Official VMFA-542 Tigers Friday flight-suit tab patch. Friday means Tigers — F-35Bs out of Cherry Point, weekend's almost here. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 542 (VMFA-542), the "Tigers," is a USMC F-35B Lightning II strike fighter squadron based at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina under Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing — and the first operational F-35B fleet squadron based on the East Coast. The Tigers redesignated from VMA-542 to VMFA-542 on December 1, 2022, transitioning from the AV-8B Harrier II to the F-35B Lightning II in the East Coast Marine Corps' biggest STOVL fighter modernization in decades. The squadron was originally established as Marine Night Fighter Squadron 542 (VMF(N)-542) on March 6, 1944 at MCAS Cherry Point — flew F6F Hellcats in the Pacific (including the Battle of Okinawa in 1945), F7F Tigercats in Korea, F3D-2 Skyknights, F4D-1 Skyrays, and F-4B Phantom IIs in Vietnam from 1965 to 1970 — was deactivated June 30, 1970 and reactivated January 12, 1972 as a Harrier squadron, transitioned to the AV-8B Harrier II in May 1986, and flew the Harrier through Operations Desert Shield/Storm, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and the Libya operations before the F-35B transition. Friday flight-suit tabs are how Marine pilots and aircrew run squadron pride and end-of-week morale into the work week, and this is the Tigers' Friday tab — the smaller-format companion to the squadron shoulder patch. Perfect For: VMFA-542 Tigers active-duty and veteran personnel, F-35B Lightning II pilots and maintainers, MCAS Cherry Point Marines, MAG-14 and 2nd MAW personnel, AV-8B Harrier II heritage enthusiasts, Friday flight-suit and tab patch collectors, and Marine fighter community morale-gear collectors. Tigers Friday tab — F-35Bs, Cherry Point, weekend inbound.
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