Marine Aircraft Group 26 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Marine Aircraft Group 26 (MAG-26) is a 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...

aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station New River

Marine Corps Air Station New River

Marine Corps Air Station New River is a United States Marine Corps helicopter base in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in the eastern part of the state. In 1972, the airfield was named McCutcheon Field for Brigadier General Keith B. McCutcheon, one of the fathers of Marine Corps helicopter aviation...

that is currently composed of seven MV-22 Osprey squadrons one of which is the Fleet Replacement Squadron

Fleet Replacement Squadron

A Fleet Replacement Squadron , is a unit of the United States Navy and Marine Corps that trains Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers on the specific front-line aircraft they have been assigned to fly...

and one aviation logistics squadron. It falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing

2nd Marine Aircraft Wing

The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing is the major east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina...

and II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Subordinate units

VMM-162
VMM-263
VMM-263
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV-22B Osprey transport aircraft...
VMM-261
VMM-264
VMM-266
VMM-365
VMMT-204
VMMT-204
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 is the MV-22 Osprey training squadron of the United States Marine Corps. Known as the "Raptors", the squadron was originally designated Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron 204 to train new CH-46E pilots and was officially redesignated as...
MALS-26

1950s through to the 1980s

Marine Aircraft Group 26 was activated on 16 June 1952 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, USA, in the eastern part of the state...

, North Carolina, and was assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing

2nd Marine Aircraft Wing

The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing is the major east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina...

. The first operational Marine Aircraft Group arrived from MCAS Cherry Point in July 1954. Marine Aircraft Group 26, a group of helicopters originally commissioned in 1952, filled the needs of the Marine Corps to maintain a force which was expeditionary and amphibious in nature. In July 1954, the group relocated to Marine Corps Air Station New River

Marine Corps Air Station New River

, North Carolina. On 1 March 1959, it was designated Marine Aircraft Group 26.

During this period, the group flew 10 different types of aircraft. Elements of MAG-26 participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...

; intervention in the Dominican Republic; Antilles

Antilles

The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...

disaster relief operation in the Dominican Republic; the Iranian hostage rescue attempt; Multinational Peacekeeping Force, Beirut, Lebanon; Operation Urgent Fury, Grenada and the Carriacou Islands; Hurricane Hugo

Hurricane Hugo

Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...

relief, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

and Charleston, S.C.; and Operation Sharp Edge

Operation Sharp Edge

Operation Sharp Edge was a non-combatant evacuation operation carried out by the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit of the United States Marine Corps in Liberia in 1990 and 1991.-Background:The First Liberian Civil War broke out in December 1989...

, Monrovia

Monrovia

Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...

, Liberia.

1990s

In December 1990, MAG-26 relocated to expeditionary airfield Lonesome Dove in Jubail

Jubail

Jubail , is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. It consists of the Old Town of Al Jubail, which was originally a small fishing village, up to 1975 and the new industrial area....

, Saudi Arabia, to support the I Marine Expeditionary Force and the 2nd Marine Division in the liberation of Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

during Operation Desert Storm. The composite squadron included nine squadrons from MAG-26, MAG-29

Marine Aircraft Group 29

Marine Aircraft Group 29 is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station New River that is currently composed of four CH-53E Super Stallion squadrons including the Fleet Replacement Squadron, three Light Attack Squadron flying AH-1W SuperCobras and UH-1N Twin Hueys,...

and the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing

4th Marine Aircraft Wing

The 4th Marine Aircraft Wing is the reserve airwing of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana but its subordinate units are scattered throughout the United States...

.

Elements of the group were involved in Operation Provide Comfort

Operation Provide Comfort

Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations by the United States and some of its Gulf War allies, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurds fleeing their homes in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War and deliver humanitarian aid to them.-Operation...

in northern Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

and Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

; Operation Victor Squared, Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...

, Cuba; and Operation Deny Flight

Operation Deny Flight

Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization operation that began on April 12, 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina...

in the former Yugoslavia

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

and the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

. The group is one of the most heavily tasked and deployed units in the Marine Corps and provides special operations capable aviation combat elements for the Marine Expeditionary Unit

Marine Expeditionary Unit

A Marine expeditionary unit , formerly called Marine amphibious unit , is the smallest Marine air-ground task force in the United States Fleet Marine Force...

s in support of the 6th Fleet and Central Command

United States Central Command

The United States Central Command is a theater-level Unified Combatant Command unit of the U.S. armed forces, established in 1983 under the operational control of the U.S. Secretary of Defense...

elements.

Since January 1992, the group participated in Operation Provide Promise

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....

; Operation Southern Watch

Operation Southern Watch

Operation Southern Watch was an operation conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of the 32nd Parallel in Iraq, following the 1991 Gulf War until the 2003 invasion of Iraq.-Summary:Operation Southern Watch began on 27 August 1992...

in which MAG-26 squadrons self-deployed in less than 12 hours, flew over a thousand miles and then embarked aboard ship; Operation Southern Support; Operation Support Democracy; Operation Sharp Guard

Operation Sharp Guard

Operation Sharp Guard was a multi-year joint naval blockade in the Adriatic Sea by NATO and the Western European Union on shipments to the former Yugoslavia. Warships and maritime patrol aircraft from 14 countries were involved in searching for and stopping blockade runners.The operation began on...

; Operation Continue Hope; and Operation Uphold Democracy

Operation Uphold Democracy

Operation Uphold Democracy was an intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide...

. In addition to deployments around the world, from 1 January 1993 to 31 December 1994, MAG-26 garrison squadrons accomplished an average of 10 major Marine exercises, 12 local exercises, 12 deployments for training and 60,455 mishap-free flight hours over the past two years.

The beginning of 1995 was met with many firsts for MAG-26. In conjunction with , HMH-461

HMH-461

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters...

was the first fleet squadron to perform Hover In-flight Refueling while hovering astern a naval vessel. HMLA-167

HMLA-167

Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167 is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters and UH-1N Huey utility helicopters...

was also the first squadron to employ Night Targeting System on the AH-1W SuperCobra.

As Hurricane Floyd

Hurricane Floyd

Hurricane Floyd was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd triggered the third largest evacuation in US history when 2.6 million coastal residents of five states were ordered from their homes as it approached...

moved up the East Coast in September 1999, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines relocated hundreds of military aircraft and vessels out of Floyd's path, and evacuated all non-emergency military and civilians to help ensure their safety. From Marine Corps Air Station, New River, N.C., all flyable CH-53E Super Stallion

CH-53E Super Stallion

The Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion is the largest and heaviest helicopter in the United States military. It was developed from the CH-53 Sea Stallion, mainly by adding a third engine, a seventh blade to the main rotor and canting the tail rotor 20 degrees. Sailors commonly refer to the Super...

aircraft from Marine Aircraft Group 26 were evacuated to Maxwell Air Force Base

Maxwell Air Force Base

Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force installation under the Air Education and Training Command . The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, US. It was named in honor of Second Lieutenant William C...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. All flyable CH-46E

CH-46 Sea Knight

The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...

, UH-1N

UH-1N Twin Huey

The Bell UH-1N Twin Huey is a medium military helicopter that first flew in April, 1969. The UH-1N has a fifteen seat configuration, with one pilot and fourteen passengers. In cargo configuration the UH-1N has an internal capacity of 220 ft³ . An external load of 5,000 lb can be carried...

and AH-1W aircraft from Marine Aircraft Group 26 and all flyable CH-53E, CH-46E, UH-1N and AH-1W from Marine Aircraft Group 29

Marine Aircraft Group 29

were evacuated to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. All grounded aircraft were secured within station hangars.

War in Iraq

On 28 January 2009, MAG-26 turned over with Marine Aircraft Group 16

Marine Aircraft Group 16

Marine Aircraft Group 16 is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar that is currently composed of one CH-46 Sea Knight squadron, four V-22 Osprey squadrons, four CH-53 Super Stallion squadrons, one Personnel Support Detachment and a maintenance and...

and assumed primary command of aviation support in Iraq’s Al Anbar Province. This year-long deployment for the MAG in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom culminated in November when the 2nd MAW headquarters turned over its mission 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 Multi-National Forces West

Multi-National Forces West

Multi-National Forces West or United States Forces West was one of the coalition headquarters under Multi-National Force-Iraq. It was headquartered by either I or II U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force that rotated on a 12 month basis...

to the MAG.

Subordinate units

1950s through to the 1980s

1990s

War in Iraq

See also