VMFA - 251 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 ( VMFA - 251 ) is a United States Marine Corps F / A - 18 Hornet squadron . Also known as the " Thunderbolts " , the squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort , South Carolina and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 31 ( MAG - 31 ) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing ( 2nd MAW ) . The Squadron radio callsign is " " T - Bolt " " History . World War II . Marine Observation Squadron 251 ( VMO - 251 ) was activated December 1 , 1941 at Naval Air Station North Island , California . In mid - 1942 it was transferred to Tontouta , New Caledonia and then to Turtle Bay Airfield on the island of Espiritu Santo in the British - French Condominium of New Hebrides prior to the invasion of Guadalcanal . While flying the Grumman F4F Wildcat during World War II , the squadron participated in numerous Pacific campaigns including Guadalcanal , Southern Solomons , Santa Cruz , Luzon , and the Southern Philippines . In 1944 , the squadron transitioned to the F4U Corsair , and was re - designated Marine Fighter Squadron 251 ( VMF - 251 ) in February 1945 . 22 F4U Corsair s from the squadron landed on Samar on 2 January 1945 as part of Marine Aircraft Group 14 ( MAG - 14 ) and continued operations in the Philippines until May 1 , 1945 when it flew its last combat mission of World War II while supporting clean - up operations at Leyte . The squadron ' s excellent performance during this time can be drawn from an award write up by the then Commanding Officer of MAG - 14 , Colonel Zebulon Hawkins , in which he noted , " " During the month of January 1945 . . . this squadron [ 23 planes ] flew 626 combat flights , totaling 2 , 403 hours . Since . . . 1 October 1944 , until 15 February 1945 , this . . . ground crew has maintained in commission 98 % of the squadron ' s assigned aircraft . Not once , from June 1944 , has it failed to execute an assigned mission because of failure to have the necessary planes in commission . . . Since 23 July 1944 . . . this squadron has not lost a plane or pilot because of failure or malfunctioning of its aircraft On June 1 , 1945 , VMF - 251 was deactivated at Samar , Philippines Island . Thirteen months later on July 1 , 1946 , VMF - 251 was reactivated at Grosse Ile , Michigan as a ready - reserve squadron . Korean War . With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 , VMF - 251 was recalled to active service and directed to transition to the AD - 4 Skyraider . In late April 1951 the squadron was transferred to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro , California . With the aircraft transition complete , the squadron was re - designated Marine Attack Squadron 251 ( VMA - 251 ) on April 25 , 1951 . VMA - 251 embarked to Korea in June 1953 . Although the squadron only saw action the last two weeks of the war , it flew 310 combat sorties totaling more than 550 hours and had the distinction of having the last Marine aircraft engaged in combat during the Korean War on 27 July 1953 . VMA - 251 remained in Korea for two and a half years providing air defense along the Korean Demilitarized Zone . In January 1956 , the Thunderbolts relocated to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni , Japan and remained in the Far East for fifteen months . In 1957 , VMA - 251 was again relocated to Marine Corps Air Station Miami , Florida flying the FJ - 4 Fury . With the transition to the FJ - 4 came the re - designation to VMF - 251 on April 20 , 1957 . In April 1958 VMF - 251 was moved to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro , California to receive its first supersonic fighter , the F8U Crusader . The Thunderbolts departed MCAS El Toro for the Pacific carrying with them the motto “ Custos Caelorum ” , meaning “ Guardians of the Sky ” . Cold War . In 1961 , VMF - 251 was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 31 ( MAG - 31 ) at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort , South Carolina . In August and September 1961 the squadron was deployed to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba and to Jamaica during the time between the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis . From February through August 1962 , VMF - 251 was the first Marine F - 8 squadron to deploy on board an aircraft carrier as part of Carrier Air Group Ten on the . During the cruise , VMF - 251 set the record for the most flight time in one month for a Sixth Fleet based F - 8 squadron by flying over 500 hours . In July 1963 the Thunderbolts were the recipients of the 2nd MAW Commanding General ' s award for achievement in competitive exercises which took place while the squadron was deployed to NAS Roosevelt Roads , Puerto Rico . On 31 October 1964 , the Thunderbolts became the first Marine squadron in 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing to transition to the F - 4 Phantom II and receive its current designation as Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 ( VMFA - 251 ) . The Thunderbolts received the CNO ' s flight safety award in 1967 and again in 1969 as well as the Fleet Marine Force Atlantic safety award for the years 1967 , 1968 and 1970 . In 1969 they also received the Robert M . Hanson award , presented annually to the " most outstanding Marine fighter squadron of the year . " Training exercises were conducted in Puerto Rico in 1964 - 1965 , 1971 , and 1973 . In April 1971 the Squadron stood " hot pad " duty in Key West , Florida and provided additional support for the North American Defense Command . Further deployments in support of NATO were made to Cigili Air Base , Turkey in 1973 and to Rota , Spain in 1975 and the Thunderbolts participated in a Western Pacific deployment to Japan , Korea , and the Philippines during 1977 - 1978 . In September 1980 the Thunderbolts deployed to Trondheim in the Kingdom of Norway in support of NATO Exercises . In April 1982 , the Thunderbolts again deployed to Keflavik in Iceland where the squadron intercepted six Soviet Bear Bombers while on " hot pad " alert . The squadron deployed to the Kingdom of Denmark in September 1982 for NATO Exercise " Northern Wedding 82 " during which 102 Soviet aircraft flew sorties against NATO naval forces . The squadron was placed on alert for possible redeployment to Lebanon before returning to the United States . After twenty - one years and 85 , 000 flight hours , VMFA - 251 flew its last F - 4S Phantom in November 1985 . In January of the following year , the Thunderbolts transitioned to the F / A - 18 Hornet . The squadron stood up as the sixth Marine F / A - 18A squadron the following August and reported full combat ready in March 1987 . The 1990s . From January to April 1994 , the Thunderbolts flew close air support missions while deployed to Aviano , Italy supporting Operation Deny Flight in Bosnia - Herzegovina . These missions marked the first combat sorties for a Marine squadron in Europe since World War I . In 1994 , the squadron became part of the Navy ' s Carrier Air Wing One and deployed as part of the USS America and USS " George Washington " battle groups from 1995 through 1997 . Global War on Terror . The squadron then deployed on board the USS John F Kennedy ( CV - 67 ) 1999 - 2000 ( OPERATION SOUTHERN WATCH ) On 12 February 2003 , the squadron deployed to Ahmed Al Jaber Airbase , Kuwait as part of Marine Aircraft Group 11 , 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom ( OIF ) . On February 20 , 2003 , the squadron began flying combat missions in support of Operation Southern Watch and then transitioned to combat operations in support of OIF on 20 March 2003 . During the conflict Thunderbolts flew over 650 combat missions over Iraq , accumulating more than 1 , 200 combat flight hours and dropped more than 7 , 100 weapons amounting to approximately 832 , 000 pounds of ordnance . Throughout the deployment maintenance Marines performed over 8 , 000 maintenance man - hours resulting in a 76 % full mission capable rate . In 2006 the squadron deployed to Al Asad , Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom ( OIF ) . Upon their return they again deployed , this time on board the USS Enterprise ( CVN - 65 ) . They were away from June to December 2007 and flew combat sorties in support of OIF and Operation Enduring Freedom ( OEF ) in Afghanistan .