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Marine Air Support Squadron 6 (MASS-6), is a reserve
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 c ...
aviation
command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
unit that provides the
Direct Air Support Center The Direct Air Support Center (DASC) is the principal United States Marine Corps aviation command and control system and the air control agency responsible for the direction of air operations directly supporting ground forces. It functions in a ...
(DASC) for the
Marine Forces Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...
. Their headquarters is in
Westover Air Reserve Base Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Established at the outset of World War II, today Westo ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
and their Detachment Alpha is located at
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the avi ...
, California


Mission

Provide
Direct Air Support Center The Direct Air Support Center (DASC) is the principal United States Marine Corps aviation command and control system and the air control agency responsible for the direction of air operations directly supporting ground forces. It functions in a ...
(DASC) capabilities for control and coordination of aircraft operating in direct support of
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 ...
(MAGTF) Operations.


History

Marine Ground Control Intercept Squadron 21 (MGCIS-21) was commissioned on 15 May 1947 at
Naval Air Station Squantum Naval Air Station Squantum was an active naval aviation facility during 1917 and from 1923 until 1953. The original civilian airfield that preceded it, the Harvard Aviation Field, dates back to 1910. The base was sited on Squantum Point in th ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. They provided
early warning An early warning system is a warning system that can be implemented as a chain of information communication systems and comprises sensors, event detection and decision subsystems for early identification of hazards. They work together to fore ...
and ground control intercept as part of the Marine Air Reserve Training Command until they were decommissioned on 30 November 1950. The squadron was reactivated on 18 January 1952 and in December 1953 moved to
Naval Air Station South Weymouth Naval Air Station South Weymouth was an operational United States Navy airfield from 1942 to 1997 in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. It was first established as a regular Navy blimp base during World War II. During the postwar era the base became ...
. On 1 March 1954 they were re-designated as ''Marine Air Control Squadron 21'' (MACS-21) and operated as such until their deactivation on 31 July 1962. The squadron was quickly repurposed and brought back on 1 August 1962 as ''Marine Air Traffic Control Unit 73'' (MATCU-73). MATCU-73 was responsible for providing
air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
and
precision approach radar Precision approach radar (PAR) is a type of radar guidance system designed to provide lateral and vertical guidance to an aircraft pilot for landing, until the landing threshold is reached. Controllers monitoring the PAR displays observe each airc ...
services at NAS South Weymouth. This new designation did not last long because on 1 January 1963 they reverted to MACS-21. On 1 April 1967 the squadron would gain its current moniker when it was re-designated Marine Air Support Squadron 6 (MASS-6). \Elements of MASS-6 would help support
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 ...
in 1990/1991. After the Gulf War and in light of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRA) military downturn, the unit was relocated to Westover Air Force Base and occupied duplexes for 9 years until a new Marine Reserve Center was built with the politic backing of both sides of the political aisle. Operation Iraqi Freedom For the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the DASC for the I Marine Expeditionary Force was provided by MASS-3 with augmentation from MASS-1 and MASS-6. It was broken up into a main echelon (DASC Main) and a forward echelon (DASC Fwd). The main was attached to the Main Headquarters of the 1st Marine Division while the forward was attached to the Division "Jump Command Post (CP)." The DASC (Fwd) was also a part of Task Force Tripoli when they went into Tikrit at the end of the invasion. Air support Marines also provided a smaller DASC for Task Force Tarawa, the British Forces on the Al Faw Peninsula, staffed a DASC (A) detachment out of Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait and provided Air Support Liaison Teams (ASLTs) to all of the regiments within the 1st Marine Division. MASS-3 returned to Iraq with the 1st Marine Division to provide air support in January 2004. They were based out of Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi and were replaced in January 2005 by MASS-1. The DASC moved to Camp Fallujah near the city of Fallujah in January 2006 around the same time that MASS-3 returned to Iraq to retake the air support mission in Al Anbar Province. MASS-1 again switched out with MASS-3 in early 2007 and provided air support for the 2nd Marine Division. Marine Air Support Squadron 6 Marines now wear the Naval Aviation Observer Wings they were awarded March 25, 2011. The wings were typically awarded to operators of the OV-10 Bronco surveillance aircraft only, which were phased out of service in 1995. According to Marine Administrative Message 091/11, released Feb. 11, Marines involved with air support control operations may now wear the wings as well. In addition the Unit received numerous commendations for NATO exercises Battle Griffin in Norway as well as providing support to Combined Arms Exercises at 29 Palms, CA, Marine Combat Center. During these exercises in the 1980, the Reserve Unit created what is now a standard protocol for all Marine Air Support Units by creating the Air Support Liaison Party or ASLP. Originally designed to get the most up to the minute status on enemy air, troop movements close air support missions and medevacs inside the Battalion S-3 Operations, it quickly became a necessity for ground units to rely on for communications and close air support with forward air controllers. Today every battalion or regiment rates an ASLT when deploying either in a MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) or MEB (Marine Expeditionary Brigade) to all corners of the globe.


See also

*
Organization of the United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The most senior Marine commissioned officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recr ...
* List of United States Marine Corps air support squadrons


External links


MASS-6's official website
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military units and formations in Massachusetts 4th Marine Aircraft Wing United States Marine Corps air support squadrons United States Marine Corps aviation support squadrons