Official MATSS New River Patch — Where Marine Aviators Train Before They Fight Before a Marine pilot touches stick in the fleet, New River puts them through the fire first. The Marine Aviation Training System Site (MATSS) at MCAS New River is the simulation and tactical training hub embedded within the Marine Corps' premier East Coast helicopter and tilt-rotor base. Located in Jacksonville, North Carolina, adjacent to Camp Lejeune, MCAS New River has been the heartbeat of Marine rotary-wing aviation since MAG-26 first arrived from Cherry Point in 1954. The airfield — officially named McCutcheon Field in honor of General Keith B. McCutcheon, one of the fathers of Marine helicopter aviation — was recommissioned in 1968 as a full Marine Corps Air Station, marking its transformation from a small training strip into a major operational installation. Today, New River is home to MAG-26 and MAG-29, operating MV-22B Ospreys, CH-53E Super Stallions, CH-53K King Stallions, AH-1Z Vipers, UH-1Y Venoms, and more. MATSS New River sits at the center of this aviation ecosystem, leveraging the Aviation Distributed Virtual Training Environment to prepare prospective Weapons and Tactics Instructors and assault support planners through realistic, simulator-driven mission rehearsals. From pre-WTI planning problems to full-scale MAGTF-level exercises, MATSS ensures that every crew headed downrange or to WTI at Yuma has already been tested against the toughest scenarios in the building. This patch represents the quiet professionals who run the sims, build the scenarios, and make sure Marine aviators are ready before they ever leave the wire. Perfect For: MATSS New River cadre and staff, WTI students and graduates, MAG-26 and MAG-29 personnel, 2nd MAW Marines, MCAS New River veterans, and anyone who trained in the sims before heading to Yuma. Train hard. Fly harder. MATSS New River.
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