VMM-163
military unit
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 163 (VMM-163) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of MV-22 Osprey transport tiltrotors. The squadron, known as "Evil Eyes", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW).
The Squadron's original nickname, the "Ridge Runners", was bestowed as a result of typhoon rescue and relief operations in the mountainous terrain surrounding Hanshin, Japan following Typhoon Tess in September 1953. In 2015, the squadron officially adopted the moniker "Evil Eyes." This comes from the eyes that have been painted on squadron aircraft since October 1965 when it was recommended by the squadron's intelligence officer for operation in South Vietnam.
Mission
Provide assault support transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment during expeditionary, joint or combined operations. Be prepared for short-notice, worldwide deployment in support of Marine Air-Ground Task Force operations.
History
The Early years
Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron 163 (HMR-163) was commissioned on December 1, 1951, at Marine Corps Air Station Santa Ana, California. In March 1952 the squadron joined Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16) at MCAF Futema. In September 1953, the squadron embarked on the USS Bataan (CVL-29) sailing for Japan. During October 1953 the squadron flew humanitarian relief missions in the area of Hanshin following devastation created by Typhoon Tess.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 20, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7907274. The first chronological checks are 1953, 2015, 1965 and 1951.
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This entry incorporates text from “VMM-163” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.