These radars were placed on top of 90-foot (27 m) towers without radomes, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. The USAF activated an AN/FPS-6 and two AN/FPS-8 radars located adjacent to Base Flight Operations. This station was part of the planned deployment of forty-four Mobile radar stations. On 1 July 1957 the United States Air Force (USAF) 614th Airborne Control and Warning Squadron established an Air Defense Command Phase I Mobile Radar station (M-116) at Cherry Point. Cherry Point was chosen for its ideal location for hosting East Coast military assets, two Navy ships, Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) and Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG-56). The Joint Staff, J6 Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT) led the test plan design, execution control, and emplaced the necessary infrastructure to connect the numerous geographic sites across seven states. military services for the 11th Bold Quest coalition demonstration. In 2013, Cherry Point hosted warfighters, technology teams and testers under the flags of 10 nations and each of the U.S. Its runway system is large enough that the air station served as an alternate emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle launches out of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The air station and its associated support locations occupy more than 29,000 acres (120 km 2). The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Headquarters Building was on 29 July 2009, with completion planned for sometime in 2011. On September 8, 2007, the headquarters building (198) was gutted by a fire. In Operation Desert Storm, Cherry Point was a major contributor to the victory in Southwest Asia by supporting the deployment of three AV-8B Harrier squadrons, two A-6E Intruder squadrons, one KC-130 Hercules squadron, one EA-6B Prowler squadron, and headquarters detachments from Marine Aircraft Group 14, Marine Aircraft Group 32, and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.Ĭherry Point marines and sailors participated in strike missions and follow-on operations in Afghanistan and its surrounding region during Operation Enduring Freedom, which was initiated on October 7, 2001. The air station also served as a base for anti-submarine operations, with an Army Air Forces ( 22d Antisubmarine Squadron) and later a Navy squadron each being responsible for the sinking of a German U-boat just off the North Carolina coast during 1943.Ĭherry Point's contribution to the Korean War effort was to provide a steady stream of trained aviators and air crewmen as well as maintenance and support personnel as replacements to forward deployed aviation units.ĭuring the Vietnam War, Cherry Point deployed three A-6 Intruder squadrons to the Far East and again provided a constant source of replacements for aircrews and enlisted aviation personnel. The completed facility was later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, after a local post office situated among cherry trees.Ĭherry Point's primary World War II mission was to train units and individual Marines for service to the Pacific theater. On May 20, 1942, the facility was commissioned Cunningham Field, named in honor of the Marine Corps' first aviator, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred A. Construction began in November just 17 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and is currently home to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.Ĭongress authorized Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on July 9, 1941, with an initial appropriation of $14,990,000 for construction and clearing of an 8,000 acre (32 km 2) tract of swamps, farms and timberland.Īctual clearing of the site began on August 6, 1941, with extensive drainage and malaria control work. Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (* 34★4′03″N 76★2′51″W / 34.9009°N 76.8807°W / 34.9009 -76.8807) ( ICAO: KNKT, FAA LID: NKT) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state.
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