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. It is headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in San Diego, California and provides the aviation combat element for I Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is made up of a headquarters squadron, four flying groups, an aviation command and control group and an aviation engineering group.

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
3rd MAW insignia
Active	10 November 1942– 31 December 1945 1 February 1952–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Marine Corps Aviation
Type	Aviation combat element
Role	Air operations in support of the Fleet Marine Forces
Part of	I Marine Expeditionary Force
Garrison/HQ	Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Motto(s)	Bella Ac Pace Paratus
Engagements	World War II Asiatic-Pacific Theater Vietnam War Gulf War Operation Desert Storm Iraq War 2003 invasion of Iraq Operation Vigilant Resolve Operation Phantom Fury
Commanders
Commanding General	MajGen James B. Wellons
Assistant Wing Commander	BGen Daniel B. Taylor
Notable commanders	James F. Amos Byron F. Johnson John P. Condon Frank C. Lang Robert G. Owens Jr. Homer S. Hill

Mission

Provide combat ready expeditionary aviation forces capable of short notice worldwide deployment to Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), fleet and unified commanders.

Organization

As of March 2024 the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing consists of:

• Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 3
• Marine Aircraft Group 11, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
• Marine Aircraft Group 13, at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma
• Marine Aircraft Group 16, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
• Marine Air Control Group 38, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
• Marine Aircraft Group 39, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
• Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
• 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing organization March 2024 (click to enlarge)

History

World War II

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing was commissioned on 10 November 1942, at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, with a personnel roster of 13 officers, 25 enlisted men and one aircraft, a trainer.

The Wing's combat history began with the World War II deployment of a bomber squadron on 3 December 1943. A little more than a year later, the Wing deployed a night fighter squadron in support of the war effort.

In early April 1944, the wing turned over its training duties and assigned units to the 9th Marine Aircraft Wing and on 21 April 1944, boarded three carriers USS Gambier Bay CVE-73, USS Hoggat Bay CVE-75, and USS Kitkun Bay CVE-71 for a voyage to Hawaii and arrived 8 May, where it assumed the functions of Marine Air, Hawaii Area (MAHA).

When the Japanese surrendered, 3rd MAW was decommissioned on 31 December 1945, at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa and its personnel were assigned to other units. The Wing also played an important, but behind-the-scenes, role during the war by training Marine pilots and support personnel for combat duty overseas.

1950s

In 1952, as the Marine Corps again fought in the Far East, the Wing was reactivated at MCAS Cherry Point for the Korean War. The main portion of the wing began moving to the new Marine Corps Air Station Miami, the Marine Corps' first "flying field."

In September 1955, the Wing left MCAS Miami for Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. 3rd MAW was rebuilt again, with the addition of Marine Aircraft Group 15, followed by Marine Aircraft Group 36 on 5 September 1955, with its helicopter squadrons at the nearby Marine Corps Air Facility Santa Ana, later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Tustin.

Vietnam War through the 1980s

Wing squadrons were detached and deployed to Vietnam as combat action in Southeast Asia flared. At the end of the Vietnam War several units were brought back to the United States and deactivated or redesignated, creating 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing as it is constituted today.

The Gulf War and the 1990s

The wing saw action again as part of I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF), conducting operations in Iraq and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. It deployed over 40 squadrons of aircraft, flew over 18,000 sorties while operating from 6 airfields throughout the theater. After the end of hostilities, 3rd MAW aircraft provided support in Operation Provide Comfort and Operation Southern Watch over Iraq. The wing was once more called into service in Somalia for Operation Restore Hope. In 1999, 3rd MAW relocated to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California.

Global War on Terror

The fall of 2001 saw the beginning of the War on Terrorism, and 3rd MAW since deployed several detachments in support of the ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

In the fall of 2002, the wing began deploying to Kuwait to prepare for combat operations in Iraq. Ultimately the wing moved 435 aircraft and 15,451 personnel to Southwest Asia prior to the attack marking the first time the entire wing had deployed since the Gulf War and the largest since the Vietnam War. Their two primary bases in Kuwait were Ali Al Salem Air Base and Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base while Wing ground units also established 15 Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) or Forward Arming and Refueling Points (FARPs) during march north. During the invasion, 3rd MAW expended over 6 million pounds of ordnance, including over 2,300 general-purpose bombs and 2,200 precision guided munitions.

Current aircraft in use

Fixed-wing aircraft

• F/A-18 Hornet
• F-35C Lightning II
• F-35B Lightning II
• AV-8B Harrier II
• KC-130J Super Hercules

Rotary-wing aircraft

• AH-1W SuperCobra
• AH-1Z Viper
• UH-1Y Venom
• CH-53E Super Stallion

Tiltrotor aircraft

• MV-22B Osprey

UAVs

• RQ-7 Shadow
• Scan Eagle

See also

• List of United States Marine Corps aircraft groups
• List of United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons
• United States Marine Corps Aviation

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

Bibliography

• Nicholas E. Reynolds (July 2005). Basrah, Baghdad, and beyond: the U.S. Marine Corps in the second Iraq War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-717-6.
• Rottman, Gordon L. (2002). U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle – Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939 – 1945. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-31906-8.
• Sherrod, Robert (1952). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press. ISBN 978-0-89201-048-6.
• Simmons, Edwin H. (1 March 2003). The United States Marines: A History, Fourth Edition. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-790-9.
• Visconage, Michael D.; Harris, Carroll N. (2004). Third Marine Aircraft Wing – Operation Iraqi Freedom. Marine Corps Association.
• Warren, James A. (15 November 2005). American Spartans – The U.S. Marines: A Combat History from Iwo Jima to Iraq. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-684-87284-1.

Web

• Official 3rd MAW's official website