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Community Resources

Mission Statement

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort strives to foster a positive and proactive relationship with neighbors of the Air Station and Townsend Bombing Range, as well as other local and national communities, through providing effective community outreach and education. The resources listed on this webpage provide more information on Air Station operations and programs. To stay up to date on MCAS Beaufort activities, please follow us on social media:

- MCAS Beaufort Facebook at www.facebook.com/MCASBeaufort

- MCAS Beaufort Twitter at www.twitter.com/MCASBeaufortSC

 

Air Installations Compatible Use Zones

  In the early 1970s, the United States Department of Defense (DOD) initiated the Air Installations Compatible Use Zones (AICUZ) program to balance the need for aircraft operations with community concerns related to aircraft noise and accident potential. The goal of the AICUZ program is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of those living and working in the vicinity of a military installation while sustaining the military’s operational mission. The AICUZ study defines high noise zones and accident potential zones (APZs) surrounding military airfields and recommends land uses that are compatible within these zones. Local governments are encouraged to incorporate AICUZ program compatibility guidelines as an element of land use planning and development practices.

  MCAS Beaufort has had an AICUZ program since 1977. MCAS Beaufort and Lowcountry governments have been working together for years to incorporate the AICUZ study into county and city planning documents, and to support the community in understanding the AICUZ program and its planning guidance. The most recent AICUZ study was completed in 2013. In addition to protecting the public safety and health, by sustaining the mission of MCAS Beaufort, these programs protect the taxpayer's investment in national defense and the military’s economic benefits to the Beaufort area. Please see the resources heading for downloads and more information.

Downloadable Resources & Links

 

Tour & Event request Information

The Community Relations section of MCAS Beaufort coordinates tours for groups interested in learning more about MCAS Beaufort or Townsend Bombing Range, and special requests for military participation or involvement in community events, such as those listed below. Please send all requests by e-mail to the MCAS Beaufort Office of Communication at BFRT_JPAO@usmc.mil. For more information, please contact the Community Relations Coordinator at (843) 228-7225.

Please note there are restrictions regarding military support of various events. The U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy have restrictions governing the support of events at sites owned or leased by religious, political and special-interest organizations, or for organizations that may discredit the U.S. Armed Forces. Requests should be for events that are open to the public and hold community-wide interest. 

Special requests include but are not limited to: Link to form download  Request submittal deadline 
Tours Tour Request Form at least 45 days in advance
Visitor Request Form SECNAV 55121 at least 45 days in advance
Aircraft flyover USMC Community Relations at least 90 days in advance
Aircraft static display DD Form 2535 at least 90 days in advance
Equipment Static Display DD Form 2536 at least 90 days in advance
Guest speaker, volunteers, official attendance DD Form 2536 at least 15 days in advance
Organization use of base facilities for training, billeting, etc.  DD Form 2536 at least 60 days in advance 
Color Guard, rifle details or funeral details DD Form 2536 at least 30 days in advance 

 

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, home of the Marine Corps' Atlantic Coast fixed-wing, fighter-attack aircraft assets, is located in the heart of the South Carolina Lowcountry and is among the United States military's most important and most historically colorful installations. Consisting of some 7,000 acres 70 miles southwest of Charleston, South Carolina on Highway 21, the installation is home to four Marine Corps F/A- 18 squadrons and two F-35B Fleet Replacement Squadrons. Two versions of the F/A-18 Hornet are found aboard MCAS Beaufort, the F/A-18C Hornet and the F/A-18D Hornet. The F-35B squadrons are the only locations in the world where pilots train to fly the F-35B. The squadron also trains the United Kingdom's future F-35B pilots and maintainers.

 

A proud tradition


The acreage occupied by the Air Station was formerly the site of several prominent Lowcountry plantations, including the Clarendon and Edgerly, Bull and Deveaux plantations. In 1779, during the Revolutionary War, British troops landed at what is now the Laurel Bay Housing area and battled American revolutionary troops at Gray's Hill. The Beaufort area was also a staging area for both Confederate and Union troops during the civil war and elaborate plantation homes still line Bay Street, overlooking the Beaufort River.

By June 15, 1943, the Civil Aeronautics Authority established Naval Air Station Beaufort as an auxiliary air station which supported advanced training of anti-submarine patrol squadrons which ensured the security of shipping along the Eastern seaboard.

 

Today


Currently, the Fightertown family consists of more than 700 Marines and Sailors along with 600 civilian personnel who ensure approximately 3,400 personnel of Marine Air Group 31 and its component squadrons and tenant units are readily deployable.

Fightertown's Hornet squadrons rotate overseas regularly for deployments to support Operation Inherent Resolve for six month Western Pacific deployments. At any given time, up to half the squadrons may be found at various points around the globe, and are routinely called into action when the Commander in Chief requires airborne strikes or support for ground forces. Most recently, squadrons have seen combat in the skies over Iraq and Syria.

On the home front, the installation has weathered installation closures in the post-cold War, and with the recognition of the growing role of air power in conflicts in the developing world.

 

 Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort
Post Office Box 55001
Beaufort, SC 29904-5001

843-228-7121   
DSN: 335-7121

 

Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron
 Bldg. 600 Drayton St.
Beaufort, SC. 29904-5001

843-228-6606
DSN: 335-6606