[1] On 25 February 1946, VMF-461 sailed on board the USS Palau (CVE-122) during her initial shakedown cruise and on 16 March 1946, the squadron departed Naval Base San Diego headed for the east coast of the United States.

Arriving at Naval Station Norfolk on 16 March 1946, VMF-461 flew south to MCAS Cherry Point, NC for temporary duty with Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11).

From May to August 1947 the squadron again sailed on the USS Palau, visiting Guantánamo Bay, Monrovia, Liberia, Recife, Brazil, and Dakar, French West Africa.

[2] From September 1949 until January 1950, the squadron deployed on a Mediterranean cruise as part of Marine Aircraft Group 11 on board the USS Leyte (CV-32).

Throughout the 1970s, HMH-461 continued its support of Fleet Marine operations in such places as the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, Scandinavia, Northern Europe and Great Britain.

On 5 January 1991, Detachment Delta was retasked from DESERT STORM to support the non-combatant evacuation (NEO) of American citizens from war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia.

In June, while on a routine training mission (7) 1000 lbs bombs were dropped on two CH-53Es standing Casevac on the Godoria Range by an Air Force B-52.

At the same time that the squadron main body was deployed to the Horn of Africa, HMH-461's Marines supporting the 22 MEU also encountered difficult flying in the treacherous mountains of Afghanistan.

The 22 MEU ACE was stationed at the Kandahar airport in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and designated as part of Task Force Linebacker.

Throughout the spring and summer, the detachment helped efforts to battle Taliban forces, register 58,000 Afghan voters, and treat 2,000 medical and dental patients.

In January 2010 the squadron was mobilized at short notice and transported the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to aid relief efforts in Haiti after the recent devastating earthquake (Operation Unified Response).

[4] At the same time, the squadron's MEU detachment deployed early via strategic lift to support disaster relief operations in Pakistan following historic flooding.

The squadron would deploy again to Camp Bastion in 2013, this time as an entire unit, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM 13.1; moving more than 4.3 million pounds of cargo, 23,800 passengers, and completing more than 130 named tactical raids and assaults.

In May 2015, HMH-461, like before in the Horn of Africa, would be the lead active duty heavy lift detachment to send regular rotations to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras as part of SPMAGTF-SC.

The rotation would return in May 2018 to support volcano disaster relief and VIP visits including the Vice President of the United States.