Marine Aircraft Group 24

Marine Aircraft Group 24
MAG-24 Insignia
Active	1 March 1942 – present
Country	United States
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Type	Rotary wing
Role	Assault support
Part of	1st Marine Aircraft Wing III Marine Expeditionary Force
Garrison/HQ	Marine Corps Air Facility Kaneohe Bay
Engagements	World War II * Philippines campaign (1944–45) Operation Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Richard Caputo

Marine Aircraft Group 24 (MAG-24) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Facility Kaneohe Bay that is currently composed of three CH-53D Sea Stallion squadrons, a personnel support detachment and a maintenance and logistics squadron. They fall under the command of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and the III Marine Expeditionary Force.

Mission

Provide combat-ready, expeditionary aviation forces capable of short-notice, worldwide employment to a Marine Air Ground Task Force.

Subordinate units

• HMH-362 – Ugly Angels
• HMH-363 – Red Lions
• HMH-463 – Pegasus
• MALS-24 – Warriors

History

World War II

Col Warren E. Sweetser, Jr., left, commanded MAG-24 in June 1945. His executive officer, LtCol John H. Earle, Jr., is on the right

Activated on 1 March 1942 at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, Oahu, Hawaii. During World War II, MAG-24 saw extensive action throughout the Pacific theater, and in particular in the campaigns to liberate the Philippines. Following the war, MAG-24 was deployed as part of the III Amphibious Corps to Peiping in Northern China to take part in the occupation that lasted from October 1945 until April 1947. In April 1947 they were relocated to Guam. In 1949, MAG-24 moved to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina and remained there for the next twenty years.

1960s through today

In April 1968, MAG-24 moved back to the Pacific and Kaneohe, Hawaii where it became the Marine Corps’ largest and only permanent composite Marine Aircraft Group. Starting in 1978, the MAG provided both fixed and rotary wing squadrons for six-month unit deployments to the Western Pacific. From 1 October 1986 to 30 September 1994, MAG-24 served as the Aviation Combat Element for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade. From August to December 1990, squadrons and personnel from MAG-24 deployed to Southwest Asia to support Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. The last MAG-24 squadrons to return participated in Operation Sea Angel, the Bangladesh relief operation. During recent years all three tactical squadrons have deployed to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan as part of the Unit Deployment Program (UDP) program and have provided aircraft to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The three squadrons have traveled the Pacific participating in exercises in Japan, Korea, and Thailand. In September 2004 a small detachment of CH-53Ds from HMH-463 joined HMM-265 as the Heavy lift portion of the 31st MEU Aviation Combat Element. This MEU detachment became the first CH-53Ds to participate in combat operations since Desert Storm, operating out of Al Asad Airbase, Al Anbar Province, Iraq. In early 2006, HMH-362 supported a Presidential visit to India by providing 5 aircraft to support the mission. Currently HMH-362 is operating in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

See also

United States Marine Corps portal

• United States Marine Corps Aviation
• List of United States Marine Corps aircraft groups
• List of United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons

References

Notes

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

Bibliography

• Crowder, Michael J. (2000). United States Marine Corps Aviation Squadron Lineage, Insignia & History – Volume One – The Fighter Squadrons. Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 1-56311-926-9.
• Tillman, Barrett. SBD Dauntless Units of World War 2. Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-85532-732-0.

Web

• MAG-24's official website
• Boggs, Jr., Charles W. (1951). "Marine Aviation in the Philippines" (brochure). Headquarters Marine Corps. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-AvPhil/index.html. Retrieved 7 May 2008.