Marine Air Control Group 38 (MACG-38) 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 Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, a commu ...

that is currently composed of four squadrons and one battalion that provide the

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (abbreviated as 3rd MAW) is the major west coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, ...

's tactical headquarters, positive and procedural control to aircraft, and air defense support for the

I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It i ...

Mission

Provide a task-organized Marine Air Command and Control System (MACCS) in order to enable the six functions of Marine Aviation in support of the MAGTF's Aviation Combat Element.

Subordinate units

* 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion *

Marine Air Control Squadron 1 Marine Air Control Squadron 1 (MACS-1) is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control squadron. The squadron provides aerial surveillance, air traffic control, ground-controlled intercept, and aviation data-link connectivity for ...

* Marine Air Support Squadron 3 *

Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 (MWCS-38) is a United States Marine Corps communications squadron. The squadron provides expeditionary communications for the aviation combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. They are based at ...

* Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 * Marine Wing Support Squadron 372 * Marine Wing Support Squadron 373

History

1950s

Marine Air Control Group 3 was commissioned on 28 March 1951 at

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located next to the community of El Toro and was then adjacent to the city of Irvine. Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps Av ...

, California. The group was formed during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

to replace

Marine Air Control Group 2 Marine Aircraft Group 43 (MAG-43) was a Fighter aircraft, fixed wing aviation List of United States Marine Corps aircraft groups, group in the United States Marine Corps United States Marine Corps Reserve, Reserve based at Naval Air Station Join ...

that deployed to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in March and April 1951. Following the end of the Korean War and a restructure within Marine Corps aviation, MACG-3 was decommissioned on 31 December 1955.

Reactivation through the 1980s

The Group was reactivated on 1 September 1967, at MCAS El Toro.

Desert Storm & the 1990s

MACG-38 deployed to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in August 1990 and later supported

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. Elements of the group have supported

Operation Restore Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), also known as Operation Restore Hope, was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational military force deployed to Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. It was established to replace United ...

Operation Safe Departure Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

and Operation Stabilise. The group relocated to MCAS Miramar in October 1998.

War on Terror to present

MACG-38 began planning for a possible invasion of Iraq during the summer of 2002. The groups first units began deploying to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in October 2002 as part of Exercise Internal Look. The 2003 invasion of Iraq eventually required not only all of MACG-38 but also almost all of

Marine Air Control Group 28 Marine Air Control Group 28 (MACG-28) is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point that is currently composed of four command and control squadrons and a low altitude air defens ...

and a significant number of augments including reservists from

Marine Air Control Group 48 Marine Air Control Group 48 (MACG-48) is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control unit based at Naval Station Great Lakes that is currently composed of 4 squadrons that provide the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing and Marine Forces Res ...

and

Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 The Marine Corps Training and Education Command (TECOM) is the primary training command of the United States Marine Corps. TECOM leads the Marine Corps Training and Education continuum from individual entry-level training, professional military ...

(MAWTS-1). MACG-38 personnel continued to deploy today in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

from January 2004 through early 2009. During security and stabilization operations the group was headquartered at

Al Asad Airbase Al-Asad Airbase is an Iraqi airbase located in al-Anbar Governorate of western Iraq. It was originally known as Qadisiyah Airbase. It was the second largest US military airbase in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Until January 2010, it was ...

in the

Al Anbar Province Al Anbar Governorate (; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The population ...

. Most recently the Group deployed to

Camp Leatherneck Camp Leatherneck was a 1,600 acre United States Marine Corps base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The site was mostly in Washir District and was conjoined with Camp Bastion, which was the main British military base in Afghanistan and Camp S ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in March 2010. It was again responsible for providing aviation command and control for the

(I MEF) in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

. The group returned to the United States in the Spring of 2011. In the summer of 2002, planning for the possible invasion of Iraq began in earnest for west coast MACCS units attached to the

(IMEF). I MEF had the lead for planning the 2003 invasion of Iraq however the scope and scale of

References

External links

* United States Marine Corps air control groups Military units and formations in California {{USMC-stub