , 000 gallons of water on the Basin Complex Fire in Big Sur , the squadron ' s detachment of three helicopters and 30 + Marines was moved to McClellan Airfield near Sacramento to aid fire fighters with a wildfire burning in Mendocino County . Supporting the Global War on Terror continues to be a priority by conducting training detachments across eight states in preparation for further deployments .