Marine Aviation Training Support Group 23 (MATSG-23) is a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

training group originally established during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as Marine Aircraft Group 23 (MAG-23). Squadrons from MAG-23, augmented by

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

flying units formed the

Cactus Air Force Cactus Air Force refers to the ensemble of Allied air power assigned to the island of Guadalcanal August 1942 until December 1942 during the early stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign, particularly those operating from Henderson Field. The term " ...

during the Battle of Guadalcanal. Since then it has evolved into the first Aviation Logistics focused Colonel level command, and serves as a functional training advocate for all USMC Aviation Logistics entry-level training. The instructors and support staff of MATSG-23 are responsible for training thousands of Marines per year in the disciplines required to enable the expeditionary aviation required to support the

Marine Air Ground Task Force Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF, pronounced MAG-TAF) is a term used by the United States Marine Corps to describe the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air-ground, combined ar ...

Mission

MATSG-23's mission is to serve as the functional training advocate for all USMC Aviation Logistics entry-level training, to include initial accession, primary MOS, Aircraft Maintenance Officer, Aviation Ordnance Officer Career Progression Schools and Air Traffic Control Officer Course. Additionally, as directed by Training Command, MATSG-23 provides administrative and logistical support to regionally located units in order to prepare Marines for service in the Fleet Marine Force.

History

World War II

Marine Aircraft Group 23 was commissioned at

Marine Corps Air Station Ewa Marine Corps Air Station Ewa (MCAS Ewa) was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located west of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The base was hit during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and later served as the hub for all Mar ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, as part of the

2nd Marine Aircraft Wing The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) is the major east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Wing provides the aviation combat element for the ...

on March 1, 1942. The group became the first Marine aviation group to meet the Japanese in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. They formed the forward echelon of 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, Japan. Activ ...

(1st MAW) during the Battle of Guadalcanal and landed its first units at Henderson Field,

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

on August 20, 1942 when

VMF-223 Marine Attack Squadron 223 (VMA-223) is a United States Marine Corps fixed wing attack squadron that consists of McDonnell-Douglas AV-8B Harrier II (V/STOL) jets. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina an ...

and VMSB-231 were flown off the

USS Long Island (CVE-1) USS ''Long Island'' (CVE-1) (originally AVG-1 and then ACV-1) was lead ship of Long Island-class escort carrier, her class and the first escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was also the second ship to be named after Long Island, New Yo ...

. Ten days later the group's rear echelon, composed of VMF-224 and VMSB-232, joined the forward echelon at Henderson Field. MAG-23, augmented by Army and Navy land based air under the operational control of 1st MAW, furnished air support to the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...

and Army ground forces in the struggle for Guadalcanal. The Group composed of only four Marine squadrons, detachments from six Navy

carrier Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

squadrons ( VS-5, VB-6,

VF-5 VF-51, Fighter Squadron 51 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy known as the "Screaming Eagles". It was originally established as VF-1 on February 1, 1943, redesignated as VF-5 on July 15, 1943, redesignated as VF-5A on November 15, 1946, ...

, VS-71,

VT-8 Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) was a United States Navy squadron of World War II torpedo bombers. VT-8 was assigned initially to the air group of the aircraft carrier , joining the ship shortly after her commissioning in October 1941. After heavy lo ...

and VS-3), and the 67th Army Pursuit Squadron. This heterogeneous group shot down 244 enemy planes in four weeks. Navy pilots accounted 44, Army flyers, using P-400s shot down eight. The remaining 192 were credited to Marines. Though MAG-23 suffered casualties as well (22 Marine pilots killed in action, three by enemy naval gunfire), their actions were vital in the legendary Marine victory at Guadalcanal. From Guadalcanal, MAG-23 was transferred to the

Naval Air Station San Diego Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NBC ...

where it served as a part of

Marine Air, West Coast Marine Air, West Coast (MarAirWest) was a United States Marine Corps aviation training and administrative command established on 22 January 1943, which was responsible for the administration, training and equipment of the Marine Aviation Units o ...

from November 18, 1942 until January 9, 1943. The group was then transferred to

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, near Irvine, California. Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps Aviation on the West Coast ...

until September 1943. On September 19, 1943, the group again landed at MCAS Ewa and remained there as part of Marine Air Hawaiian Area until May 1944. On May 8, 1944, the group transferred to

Midway Atoll Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

where it remained until the war ended. After the war, MAG-23 returned to the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

and was decommissioned on November 1, 1945.

1980s to Present

Marine Aviation and Training Support Group 23 (MATSG-23) was formally activated on 15 January 1982 with a mission of providing administrative and limited logistics support to Marines permanently and temporarily assigned to NAS Lemoore in support of F/A-18 maintenance, operations and training. On 2 July 1982 VMFA-314 arrived at NAS Lemoore as the first squadron to transition to the F/A-18 Hornet. By the end of June 1983 the first three Marine F/A-18 squadrons had completed their transition at VFA-125. A new and exciting chapter in Fighter Aviation had begun. Over the years, F/A-18 training switched from whole units to individual Marines destined to replace Marines in FMF. In May 2000 the Commandant of the Marine Corps directed the re-designation of all Marine Aviation Training Support Groups to promote a sense of Marine Corps identity and tradition. This re-designation utilized the numbers of previously decommissioned groups allowing them and their rich history to live on in the annuals of Naval Aviation. On 7 June 2013, the Commandant of the Marine Corps approved the reorganization of the existing five MATSGs headquarters into three MATSG headquarters. MATSG-23 was directed to reorganize and relocate from NAS Lemoore, Ca to NAS Pensacola, FL and assume administrative support for initial accession schools. MATSG-23 consists of a headquarters element supporting three squadrons and two detachments to include: Aviation Maintenance Squadron 1, Aviation Maintenance Squadron 2, Marine Aviation Training Support Squadron 1, Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Detachment Eglin Air Force Base, and Marine Detachment Keesler Air Force Base. The command of MATSG-23 has not limited itself to student throughput. It has taken an active role to improve aviation logistics for the fleet Marine Corps by initiating and supporting important commodity advocacy issues. MATSG-23 is constantly innovating the way Marine aviation support personnel are trained and support/maintain the Aviation Combat Element of the MAGTF.

Notable former members

David Douglas Duncan David Douglas Duncan (January 23, 1916 – June 7, 2018) was an American photojournalist, known for his dramatic combat photographs, as well as for his extensive domestic photography of Pablo Picasso and his wife Jacqueline. Childhood and educat ...

, as a 2d Lieutenant in

* William J. Wallace as Colonel commanded MAG 23 at

References

External links

MATSG-23's official website
{{US Marine Corps navbox Military units and formations in California Tr