The Yearbook talks with the commanding offi cer
of the 3rd Marine Air Wing, Maj Gen Mark Wise.REPORT Jamie Hunter
This image:
The transition
to new
aircraft types
exacerbates
the problem
of readiness
for legacy
eets during
the handover
period. All
photos Jamie
Hunter unless
credited
otherwise
Inset: Maj Gen
Mark Wise, the
commanding
general of the
3rd MAW. USMCT
HE 3RD MARINE Aircraft
Wing (3rd MAW) was
commissioned on the 167th
anniversary of the Marine
Corps, on November 10,
1942, at MCAS Cherry Point,
North Carolina, and its operational
history includes action in WW2. On
April 21, 1944, the wing boarded three
carriers for a voyage to Hawaii and
arrived on May 8, where it assumed the
functions of Marine Air, Hawaii Area.
It played an important, behind-the-
scenes, role in defeating the Japanese
by providing the best training available
to Marine pilots and support personnel.
In September 1955, the wing was
rebuilt at MCAS El Toro, California, with
the addition of Marine Aircraft Group
(MAG) 15, followed by MAG-36 with its
helicopter squadrons at Tustin.
Today, the Marines and sailors
of the 3rd MAW remain
headquartered in southern
California at MCAS Miramar,
which hosts the xed-wing assets
of MAG-11 and rotary and tilt-rotor
assets of MAG-16. At MCAS Yuma,
Arizona, MAG-13 is the overall tenant
unit, with MAG-39 at MCAS
Camp Pendleton in California.
Maj Gen Mark R. Wise is an F/A-18
Hornet pilot by trade and is the current
commanding general of the 3rd
MAW. In an exclusive
interview, he
told thismagazine: ‘The 3rd MAW is the largest
air wing in the Marine Corps, with
nearly 17,000 Marines and sailors.’ That
impressive workforce includes pilots,
maintainers, logisticians, administration,
doctors, and pretty much every single
trade in the Corps. ‘Because we’re the
largest air wing, not only do we support
all the global commitments of the 1st
Marine Expeditionary Force [MEF], but
we also underpin the readiness of other
wings, who may come to us when they
require assistance in certain areas.
‘Our main focus is the Marine Aircraft
Groups here at Miramar, at Yuma, and
at Camp Pendleton, but we also have
a small contingent at Twentynine
Palms that underpins some of our
expeditionary training — we have a
Marine Wing Support Squadron out
there. They maintain the day-to-day
running of that facility.’ The Marine Corps
hosts many of its large-scale exercises3RD MARINE AIR WING^5150-56 3rd MAW C.indd 51 01/06/2018 10:13