Marines from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 (VMGR-252) gathered in the squadron’s hangar at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina on 1 February 2012 to celebrate the unit’s fiftieth anniversary as a tanker squadron. Although the unit, known as Otis, had received its first KC-130F Hercules tanker in October 1961, the squadron didn’t officially take on the refueling role until 1 February 1962. To celebrate the anniversary, Lt. Col. Charles J. Moses, the squadron commander cut a cake with an escape axe from a Battleherk, as the Marines have nicknamed the tankers. The next day, three KC-130J crews, carrying fifty maintainers and support staff (shown here) returned to Cherry Point after a seven month deployment to Afghanistan.
