Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 ( MWSS - 274 ) is an aviation ground support unit of the United States Marine Corps . They are based out of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point , North Carolina . The squadron falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 29 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing . Mission . Provide all essential Aviation Ground Support requirements to a designated fixed - wing component of an Aviation Combat Element ( ACE ) and all supporting or attached elements of the Marine Air Control Group . History . The Gulf War & the 1990s . Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 ( MWSS - 274 ) was activated on 2 June 1986 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point , North Carolina as part of a reorganization of Aviation Ground Support within all Marine Aircraft Wings . The reorganization entailed the consolidation of personnel and equipment from Marine Air Base Squadron 32 ( MABS - 32 ) , Wing Engineer Squadron 27 ( WES - 27 ) , and Wing Transportation Squadron 27 ( WTS - 27 ) after their deactivation on 2 June 1986 . The Squadron deployed to Southwest Asia in support of aviation operations during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm where it distinguished itself as a combat ready MWSS . In January 1991 , while deployed to Southwest Asia , the Squadron was required to shift its focus from the Gulf War to a Noncombatant Evacuation Operation , Operation Eastern Exit in Somalia . Supporting the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade . MWSS - 274 found itself deployed to Current Island , Bahamas in support of hurricane relief operations in the wake of Hurricane Andrew . Global War on Terror . In January 2003 many of the deployable Marines of MWSS - 274 were transferred to sister squadron MWSS - 271 , also based at MCAS Cherry Point . On 12 February 2003 the Marines of 271 and 274 shipped to Kuwait , flying into Ali Al Saleem Airbase . In less than a month these Marines would be providing support to an airstrip in Iraq as part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq . Shortly after the merger of MWSS - 271 and 274 in 2003 , due to a lack of available personnel within the Marine Logistics Brigade , MWSS - 274 was redisignated as MEU Service Support Group 22 ( MSSG - 22 ) as part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit ( 22nd MEU ) . This was done because many of the military occupational specialties of the Marines in a MWSS are identical to that of the Logistics Combat Element ( LCE ) required by a MSSG . Departing for sea in 2004 , MWSS - 274 , as part of the 22nd MEU , made Marine Corps history and set a new precedent for ship to shore operations as the unit moved inland to conduct sustained combat operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom . From February to September 2006 and for the first time in over 10 years MWSS - 274 deployed to Al Asad Airbase in Iraq as a complete squadron under her own guidon to conduct Aviation Ground Combat Support . In December 2007 the squadron was redesignated from a support squadron to a security battalion . In February 2008 they again deployed to Al Asad , Iraq however this time as a security force . In February 2010 MWSS - 274 deployed to Helmand Providence in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . Several achievements were made during this deployment . One main achievement was by MWSS - 274 ' s CFR ( Crash Fire Rescue ) where they extinguished a fire at Camp Leatherneck ' s SMU . Marines of this units EOD were also outsourced to other units where they provide noteworthy achievements as well . Marines in the Air Operations Company performed fabulous work in rebuilding airfields , FOBs , and helicopter pads . NCOs of the units armory also established groundbreaking scores on inspections as well as establishing guidelines for field armories based on their set up of a secure compound within the units compound . The unit from this deployment earned the Marine Corps Support Squadron of the year award .