Marine Air Control Squadron 2
Marine Air Control Squadron 2 | |
---|---|
Operation Iraqi Freedom | |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Lieutenant Colonel George Getman Jr. |
Marine Air Control Squadron 2 (MACS-2) is a
Mission
Detect, identify and control the intercept of hostile aircraft and missiles, and provide navigational assistance to friendly aircraft and provide continuous all-weather, radar, non-radar approach, departure, en route and tower air traffic control services to friendly aircraft.
The unit manages anti-air warfare assets within assigned sector. It detects, identifies and classifies all aircraft within its assigned sector. It maintain tracks of identified contacts and provide en route control/navigation assistance as required. MACS-2 selects and assign weapons to engage and defeat enemy air threats. It controls the engagement of enemy air threats by increasing interceptors or surface-to-air weapons. It provides radar/non-radar approach, departure and en route air traffic control services within assigned terminal control areas. It provides automatic carrier landing system approach services (Modes I, II, and III) for forward operating bases. Finally it coordinates air defense activities within designated base defense zones.
- Primary Missions
- Air Traffic Control
- Early Warning & Control
- Air Intercept Control
- Mutil-TADILinterface and management
Subordinate units
Name | Location |
---|---|
Headquarters and Support Detachment | MCAS Cherry Point
|
Air Traffic Control Detachment Alpha | MCAS Beaufort
|
Air Traffic Control Detachment Bravo | MCAS New River
|
Air Traffic Control Detachment Charlie | Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field Bogue |
Early Warning Control Detachment | MCAS Beaufort
|
Tactical Air Operations Center Detachment | MCAS Cherry Point
|
History
World War II
Marine Air Warning Squadron 11 was commissioned on 1 April 1944 at
In October 1945, the squadron moved viz
Reactivation and movement to Hawaii
During the buildup to the Korean War, Marine Ground Control Intercept Squadron 2 was reactivated in El Toro, California on 3 August 1950. In January 1952, the squadron was attached to Marine Aircraft Group 13 and two months later moved with MAG-13 to Kaneohe Bay, Territory of Hawaii. On 15 February 1954, the Squadron was redesignated as Marine Air Control Squadron 2, and four years later in November 1958, relocated to Atsugi, Japan. In March 1959, MACS-2 joined the First Marine Brigade and returned to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
On May 19, 1962, elements of MACS-2 deployed to
Desert Shield/Desert Storm
In August 1990, MACS-2 received orders to deploy to Southwest Asia in support of
Leaving Hawaii and varied operations
In 1993, MACS-2 was disbanded in Hawaii and MACS-5 at the
MACS-2 relocated once more to MCAS Cherry Point in 1998 under Marine Air Control Group 28 where it resides today. Deployed in support of overseas operations, MACS-2 sent an ATC detachment known as a Marine Air Traffic Control Mobile Team (MMT) to Kosovo with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 1999. In support of operations in Serbia, MACS-2 deployed an MMT to Hungary, also in 1999. In 2001, MACS-2 sent Tactical Air Operations Center Marines to Southwest Asia to support the United States Air Force in Operation Southern Watch. The squadron also provided an ATC detachment to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
In early 2003 MACS-2 sent a detachment of over 50 Marines to support the initial phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Consisting mostly of Six-man Mobile Air Traffic Control Teams (MMTs), the Marines of MACS-2 were instrumental in providing operational capability for Forward Arming and Refueling Points (FARPs) and Forward Air Bases (FOBs), ensuring air superiority for the coalition forces from the Kuwait border through Baghdad and as far north as Tikrit. An MMT team attached to MWSS-371 took part in the Battle of Ah Nasiriyah from 26 to 29 March 2003, with one air traffic control sustaining shrapnel wounds that earned him a purple heart.
A detachment from Marine Air Control Squadron 2 make up the Air Traffic Control Detachment at
From 2009 through 2014, MACS-2, in concert with
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. Marine Air Control Squadron 2 has been presented with the following awards:[8]
Streamer | Award | Year(s) | Additional Info |
---|---|---|---|
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Navy Unit Commendation Streamer with two Bronze Stars | 1990, 2005–2006, 2009 | Southwest Asia, Iraq |
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Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamer with two Bronze Stars | 1985–87, 1988–1989, 1998–1999 | |
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Streamer
|
1945 | Okinawa | |
World War II Victory Streamer
|
1941–1945 | Pacific War | |
Navy Occupation Service Streamer with "ASIA" | |||
China Service Streamer | 1945-46 | ||
National Defense Service Streamer with three Bronze Stars | 1950–1954, 1961–1974, 1990–1995, 2001–present | War on Terrorism
| |
Southwest Asia Service Streamer with two Bronze Stars | September 1990 – February 1991 | Desert Shield, Desert Storm | |
Afghanistan Campaign Streamer with one Bronze Star | |||
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Iraq Campaign Streamer with two Bronze Stars | ||
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Streamer | |||
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Global War on Terrorism Service Streamer | 2001–present |
See also
Citations
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.
- ^ 3d MAW General Order 11-1944 - Commissioning VMF-521, VMF-522, AWS-9 & AWS-11
- ^ Rottman 2002, pp. 450.
- ^ Sherrod 1952, pp. 454.
- ^ a b Banks 1999, pp. 77.
- ^ Whitlow 1977, pp. 89.
- ^ Whitlow 1977, pp. 93.
- ^ Long, Auston (Winter 2013). "Marines Turn Over Control of Air Space to the Air Force". The Yellowsheet. Quantico, VA: Marine Corps Aviation Association.
- ^ "Lineage and Honors of MACS-2" (PDF). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
References
- Bibliography
- Banks, Herbert C., ed. (1999). Marine Night Fighter Association. Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 1-56311-512-3.
- Rottman, Gordon (2002). U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle: Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939–1945. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31906-5.
- OCLC 1261876.
- Web
- Whitlow, Robert H. (1977). U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Advisory & Combat Assistance Era 1954-1964 (PDF). History & Museums Division, Headquarters Marine Corps.
- Marine Corps Warfighting Publication 3–25.7. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- GlobalSecurity.org – MACS-2 History Retrieved on 2008-08-15
See also
- MACS-2’s official website. Retrieved on 28 May 2020.