The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 that serves as the Aviation Combat Element

Aviation combat element

In the United States Marine Corps, the aviation combat element or air combat element is the air arm of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force . It provides rotary-wing, tiltrotor, and fixed-wing aircraft, support equipment, pilots, maintenance personnel, as well as command and control assets to the...

 of the III Marine Expeditionary Force

III Marine Expeditionary Force

The III Marine Expeditionary Force is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps that is forward-deployed and able to deploy rapidly and conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to amphibious assault and high intensity combat. III...

. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster

Camp Foster

Camp Foster, formerly known as Camp Zukeran, is a United States Marine Corps camp located in Ginowan City on the Japanese prefecture island of Okinawa. It is part of the Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler complex, and named after the Medal of Honor recipient PFC William A...

 on the island of Okinawa, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Activated in 1940, the wing has seen heavy combat operations during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 and the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

.
Conduct air operations in support of the Fleet Marine Force

Fleet Marine Force

The United States Fleet Marine Forces are combined general and special purpose forces within the United States Department of the Navy that are designed in engaging offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment...

s to include offensive air support, antiair warfare, assault support, aerial reconnaissance including active and passive electronic countermeasures (ECM), and control of aircraft and missiles.