Tactical Air Operations Center

The TAOC provides real time aerial surveillance of assigned airspace, and its personnel identify, and control the intercept of hostile aircraft and missiles.

This manpower intensive system was not too different from how the Marine Corps first early warning detachments operated during World War II.

MTDS consisted of three major components that worked in concert to automate early warning, fighter direction and the control of surface to air missiles.

[7] Iraq's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait set off hostilities throughout Southwest Asia because of this MACS-2 arrived in Saudi Arabia and established a TAOC in the vicinity of King Abdul Aziz Naval Base (KAANB).

At that time the majority of the squadron returned to MCB Camp Pendleton however a detachment with an AN/TPS-59 long range radar and Tactical Air Operations Module (TAOM) remained in Saudi Arabia in support of MACS-2.

At the beginning of the ground invasion, the squadron sent an Early Warning and Control (EW/C) site to Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in the Kingdom of Kuwait to push its radar coverage area further north.

On February 11, 2003, MACS-1's main body arrived in Kuwait during the buildup of forces prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The Early Warning and Control (EW/C) Detachment from MACS-2 went north into Iraq to provide additional radar coverage first from Jalibah Southeast Air Base followed by An Numaniyah.

[8] From 2009 through 2014, MACS-1, in concert with MACS-2, supported sustained TAOC operations at Camp Leatherneck, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.