3rd Marine Aircraft Wing The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing ( 3rd MAW ) is the major west coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps . It is headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar , California and provides the aviation combat element for I Marine Expeditionary Force . The wing is made up of a headquarters squadron , four flying groups , an aviation command and control group and an aviation engineering group . Mission . Provide combat ready expeditionary aviation forces capable of short notice world wide deployment to Marine Air - Ground Task Force ( MAGTF ) , fleet and unified commanders . Current force . Locations . Units of 3rd MAW are located in the western United States at the following bases : History . World War II . 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing was commissioned on November 10 , 1942 , at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point , North Carolina with a personnel roster of 13 officers , 25 enlisted men and one aircraft - a trainer . The Wing ' s combat history began with the World War II deployment of a bomber squadron on December 3 , 1943 . A little more than a year later , the Wing deployed a night fighter squadron in support of the war effort . In early April 1944 , the wing turned over its training duties and assigned units to the 9th Marine Aircraft Wing and on April 21 , 1944 boarded three carriers for a voyage to Hawaii and arrived May 8 , where it assumed the functions of Marine Air , Hawaii Area ( MAHA ) When the Japanese surrendered , 3d MAW was decommissioned on December 31 , 1945 at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa and its personnel were assigned to other units . The Wing also played an important , but behind - the - scenes , role during the war by training Marine pilots and support personnel for combat duty overseas . 1950s . In 1952 , as the Marine Corps again fought in the Far East , the Wing was reactivated at MCAS Cherry Point for the Korean War . The main portion of the wing began moving to the new Marine Corps Air Station Miami , the Marine Corps ' first " flying field . " In September 1955 , the Wing left MCAS Miami for Marine Corps Air Station El Toro , California . 3d MAW was rebuilt again , with the addition of Marine Aircraft Group 15 , followed by Marine Aircraft Group 36 on September 5 , 1955 , with its helicopter squadrons at the nearby Marine Corps Air Facility Santa Ana , later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Tustin . Vietnam War through the 1980s . Wing squadrons were detached and deployed to Vietnam as combat action in Southeast Asia flared . At the end of the Vietnam War several units were brought back to the United States and deactivated or redesignated , creating 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing as it is constituted today . The Gulf War & the 1990s . The wing saw action again as part of I Marine Expeditionary Force ( I MEF ) , conducting operations in Iraq and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm . It deployed over 40 squadrons of aircraft , flew over 18 , 000 sorties while operating from 6airfields throughout the theater . After the end of hostilities , 3d MAW aircraft provided support in Operation Provide Comfort and Operation Southern Watch over Iraq . The wing was once more called into service in Somalia for Operation Restore Hope . In 1999 , 3rd MAW relocated to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar , California . Global War on Terror . The fall of 2001 saw the beginning of the War on Terrorism , and 3rd MAW since deployed several detachments in support of the ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan . In the fall of 2002 , the wing began deploying to Kuwait to prepare for combat operations in Iraq . Ultimately the wing moved 435 aircraft and 15 , 451 personnel to Southwest Asia prior to the attack marking the first time the entire wing had deployed since the Gulf War and the largest since the Vietnam War . Their two primary bases in Kuwait were Ali Al Salem Air Base and Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base while Wing ground units also established 15 Forward Operating Base s ( FOBs ) or Forward Arming and Refueling Points ( FARPs ) during march north . During the invasion , 3rd MAW expended over 6 million pounds of ordnance , including over 2 , 300 general - purpose bombs and 2 , 200 precision guided munitions . Current aircraft in use . Starting in 2009 , all CH - 46 helicopter squadrons from 3rd MAW will transition to the MV - 22 .