Approximately fifty US Marines from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 (VMGR-252) returned home to MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, on 9 January 2012.The Marines were attached to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and deployed with two of their KC-130J Hercules transport aircraft for nearly eight months, spending more than four months at NAS Sigonella, Sicily and more than three months in Djibouti. In Italy, the detachment supported operations over Libya as part of Operation Unified Protector, and in Djibouti, the Marines supported national mission taskings for antiterrorism efforts in support of Operation Copper Dune. During the entire eight months, the detachment experienced zero incidents, zero injuries, and a 100 percent mission success rate.
