[1] As Marine Aircraft Group 42 (MAG-42), it was previously based at the since BRAC'd Naval Air Station Atlanta, Georgia.

The unit's mission was to provide air defense support for west coast Naval and Marine Corps installations and to conduct airborne search and patrol, transportation, air-sea rescue, and shipping escort operations along the Pacific Coast.

Following the collapse of the USSR, the stunning military success in the Persian Gulf War, and subsequent draw down of U.S. Department of Defense forces, the Department of the Navy developed a "Total Force" concept redefining the role of the Reserve Component to meet national emerging global security requirements.

MAG-42 was reorganized and relocated to NAS Atlanta on the Dobbins Air Reserve Base om Marietta, Georgia on June 10, 1992, in support of the Marine Corps Total Force Concept, "the integration of active and reserve components into the Total Force, a cohesive team shaped for joint operations to meet national needs and global challenges."

The total force-in-readiness mission is conducted by MAG-42 as a result of extensive training in many varied locations throughout the nation as well as deployments throughout the world.