Headquarters Squadron 36 was activated at Marine Corps Air Facility Santa Ana, California in June 1952 and was assigned to the Marine Aircraft Group 36, Air Fleet Marine Force Pacific. In February 1954, the squadron was redesignated as Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 36, Marine Aircraft Group 36. In February 1955, H&MS-36 took part in the airlift of ground troops of the 3rd Marine Corps provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade from Camp Pendleton to Nevada for exercise Dessert Rock VI. In September 1955, the squadron was assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. In November 1955, H&MS-36 participated in the landing of the 1st Marine Division Assault Forces at Camp Pendleton as part of the Pactraex 56L, one of the largest peacetime training maneuvers held during that time. Over the next ten years the squadron participated in exercises that validated the Marine Corps' vertical envelopment doctrine to include the first use of helicopters to land a battalion team at night from an aircraft carrier.
As the fighting in Vietnam intensified, H&MS-36 embarked aboard the USS Princeton en route to the republic of Vietnam. Arriving in August 1965, H&MS-36 was assigned to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing operating from Chu Lai and later Ky Ha. In October 1967, H&MS-36 moved to its operations to Phu Bai. While in Vietnam, the squadron supported numerous operations including Dewey Canyon, Hue City and Main Crag.
In November 1969, after more than four years in Vietnam, H&MS-36 relocated to Futenma, Okinawa, where flight operations, personnel, maintenance and supply support were provided to the squadrons of MAG-36 while supporting the 3rd Marine Division. Since arriving in Okinawa, H&MS-36 continued to support MAG-36 with intermediate maintenance and supply support for the six different types of aircraft assigned (CH-46, CH-53< UH-1, AH-1, OV-10 and KC-130). Although the squadron as a whole did not deploy since returning to Okinawa in 1969, elements of H&MS-36 were involved in various exercises and operations in Korea, Japan, the Republic of the Phillipines, Thailand, and Australia. Operations such as Operation End Sweep, the Joint Navy/Marne Corps mine sweeping effort in Haiphong Harbor in 1973; flood relief operations in the Philippines in 1974; Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Saigon in January 1975.
On 1 October 1988, H&MS-36 was re-designated as Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 36 (MALS-36) and support to the squadrons of MAG-36 and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing continued throughout the theater of operations. Operations such as Operation Sea Angel, providing humanitarian assistance to the flood victims in Bangladesh in May 1991; Operation Fiery Vigil, Providing humanitarian assistance to the victims of the Philippine Mount Pinatubo eruption in September 1992; Operation Restore Hope, providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Somalia in 1993; Operation Stabilize in East Timor in late 1999 to early 2000 and Operation Unified Assistance, providing humanitarian assistance to the victims of the Southwest Asia Tsunami disaster.
The Organizational colors of MALS-36 are decorated with the Presidential Unit Citation streamer; the Navy Unit Commendation streamer with three bronze stars; the Meritorious Unit Commendation with one bronze star; the National Defense Service streamer with three bronze stars; the Vietnam Cross Gallantry streamer; and the Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation Civil Action streamer with palm.