A U.S. Marine Corps Hawker Siddeley AV-8A Harrier hovering over the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Guam (LPH-9) during interim sea control ship tests in the Atlantic Ocean in January 1972. The Guam was the test bed for the first operational exercise of the SCS concept with HS-15 SH-3 Sea King and VMA-513 AV-8A Harrier aircraft. HS-15, the first SCS (Sea Control Ship) helicopter squadron, had formed at NAS Lakehurst in October 1971. At-sea tests commenced in January of 1972. The operations were significant in near term concept development of small carrier applications in limited combat environments and in future changes in U.S. Navy force structure related to ASW/Sea Control employment and operation of helicopters, notably the coming Sikorsky H-60 Seahawk series.