Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort is a United States military installation near Beaufort, South Carolina. Its ICAO airport code is KNBC. About 4200 personnel serve at the station, home to the Marine Aircraft Group 31 (MAG-31) and other Fleet Marine Force units, including the Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 (MWSS-273), Marine Air Control Squadron 2 (MACS-2, formerly MACS-5), and Combat Service Support Detachment 23 (CSSD-23). The MAG-31 is comprised of many F/A-18 (aka Hornet) squadrons.
The facility was commissioned on June 15, 1943 for advanced training operations of anti-submarine partols during World War II. It was then deactivated in 1946 and reactivated in 1956. On March 1, 1960, it was re-designated Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. On September 19, 1975, the airfield was named Merritt Field in honor of Major General Louis G. Merritt, USMCR of Ridge Spring, South Carolina.
The air station encompasses 6,900 acres (28 kmē). It is also associated with a large air-to-air combat area off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia as well as a 5,200 acre (21 kmē) air-to-ground combat and bombing range in McIntosh County, Georgia. Also attached to the base is the housing complex of Laurel Bay, just 3 miles (5 km) from the station, that provides family housing for area servicepeople.
As is the case with many air bases, MCAS Beaufort hosts an annual air show open to the public.
Beaufort was chartered in 1711 and is known as the second-oldest city in South Carolina, after Charleston.
Beaufort has been the setting for several novels by native son Pat Conroy, and a popular filming location for major motion pictures, including The Big Chill, The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini, Forrest Gump, Something To Talk About and GI Jane.
Beaufort is the center of an urban cluster with a total population of 46,227 (2000 census), comprised of the city and its surrounding towns and unincorporated areas including Port Royal, Burton, Lady's Island, Shell Point, Laurel Bay, and Parris Island, among others.
MCASBeaufort hosts all active duty USMC F/A-18 air operations on the East Coast, assigned to MAG-31.
MCASBeaufort is located four miles from downtown Beaufort, S.C. Managing more than 12,000 acres, the air station includes the Laurel Bay military family housing just outside the main gate and Townsend Bombing Range about 130 miles away in McIntosh County, Ga.
Beaufort is located in close proximity to valuable resort property, and plays host to three military facilities located in a sparsely populated, rural setting.
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