Marine Air Control Group 18 (MACG-18) is a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

aviation command and control unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma that is currently composed of 4 squadrons and 1 HQ support detachment. The Marine Air Control Group as a whole provides the

1st Marine Aircraft Wing The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa Island, Okina ...

s tactical headquarters, positive and procedural control, air traffic control, short range air defense and air defense control to aircraft for the

III Marine Expeditionary Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and ...

Mission

Provide the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing Command, Control, and Communications support for the prosecution of all six functions of Marine Aviation.

Subordinate units

* 1st LAAD Battalion * Marine Air Control Squadron 4 * Marine Air Support Squadron 2 * Marine Wing Communications Squadron 18 * Personnel Support Detachment 18

History

World War II

Marine Air Warning Group 2 was commissioned on 8 January 1944 at Marine Corps Air Depot Miramar,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The Group's mission was to make available Air Warning Squadrons for combat and to store and maintain air warning equipment until assigned to air warning squadrons going overseas. Most of the leadership in the air warning squadrons was new to the Marine Corps with most time spent learning the details of their highly technical equipment. Thus the majority of the responsibility for embarking squadrons on their way to combat fell on the Group Headquarters. Squadrons received their gear and final training while attached to MACG-2. This usually took place during a six week field evolution during which they also practiced landing operations. Eleven air warning squadrons trained and deployed from MAWG-2. The group was decommissioned on 1 August 1945.

1967-present

The group was reformed on 1 September 1967 in Danang,

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

as ''Marine Air Control Group 18'' at the height of US participation in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. At that time the Group's component units were already involved in combat. Its

Hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

battalion was among the first US Marine units to land in Vietnam.1st LAAM Bn in Vietnam – 12 February 1965 – Marine Corps Base 29 Palms Observation Post
/ref> From its formation, MACG-18 and subordinated units, with attachments scattered throughout the I Corps Tactical Zone, participated in every major campaign conducted in the northern area of

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

until its departure from Vietnam. In recognition of their accomplishments during the Vietnam War, MACG-18 and its units were awarded four Presidential Unit Citations, three Navy Unit Commendations and a

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

. The Group moved from Vietnam to

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni is a joint Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces and United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki River, Nishiki river delta, southeast of Iwakuni Station in the Municipality of Japan, city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan ...

, Japan in 1971, and then to the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, in 1975. Since the end of the war in Vietnam, MACG-18 has assumed a major role in joint, combined and Marine air-ground training and contingency operation in the Western Pacific.

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. MACG-18 has been presented with the following awards:

Citations

References

;Bibliography * * *

External links

MACG-18's official website
{{1stMAW United States Marine Corps air control groups Military units and formations established in 1967