Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations, stated: "let Efate be the first rung in a ladder from which a step-by-step general advance could be made through the New Hebrides, Solomons, and Bismarcks."

[11] The Headquarters Squadron of MAG-24 departed Efate for MCAS Santa Barbara on 24 May[12] and by August 1942 the airfield had a 6000 ft runway capable of supporting combat operations for Guadalcanal.

MAG-24 initially stood port/starboard watch to thwart any further attacks from the Japanese by building fighting holes and manning defensive positions on the coast adjoining the airfield.

[20] The yet to be built airfields on Bougainville would support the "short-legged, sharpshooting," SBD Dauntless dive-bombers and TBF Avenger torpedo-bombers that were needed to sink Japanese ships and destroy the guns at the strategic stronghold of Rabaul.

[23] The landing on Bougainville started on 1 November 1943, and 31 TBFs and 8 SBDs completed pre-landing aviation fires, which were commended by the Commander of Southern Pacific Forces for timing, execution, and reducing resistance.

[9] Robert Sherrod, a war correspondent who accompanied Marines from Tarawa to Okinawa, would later comment, "the audacious attack at Cape Torokina caught the Rabaul admirals napping; the landing was in the best hit-'em-where-they-ain’t tradition.

The first occurred on 14 January, where bomber Division Leader Lt Reginald Dover earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for successfully dropping a bomb down the AK Transport Smoke Stake, sinking the ship with one hit.

Because of the attacks, all aircraft at Bougainville would be evacuated every night to Barakoma, Munda, or Green Island to return every morning dropping their bombs on enemy positions before landing for the first time.

While some early Close Air Support had been attempted and met with success in Nicaragua during the Interwar period, there was very little doctrine other than defining requirements and no structured development was completed prior to WWII.

"[44] LtCol Keith McCutcheon, the OPSO of MAG-24 (and "head professor" according to war correspondent Robert Sherrod) would expand on previous Close Air Support development by creating a school and coherently assembling all doctrines and procedures.

After the academic portion, the formed ALPs had a chance to work out Close Air Support problems over terrain models, static radio nets and finally simulated training runs.

[46] Previously the 5th Air Force (whom MAG-24 fell under) had furnished their own ALPs which were attached to a Division or higher; request and control were relayed through a centralized communication structure away from the front line.

The Marine planners on Bougainville were passionate that given the future mission on the Philippines it would be more efficient and significantly increase the operational tempo to talk the planes onto the target with direct communication.

[47] Due to the successful isolation of Rabaul, the preparation for the Philippine campaign was unique in that it gave seasoned aviators a three-month period of training and specializing on the single mission of Close Air Support.

The first targets were far behind front lines at San Fernando or Clark Field with the objectives being assigned the previous day using a cumbersome command and control process that required approval all the way up to the Sixth Army.

The attached ALP was able to call the SBD patrol to complete multiple shows of force and allowed the Cavalry to route the Japanese without the SBDs firing a shot.

"[55] Despite the successful dash to Manila, the ALPs of MAGSD still had a long way to go convincing the other Army commanders to make maximum use of the Close Air Support that Marine dive-bombers could provide.

[60] LtCol McCutcheon chose the location of Titcomb airfield during a daring reconnaissance during which he coordinated air support for Filipino guerillas and gained intelligence which allowed the ground forces in the area to land unopposed.

MAG-24 was at Nanyuan Airfield in Beiping, China and had VMF squadrons flying the F4U-4 "Corsair," and F7F Tigercat along with multiple transport and observation aircraft directly attached to the Group such as the C-47 SkyTrain, C-46 Commando, SNB-3 Navigator, and OY-1 Sentinel.

He alerted the country to the presence of the ballistic missiles in Cuba and that he had sent a letter to Khrushchev demanding the weapons be dismantled, warning the Soviets of the naval quarantine and the preparation for military force.

[80] The threat presented by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army dictated a potent fixed wing mix, followed by the anti-armor capability brought by the AH-1W Cobra.

[90] The assault support helicopters balanced the constant churn of logistics missions, range sweeps, and VIP flight along with their final preparations for combat.

[106] Most facets of Operation Desert Storm were a resounding success the failed large scale heliborne lift of Task Force X-Ray was a notable exception and of particular interest to a Rotary Wing MAG.

Once in the Objective Area, there was extreme confusion in communications as to the enemy presence in the Landing Zone, including an incident in which the Cobras were co-altitude as the Assault Support aircraft.

[117] Due to the planned reduction of the Marine Corps after the Cold War, also known as Base Re-Alignment and Closure (BRAC), MAG-24 was re-designated as Aviation Support Element Kaneohe (ASEK) on 30 September 1994.

The justification for the return of MAG-24 was that the goals of the drawdown/BRAC in Hawaii were never fully realized, that the ASEK and its tenant units had been operating in both training and employment as a MAG, and finally that the change was necessary to prepare for the transition of the CH-53D to the MV-22.

HMH-362 "The Ugly Angels," which had been stationed at Al Asad Air Base as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), was ordered to attach to MAG-40 the ACE for the 2nd MEB.

[143] To prepare for the massive influx of aircraft Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 and Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 began expanding the small airfield at Camp Bastion with AM-2 matting.

[149]  Both of these movements represented expansion into the previously held insurgent territory as the fighting in the central Helmand and the Garmsir district essentially ended with Operation Godfather on 14 January 2011.

[151]  Following the death of Osama Bin Laden, on 22 June 2011, then president Obama announced the planned withdrawal of 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by the summer of 2012. Pegasus deployment passed more or less without fanfare as Marines continued operations in the "Fishook."