Marine Aircraft Group 15 (MAG-15) was 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 ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

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 ...

. MAG-15, a transport and photo-

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

training group, was commissioned on 1 March 1942, headquartered at Camp Kearny,

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. In addition to radio and photographic training, the Group also conducted a

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

school. Additional roles included West Coast aircraft acceptance and transport service for the Marine Corps.

History

World War II

Marine Aircraft Group 15 was commissioned on 1 March 1942 at

Camp Kearny Camp Kearny was a U.S. military base (first Army, later Navy) in San Diego County, California, on the site of the current Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It operated from 1917 to 1946. The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen W ...

, California.''Rottman'', pg. 435 For the next two years the group remained there as the transportation, observation and photo reconnaissance training group. They trained pilots and crews to serve in the

South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command South Pacific OPACCombat Air Transport Command (SCAT) was a joint command of US military logistics units in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It contributed notably to the success of U.S. forces in the battles for Guadalcanal (1942–194 ...

(SCAT).''Sherrod'', pg. 444. From its commission in 1942 until 1944, MAG-15 trained and dispatched the following unit for overseas deployment: VMD-154 and VMD-254; VMO-151 and

VMO-155 Marine Fighting Squadron 155 (VMF-155) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps in World War II. During the war, they flew the SBC Helldiver and, after reconstitution in 1943, the F4F Wildcat. Later in the War the squadron also fl ...

; and VMJ-152, VMJ-153, VMJ-353, VMJ-952, and VMJ-953. MAG-15 shipped out from Camp Kearny to the South Pacific on 2 March 1944. They arrived in

Apamama Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of and a population of 3,299 . The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part of ...

on 1 April and operated from there as part of the Transport Air Group until October 1944. In October they were ordered to establish the Air Transport Group (ATG) in order to provide transportation services to units in the

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

and

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...

. ATG was redesignated the Troop Carrier Group (TCG) in November 1944. MAG-15 then became part of Task Unit 96.1 which was disbanded shortly thereafter on 25 March 1945 as its responsibilities were assumed by the NATS. Headquarters Squadron 15 was sent to

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 in April 1945 and was quickly joined by VMR-953 and

VMR-352 Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 (VMGR-352) is a United States Marine Corps Lockheed Martin KC-130, KC-130J squadron. They are a part of Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW) and provide both fixed-win ...

. They stayed there through the end of the war becoming part of the TAG again and controlling the transportation units for the Marines throughout the Pacific. In January 1947 the group became dual roled when they also had fighter squadrons attach and in May 1947 they became all fighter squadrons. In March 1949 they returned to the United States and were based at Marine Corps Air Station Edenton,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Vietnam War

MAG-15 moved to

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni is a United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki river delta, southeast of Iwakuni Station in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History The Japanese government bought a large portion of what is today MCAS I ...

in July 1966 and included

VMCJ-1 Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VMCJ-1) was an aviation squadron of the United States Marine Corps that provided aerial photographic reconnaissance and electronic countermeasures is support of the Fleet Marine Force. The squadron was ...

VMA(AW)-533 Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533 (VMFA(AW)-533) is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. Also known as the "Hawks", the squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina and falls under the command ...

, VMFA-334 and

VMFA-232 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232) is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. Nicknamed the "Red Devils", the squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft ...

. On 6 April 1972 Marine Aircraft Group 15 (MAG-15) received orders from 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. They were to move the air group to

Da Nang Air Base Da Nang Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Đà Nẵng) (1930s–1975) (also known as Da Nang Airfield, Tourane Airfield or Tourane Air Base) was a French Air Force and later Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility located in the city ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. On 9 April 1972, the first aircraft touched down at Da Nang. Missions were flown in support of South Vietnam's military after the 30 March 1972

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

ese

Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive ('' vi, Chiến dịch Xuân–Hè 1972'') by North Vietnam, or the red fiery summer (') as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted b ...

. On 20 June 1972 MAG-15 was ordered to move to

Royal Thai Air Base Nam Phong The Royal Thai Air Base Nam Phong in Nam Phong District, Khon Kaen Province, Thailand was constructed in 1966-1967 during the Vietnam War by Utah Mining Company, originally to support EC-121 The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star was an American ...

, Thailand, aka MCAS Rose Garden. MAG-15 in June 1972 consisted of four combat aircraft squadrons. VMFA-115 F-4B Phantoms, VMFA-232 F-4J Phantoms and All-weather attack squadron VMA(AW)-533 A6A Intruders. Air to air refueling was performed by VMGR-152 KC-130's. Search and rescue was performed by H&MS-36 CH-46 Sea Knight's. Task Force Delta's MAG-15 was supported by units from FMFPAC including the U.S. Navy SeaBee's 5th Mobile Construction Battalion (MCB 5), US Navy Medical Corps and 3rd Force Service Regiment, 3rd Marine Division on Okinawa. MAG-15 during 1972–73, under the umbrella of the 7th Air Force, participated in Operations

Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Linebacker II Operation Linebacker II was an aerial bombing campaign conducted by U.S. Seventh Air Force, Strategic Air Command and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) during the final period of U. ...

and after the 1973 cease-fire in Vietnam,

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. MAG-15 provided direct support to the

government of Cambodia The politics of Cambodia are defined within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the king serves as the head of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. The collapse of communism set in motion events that led to th ...

until 15 August 1973.

Stand down

On 31 December 1988, MAG-15 stood down after 46 years of service."MCAS Iwakuni History"
, MCAS Iwakuni, USMC. (URL accessed on 28 May 2006).

Notable commanders

Peter Pace Peter Pace (born November 5, 1945) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace was the first Marine officer appointed as chairman and the first Marine officer to be appointed ...

, former

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

served as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

of the Security Element, 1972–1973. * Robert G. Owens Jr., former Commanding general,

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 ...

, served as Group's operations officer in 1953-1954.

Notes

References

Books

* * *

Web

Historic California Posts: Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar
at militarymuseum.org. (URL accessed 26 May 2006)

Clemson University. (URL accessed 27 May 2006). {{US Marine Corps navbox Da