Marine Corps Air Station Yuma Marine Corps Air Station Yuma or MCAS Yuma is a United States Marine Corps air station which is the home to multiple squadrons of AV - 8B Harrier II s of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing , Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 ( MAWTS - 1 ) and Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 ( VMFT - 401 ) , an air combat adversary squadron of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing of the Marine Corps Reserve . It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminants , including asbestos . The station is located 2 miles ( 3 km ) from the city of Yuma , Arizona . A joint civilian - military airport , MCAS Yuma shares facilities with Yuma International Airport and occupies approximately , most of which is flat desert wilderness . History . Air Force use . In 1928 , the federal Moving Picture Experts Group government purchased near Yuma at the recommendation of Colonel Benjamin F . Fly . Temporary dirt runways were installed for usage by military and civilian planes . It was called " Fly Field " . The outbreak of World War II transformed the civilian airport into the Yuma Army Airfield . Construction of facilities began on 1 June 1942 and was activated on 15 December Yuma AAF was a single - engine flight training school , operated by the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command , West Coast Training Center , with flying training beginning in January 1943 . Its training unit was the 307th Single Engine Flying Training Group which operated AT - 6 Texan s , with the base operating unit being the 403d Army Air Force Base Unit . In 1944 , the unit was upgraded to multi - engine flight training , operating B - 26 Marauder s . In addition to the flying training , a Flexible Gunnery School was established at the airfield in November 1943 . Flight training was discontinued on 23 April 1945 and gunnery training on 31 May 1945 . The base was closed on 1 November 1945 . After the war , the airfield was turned over to the Department of the Interior as a headquarters for the Bureau of Land Reclamation . On 1 January 1954 , Yuma County Airport was reactivated by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command ( ADC ) as a training facility . In the mid - 1950s , ADC was equipped almost solely with rocket - firing F - 86D Sabre and F - 89C Scorpion interceptors , and Headquarters USAF decided they should have their own training base . Yuma Airport became the home of the 4750th Training Wing ( Air Defense ) . The 4750th had two major components , the 4750th Training Group ( Air Defense ) and the 4750th Training Squadron . The group had two flying squadrons assigned - the 4750th TS equipped with six F - 86D Sabres and six F - 94C Scorpions : and the 4750th Tow Target Squadron equipped with twelve T - 33 As and eight B - 45 As used to tow targets for the live fire portion of the course . The first ADC squadron arrived at Yuma for the Rocketry Proficiency Program on 1 February 1954 . ADC squadrons rotated through Yuma on a regular basis for a two - week proficiency program that included ' live - fire ' exercises over the Williams AFB and Luke AFB gunnery ranges . The two - week course included a controller course , many hours in the F - 86D simulator and at least one ' live fire ' mission flown each day . The targets , usually towed behind B - 45A tow ships , were 9 ' x45 ' target sleeves , with two radar reflectors attached for the interceptor fire control systems to lock onto . Most of the TDY personnel were quartered in tents near the flight line , at least until April 1954 when the first permanent barracks buildings were finished and air conditioned . By June , seven ADC units had rotated through the Yuma program . Also Headquarters USAF decided to add a separate air - to - air rocketry competition to the annual USAF gunnery meet that was held at Las Vegas Air Force Base ( renamed " Nellis Air Force Base " in 1950 ) . The Interceptor Phase of the competition would be held at Yuma between 20 June and 27 June 1954 . The competition would take place each year , with the last occurring in 1956 . Several changes occurred during the last half of 1954 . On 24 August , Yuma County Airport was redesignated Yuma Air Force Base . On 1 September , the 4750th Training Wing became the 4750th Air Defense Wing ( Weapons ) . The 4750th Group and squadrons were also redesignated . And on 8 January 1955 , the 4750th Tow Target Squadron became the 17th TTS . Between July 1954 and the end of the year , ADC rotated eleven more squadrons through the Yuma program - nine in F - 86Ds , and one each in F - 94Cs and F - 89Ds . On 1 January 1956 , the 4750th Drone Squadron was established as part of the 4750th ADW ( Weapons ) . They were equipped with the brand new Ryan Q - 2A Firebee drone , which was launched from GB - 26C Invader aircraft . Although the drones were in place by Spring , the first GB - 26Cs did not arrive until June , and the first Firebee flight took place in July . The Q - 2A Firebees were recovered by H - 21 helicopter s after landing on the desert floor . Yuma AFB was renamed on 13 October 1956 as Vincent Air Force Base , the installation was named for Brigadier General Clinton D . " Casey " Vincent , one of Major General Claire Chennault ' s top fighter leaders in the China - Burma Theater and the second youngest General Officer in U . S . Air Force history , receiving his star at the age of 29 . Vincent was the subject of a TIME magazine article titled " Up Youth " , which covered the meteoric promotions of the Army and Air Force . Vincent was also an inspiration for the main character in the comic strip " Terry and the Pirates " . Vincent died of a heart attack in 1955 at the age of 40 while serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations , Air Defense Command ( ADC ) at Ent AFB , Colorado . In addition to the fighter units , Vincent AFB was used by Air Defense Command as a general surveillance radar station . The 864th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operations in 1956 using AN / MPS - 7 and AN / MPS - 14 radars , the site being designated as " SM - 162 " . In addition to the main facility , Vincent AFB operated several AN / FPS - 14 Gap Filler sites : Vincent AFB was transferred to the Navy on 1 Jan 1959 , and the tenant radar site was renamed Yuma Air Force Station . On 20 July 1962 , the base designation was changed to Marine Corps Air Station . In this time frame , the Air Force began construction of a new Yuma AFS ( RSM - 162 ) about 13 miles south of Yuma . However , the replacement site was never completed , as , in March 1963 , the Air Force ordered the 864th AC & W Squadron to inactivate . Operations ceased 1 August 1963 . Marine Corps use . The 4750th Air Defense Wing was inactivated at Vincent AFB on 15 June 1959 and control of the base was passed over to the United States Navy . Nine days later the base was turned over to the United States Marine Corps . The base was renamed Marine Corps Air Station Yuma ( Vincent Field ) on July 20 , 1962 . MCAS Yuma is currently the busiest air station in the Marine Corps , offering excellent year - round flying conditions and thousands of acres of open terrain for air - to - ground weapons ranges and associated restricted airspace for military flight operations . During the 1960s , 70s and early 1980s , MCAS Yuma was home to VMFAT - 101 , the Marine Corps ' Fleet Replacement Squadron ( FRS ) for the F - 4 Phantom II , training U . S . Marine Corps , U . S . Navy and NATO / Allied flight crews and maintenance personnel in the F - 4B , F - 4J , F - 4N and F - 4S . Following the transfer of VMFAT - 101 to MCAS El Toro , California in the 1980s , MCAS Yuma became the principal Fleet Marine Force Pacific operating base for the AV - 8 Harrier and AV - 8B Harrier II under the cognizance of Marine Aircraft Group 13 ( MAG - 13 ) . Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 ( MAWTS - 1 ) is a major aviation command at MCAS Yuma , conducting training for all Marine Corps tactical aviation units , most notably the Weapons and Tactics Instructor ( WTI ) course . Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 ( VMFT - 401 ) is a Marine Air Reserve squadron also based at MCAS Yuma , containing both active duty and Selected Marine Corps Reservists , providing aerial adversary / aggressor services and dissimilar air combat training ( DACT ) for all US military services and selected NATO , Allied and Coalition partners . This base was also used in the late 80 ' s early 90 ' s as the Corps Airborne Training Center . MCAS Yuma is currently programmed to become the Marine Corps ' initial operating base for the F - 35B variant of the F - 35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter ( JSF ) , the first of which arrived on 16 November 2012 .