Retiring A Venerable Aircraft After 40 Years

The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II has been in service with the U.S. Marine Corps for over 40 years but their days in service are numbered as the Corps transitions to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

Harriers have been used as close air support for ground troops, reconnaissance, deterrence, and even humanitarian missions. As recently as this year they were deployed in a deterrence capacity in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. However, some have already been sent to museums for display and the operational fleet has been reduced to just two squadrons. And those will be phased out of use over the next couple of years. The Marine Corps has also graduated the last class of five maintenance techs who will be assigned to the last unit working on Harriers at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina.

The Corps has been finding spots for crews and maintainers to work on new equipment or change their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).

"We're in an interesting place in our history," said Lt. Col. John Cumbie, the commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron 223, one of the remaining Squadrons at Cherry Point. "It is interesting to look at what we're doing real-world operationally and also how we are divesting of our equipment, aircraft and transitioning our people to new platforms or new MOSes in the Marine Corps."

The stalwart Harriers will sunset completely within the next three years.

FMI:  www.marines.mil/