HMM - 265 Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 ( HMM - 265 ) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of CH - 46E Sea Knight transport helicopters . The squadron , known as the " Dragons " , is based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma , Okinawa , Japan and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 36 ( MAG - 36 ) and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing ( 1st MAW ) . Mission . Support the Marine Air - Ground Task Force ( MAGTF ) Commander by providing assault support transport of combat troops , supplies and equipment , day or night under all weather conditions during expeditionary , joint or combined operations . History . Early years . HMM - 265 was commissioned on October 1 , 1962 at Marine Corps Air Facility Jacksonville , North Carolina . Originally flying the UH - 34 , the squadron deployed to Memphis , Tennessee shortly after commissioning in support of the Mississippi Crisis , a critical moment in the American civil rights movement . Following that , HMM - 265 began a series of deployments testing new helicopter tactics such as the night raid . The squadron ' s commanding officer , LtCol Beeler , developed innovative new helicopter tactics and became a legacy in the " Dragons " and in helicopter aviation . The day of destiny for HMM - 265 occurred on June 29 , 1964 as BUNO 150942 was flown for 3 . 4 hours to the squadron ’ s home at MCAF Jacksonville by LtCol Beeler . By July of that year , the squadron began accepting Sea Knights and is the first F Fleet Marine Force squadron to fly the aircraft . To commemorate their new aircraft , the Dragons of HMM - 265 unveiled a new insignia on October 1 , 1964 . This design , created by PFC Charles D . Lyles , was the official unit patch until 2007 , when a new design was adopted , based on the Japanese Shinjitai for dragon : . On February 4 , 1966 , as HMM - 265 became the first Marine Squadron to log 10 , 000 accident free hours in the CH - 46A . This is a great achievement in an era when the CH - 46 was going through the growing pains that occur when a new aircraft is fielded . Vietnam War . In April 1966 , HMM - 265 boarded the in Norfolk , Virginia . On May 22 , 1966 , the squadron arrived in Vietnam at the Marble Mountain Air Facility located southeast of Da Nang Air Base . The squadron had 22 CH - 46As and was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 16 , 1st Marine Aircraft Wing . On July 15 , 1966 , during the first day of Operation Hastings , HMM - 265 had two of its helicopters crash . The first crash was caused when a CH - 46A struck a tree during the initial insert of Marines from 3rd Battalion , 4th Marines and the second occurred later that evening when aircraft EP - 171 was hit at 1 , 500 feet by 12 . 7mm fire resulting in the death of 13 Marines . In addition to daily missions transporting Marines and cargo , HMM - 265 and its Sea Knights flew in support of Operation Macon from July 4 through October 27 , 1966 . HMM - 265 along with HMM - 164 conducted multiple battalion insertions to allow the 3rd Marine Division to conduct multiple search and destroy missions in the An Hoa region . 12th Marines artillery and Marine A - 4 Skyhawk s fired on landing zones prior to the CH - 46s landing . The other major operation in 1966 was Operation Prairie ( August 3 – September 13 ) . The Dragons supported the 4th Marine Regiment as they battled for the Nui Cay Tre ( Mutter ) Ridge . Landing in “ hot ” zones under heavy enemy fire marked this battle , a harbinger of future battles in Vietnam . In July 1967 , HMM - 265 became the Special Landing Force ( SLF ) helicopter squadron embarked aboard the 7th Fleet ’ s Amphibious Ready Group . As the SLF squadron , the Dragons were tasked with conducting heliborne search and destroy missions against Viet Cong targets along the coast . During this time , five major operations were conducted with names such as Bear Chain / Fremont , Beacon Guide , Kangaroo Kick , Beacon Gate , and Cochise . The Dragons resumed duties as the SLF squadron aboard the in May 1969 . They conducted amphibious raids in support of Operations Bold Pursuit ( June 27 – July 6 ) , Mighty Play ( July 10 – July 20 ) , and finally Defiant Stand ( September 7 – September 18 ) . After three years in Vietnam , the war - weary squadron was relocated to Marine Corps Air Station Santa Ana , California on October 10 , 1969 leaving their helicopters with other in - country squadrons . A total of twenty - seven HMM - 265 Marines perished in the war . HMM - 265 was rebuilt using a few squadron personnel returned from Vietnam and the Marines of HMMT - 301 . The CH - 46A helicopters left behind in Vietnam were replaced by the CH - 46 Super D from overhaul . The squadron was deactivated on November 13 , 1970 . On September 1 , 1977 , HMM - 265 was reactivated at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay , Hawaii , reestablishing a presence in the Pacific that continues to this day . On the day of reactivation , the squadron had no helicopters , and by December it was almost at a full strength of 4 CH - 46Ds and 7 CH - 46Fs . The Dragons of HMM - 265 were relocated entirely to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma , Okinawa Japan in early 1995 . The Gulf War & the 1990s . In 1990 and 1991 the Dragons were attached to the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade , Marine Air Group 50 . During Operation Desert Shield , they took part in Operation Sea Soldier IV the largest NVG troop lift ever in Marine Corps history in the country of Oman . The squadron then waited on amphibious shipping in the Persian Gulf awaiting the start of combat operations . The Dragons were part of the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade ’ s amphibious feint into Kuwait , which succeeded in drawing the attention of Saddam Hussein ’ s forces away from the actual attack that occurred inland . Upon conclusion of hostilities in the Persian Gulf region , HMM - 265 returned to Hawaii . While en route , they were called upon to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the country of Bangladesh during Operation Sea Angel . During the operation the Dragons flew 770 Phrog hours in ten days . The squadron had little time to rest before deploying to Okinawa in October 1991 . During this deployment the Dragons provided support to HMX - 1 for the Presidential visit to Tokyo . The Dragons were then called to Cambodia in support of Operation Full Accounting in 1992 , where they assisted in the recovery of remains of US Servicemen lost during the Vietnam War . Heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf during the fall of 1998 brought the Dragons back on a no - notice deployment as the Aviation Combat Element ( ACE ) for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit . They participated in Operation Desert Fox in the Persian Gulf and Kuwait from November 1998 through February 1999 . When the squadron returned , they had a short break before deploying again . This time , the Marines helped end a bloody civil war on the small island country of East Timor during Operation Stabilise in October 1999 and again during January and February 2000 . Global War on Terror . Deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom operating from Al Asad Airbase , Al - Qa ' im , and Korean Village from October 2004 to February 2005 .