Although it suffered the worst hit to enemy fire since WWII, enduring not only the loss of eight AV-8B+ Harrier jets in the Taliban attack on Camp Bastion’s airfiled, Marine Attack Squadron 211 remains fully operational and continues to fly in Helmand province, to provide support to ground troops in Southwest Afghanistan area of operation.
The insurgent attack that cost the life of the squadron’s commanding officer, Lt. Col. Christopher Raible, and wiped out the majority of the American jump jets operating “in theater”, has not prevented the U.S. Marine Corps unit to fly the daily close air support missions for the infantry battalions or the patrol owerwatch sorties, aimed to spot typical ambush positions.
In fact, on Sept. 26, the squadron received six new airframes, both in the VMA-211 “Avengers” and in the VMA-231 “Ace of Spades” markings, to continue the deployment.
One of the aircraft is painted in memory of Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible and Sgt. Bradley W. Atwell, who were killed during an attack on Camp Bastion Sept. 14, 2012.
More from The Aviationist
The Incredible Armada of Aircraft Behind 1969’s Battle of Britain Film
On Sept. 15, 1969, cinema audiences were treated to a dramatic portrayal…
US Approves Possible Sale of Nine KC-46A Pegasus Tankers for Japan
The latest deal would take the number of KC-46As in Japan’s inventory…
U.S. State Department Approves $7.2B Sale Of F-35 Jets To Romania
The Foreign Military Sale’s approval comes after Romania announced the plan to…
Wooden Avengers, Target Kites, and Draftees: How America’s First New Deal Community Took the Fight to the Axis
Situated in the quiet hills of West Virginia, the small town of…
DARPA Awards BAE Systems $4 Million for Autonomous Beyond Visual Range Air Combat Program
Autonomy solutions for BVR combat will initially be developed and demonstrated on…
Image credit: U.S. Marine Corps
Related Articles
- Marine Attack Squadron loses eight Harrier jets in worst U.S. air loss in one day since the Vietnam War (theaviationist.com)
- Commanding Officer of the Harrier squadron decimated at Camp Bastion among the Marines killed in the Taliban attack (theaviationist.com)
- Photo: This is what remains of a U.S. Marine Corps Harrier jet after the Taliban attack on Camp Bastion (theaviationist.com)
- Camp Bastion attack could be U.S. Marine Corps Harrier fleet’s ground zero (theaviationist.com)
- Reaper drone and Apache helicopter involved in the Camp Bastion battle that wiped out the U.S. Marine Corps Harrier force in Afghanistan (theaviationist.com)
