From the latter part of the Guadalcanal Campaign through Operation Cartwheel it was attached to Marine Aircraft Group 25 and the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT).

The 801st was the first Air Evacuation Transport squadron to deploy, and as such its nurses were some of the first American women of the war to enter forward areas during offensive operations.

It began arriving in New Caledonia in January 1943, starting with a cadre of male flight surgeons who participated in the latter phase of the Guadalcanal Campaign.

[2] As the only component of SCAT specifically trained in aeromedical evacuation, the 801st contributed to operations throughout the advance through the Solomon Islands.

[4] SCAT, including the 801st MAETS, received a Navy Unit Commendation for its operations in the South Pacific from December 1942 to July 1944.