Marine Attack Squadron 214 (VMA-214) is a United States Marine Corps fighter squadron consisting of AV-8B Harrier (V/STOL) jets. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona and is under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 13 (MAG-13) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW).
The squadron is best known as the Black Sheep of World War II fame and for one of its commanding officers, Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, whose memoirs also inspired the 1970s television show Baa Baa Black Sheep, later syndicated as Black Sheep Squadron, which dramatized the squadron's exploits during the war.
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Marine Attack Squadron 214 became the first squadron to introduce the Night Attack capability into the Unit Deployment Program in October 1991, by deploying 20 Night Attack Harriers to Iwakuni, Japan, for seven months. Continuing in their traditions as pioneers, in July 1993, the Black Sheep conducted a dedicated "Night Systems" deployment to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twenty-Nine Palms, California. Ultimately, sorties were conducted throughout the night until shortly before dawn over a period of three weeks. It also resulted in the gathering of original medical data on night flying and its effect on pilot performance.
From December 1993 to July 1994, Marines of VMA-214 deployed aboard USS Peleliu and participated in contingency Operation Restore Hope and Operation Quick Draw off the coast of Somalia. Also during this deployment, VMA-214 Det B participated in Operation Distant Runner in Burundi and Rwanda.
In October 1994 a detachment from Marine Attack Squadron 214 embarked aboard USS Essex to support the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU). While deployed, the detachment supported Operation Southern Watch in Southwest Asia and Operation United Shield off the coast of Somalia.
During April 1996, Marine Attack Squadron 214 again deployed a detachment aboard USS Tarawa in support of the 13th MEU. The detachment supported Operation Southern Watch off the coast of Kuwait and Operation Desert Strike in Northern Iraq.
In August 1997, the Black Sheep were recognized for the third time with the Lawson H.M. Sanderson Award for Attack Squadron of the Year. In 1998 and 1999, the Black Sheep Squadron prepared for and deployed aboard USS Boxer heading directly to the North Persian Gulf to take part in Operation Desert Fox. It was on this deployment that the Harrier community had its first operational use of Night Vision Devices for shipboard activities to include working with helicopters on a shared deck.
