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Marine Aircraft Group 29 (MAG-29) 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 c ...
aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station New River,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
. The group is currently composed of four
CH-53E Super Stallion The Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion is a heavy-lift helicopter operated by the United States military. As the Sikorsky S-80, it was developed from the CH-53 Sea Stallion, mainly by adding a third engine, adding a seventh blade to the main rotor, ...
squadrons including the Fleet Replacement Squadron, two Light Attack Helicopter Squadrons flying AH-1Z Vipers and
UH-1Y Venom The Bell UH-1Y VenomDoD 4120-15L, ''Model Desi ...
s, and a maintenance and logistics squadron.


Mission

Provide air support to
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 a ...
commanders.


Subordinate units

Light Attack Helicopter squadrons * HMLA-167 * HMLA-269 Heavy Helicopter squadrons * HMH-366 * HMH-461 * HMH-464 Heavy Helicopter Training squadron *
HMHT-302 Marine Heavy Helicopter Training Squadron 302 (HMHT-302), is a United States Marine Corps helicopter training squadron stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. Known as the "Phoenix", HMHT-302 trains newly designated Naval ...
Aviation logistics squadron *
MALS-29 Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 29 (MALS-29) is an aviation logistics support unit of the United States Marine Corps. Known as the "Wolverines", they fall under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 29 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and are c ...


History


Early years and the 1980s

Marine Aircraft Group 29 was commissioned 1 May 1972 from Marine Helicopter Training Group 40 (MHTG-40) at Marine Corps Air Station New River,
Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, North Carolina. MAG-29 was composed of Headquarters & Maintenance Squadron (H&MS-29), Marine Air Base Squadron 29 (MABS-29), and Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 268 (
HML-268 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268 (VMM-268) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of MV-22 transport. The squadron, known as the "Red Dragons", is based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe, Hawaii and falls under th ...
). The squadrons were newly designated units awaiting assignment of personnel and material. Four days after its activation, MAG-29 received its first aircraft, the
UH-1N The Bell UH-1N Twin Huey is a medium military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopter. It is a member of the extensive Huey family, the initial version was the CUH-1N Twin Huey (later CH-135 Twin ...
, directly from
Bell Helicopter Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, as well as commercial helicopters in M ...
in
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
, Texas. Eleven days later, the Group more than doubled in size with the addition of
HML-167 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167 (HMLA-167) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. Known as the "''Warriors''", they are based at Marin ...
,
HMA-269 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269 (HMLA-269) was a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. Also known as "The Gunrunners", the squadron was based a ...
, and
VMO-1 : ''For the earlier VMO-1 which formed in MCB Quantico in 1937 see VMTB-151'' Marine Observation Squadron 1 (VMO-1) was an observation squadron of the United States Marine Corps which saw extensive action during World War II and supported numero ...
from
Marine Aircraft Group 26 Marine Aircraft Group 26 (MAG-26) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station New River composed of seven MV-22 Osprey squadrons, one of which is the Fleet Replacement Squadron, an aviation logistics squadron ...
. During 1982, the first phases of the MAG-29/MAG-26 reorganization were completed with the composition of UH-1N and
AH-1T The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engined attack helicopter that was developed on behalf of, and primarily operated by, the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J Se ...
aircraft in HML-167 and HMA-269, and transfer of
HMM-162 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 (VMM-162) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Golden Eagles", is based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North C ...
and HMH-464 to MAG-29 from MAG-26. During 1983, MAG-29 received
HMM-365 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (VMM-365) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV-22B Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Blue Knights", is based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North C ...
and HMM-263 to complete the MAG-29/MAG-26 reorganization.


1990s

MAG-29 deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield and
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-Ma ...
. During 1993, MAG-29 units supported UN
Operation Restore Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), U ...
and Operation Continue Hope in Somalia and Operation Deny Flight and
Operation Provide Promise Operation Provide Promise was a humanitarian relief operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars, from 2 July 1992, to 9 January 1996, which made it the longest running humanitarian airlift in history. By the end of the operation, ...
in the former
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
. During the summer of 1994, MAG-29 personnel and aircraft supported Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti. On 7 June 1995, HMM-263 successfully rescued downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady. In 1999, MAG-29 saw yet another real world contingency in the deployment of HMM-365(REIN). As the ACE for the 26th MEU, HMM-365(REIN) supported numerous operations in the countries of
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
, Kosovo, and Macedonia, Humanitarian Assistance in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
and participated in Operation Allied Force,
Operation Allied Harbor Operation Allied Harbor was NATO's first humanitarian operation. In the case of the Kosovo crisis, by the end of March 1999 these agencies were unable to cope with the massive influx of refugees into Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ...
, Joint Task Force shining Hope, Operation Noble Anvil, Operation Joint Guardian, and
Operation Avid Response 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-Ma ...
.


Global War on Terror

After the 11 September attacks, MAG-29 prepared for support operations in New York City and contingency operations overseas.
HMM-365 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (VMM-365) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV-22B Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Blue Knights", is based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North C ...
(Rein) was quickly deployed and ordered to be among the first troops into
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 a ...
. Following that, MAG-29(Rein) was ordered to deploy in January 2003 to become the 3rd Rotary Wing Group for the
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 comb ...
in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. The group returned from Iraq in June 2003. MAG-29 deployed to Iraq in support of OIF 07–08. In June 2008, they returned to their headquarters in MCAS New River.


See also

*
United States Marine Corps Aviation United States Marine Corps Aviation (USMCA) is the aircraft arm of the United States Marine Corps. Aviation units within the Marine Corps are assigned to support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, as the aviation combat element, by providing six ...
*
List of United States Marine Corps aircraft groups This is a list of United States Marine Corps Aviation Groups (MAG, MACG, MATSG). Inactive groups are listed by their designation at the time they were decommissioned. Active Marine Aircraft Groups (MAG) MAGs consist of a MAG headquarters, a Mar ...
*
List of United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons This is a list of all of the active squadrons that exist in the United States Marine Corps, sorted by type. Most squadrons have changed names and designations many times over the years, so they are listed by their current designation. :''To see ...


References

;Notes : ;Bibliography ;Web
MAG-29's official webpage
{{2ndMAW United States Marine Corps aircraft groups Military units and formations in North Carolina