MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- The 'Green Knights' of Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121 proudly display numerous citations and awards commemorating their 63 years of unsurpassed excellence.

This year, they've passed another milestone - 30,000 Class A mishap-free hours.

"That means we haven't had a mishap that has rendered anyone permanently injured, killed or sustained damage to an aircraft of $1,000,000 or greater since 1997," said Maj. Glenn Ritchie, director of Safety and Standardization for VMFA(AW)-121.

This was no easy accomplishment with the squadron participating in two Western Pacific deployments and  Operations Bright Star, Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Ritchie says the entire team has done a great job.

"These Marines are working hard.  They are working long hours and are constantly deploying.  The aircrew is always training, and the maintenance Marines are always perfecting their skills, keeping our airplanes operating in a safe and tactically efficient manner," said Ritchie.

He explained that flying with VMFA(AW)-121 is not like working for a normal airline where pilots are mainly concerned about getting the airplane and passengers from point A to point B.

"In our job, we have to get our planes from point A to point B, fight to point C, egress to point D, and get back home to point E.  So there's a whole tactical mission in there," said Ritchie.

The mission of accomplishing 30,000 mishap-free hours was no easy task, he added, but with a lot of hard work, the Marines reached their goal.

"Everybody has to be focused on the job, more importantly, adhering to the safety standards that are set forth by the Wing," said Staff Sgt. Eric Stapleton, Powerline division chief, VMFA(AW)-121.

Stapleton says that he's not required to be out on the flightline all the time, but when his Marines get bogged down, you will see him throwing on a pair of coveralls and getting his hands dirty.

"If we don't work together, you don't get those 30,000 hours because the jets don't get off the ground," said Stapleton.

According to the squadron's Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Matt Shihadeh, it's the people in the squadron that make it work so well. 

"The squadron has been lucky a little bit, as far as the people we've gotten.  We've also kept those people because it's been a great place to work," said Shihadeh.

"We've had some success, won some awards, but the biggest award is bringing everybody back and preserving our assets," he added.