VMM-266 does this by conducting mission essential tasks, which include shipboard operations, sea and air deployment operations, air assault, amphibious assaults and raids, distribution of supplies and other transport services, joint personnel recovery, and conduct of noncombatant evacuation.

In its first year, the squadron established a foundation that would make it the cold weather assault support experts for 2nd MAW.

Over the course of the next six years, the squadron participated in fourteen exercises from the High Sierras of the Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) in Bridgeport, California to the arctic climes of northern Norway.

On 4 January 1991, the squadron arrived in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and provided assault support in the form of Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP), troop movement, casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), and re-supply missions.

They provided heavy lift support when Mount Etna erupted and lava flow threatened to wipe out the town of Zafferana, Sicily.

In addition to AV-8B strike missions, two CH-46Es successfully extracted a Navy Special Warfare Team Personal Security Force from Petrovic, Macedonia.