Search and rescue squadron at MCAS Beaufort disbands

[USMCRET6391]

Marine Corps Times staff

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., bid farewell April 15 to the Marine Search and Rescue squadron that has called the station home for the past 48 years. The squadron was disbanded and its operational responsibilities absorbed by the U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, a move expected to save the air station $19 million per year.

Though the unit’s primary mission has been to rescue downed pilots, it has also provided assistance to Beaufort’s community since 1957.

The 42 Marines previously assigned to the squadron have been reassigned to various units throughout the Marine Corps, which retains its search and rescue squadrons aboard the air stations in Cherry Point, N.C., and Yuma, Ariz.

A spokesman for the Marine Corps’ headquarters in Washington said the divestiture has been looming since last August and that the decision to hand over the squadron’s responsibilities was made locally by air station officials.