MARINE CORP AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Times and conflicts have dictated the Marine Corps’ various missions throughout its history. Currently, the Corps is called upon throughout the world for everything from battles in Afghanistan to relief efforts in Haiti.
Stationed in Japan, Marine Aircraft Group 12 remains all the more relevant in today’s mission as international headlines gear more and more toward the Far East.
“The best thing that MAG-12 does is offensive air support; that’s basically what we train to do,” said Col. Stephen G. Nitzschke, MAG-12 commanding officer.
MAG-12’s mission statement reads as such: “The mission of the Marine Aircraft Group 12 is to conduct anti-air warfare and offensive air support operations in support of fleet Marine forces from advanced base, expeditionary airfields or aircraft carriers and conduct such air operations as may be directed.”
For 60 years, the group has maintained its high level of readiness by training in Japan and in various other locations across the Far East.
“What we do has not changed since the 1950s,” said Nitzschke.
“We rapidly deploy to friendly nations to conduct combined training to make sure our equipment is interoperable, our tactics, techniques and procedures are interchangeable, and we understand each other.”
On average, MAG-12 supports around 30 training exercises a year. Some of the countries MAG-12 trains with include the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea and Australia.
“Our war-fighting mission is number one, and that is the ‘O’ plan,” said Nitzschke.
“There is another aspect to theater security cooperation, and that is just the fundamental interaction we have with our military contacts we make when we go to other countries, whether it be Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Korea … that’s developing personal relationships with our counterparts that we may someday have to fight alongside,” Nitzschke added.
After every exercise concludes, an after action report is drawn up to highlight the training’s positives and negatives.
“We use those lessons learned for two purposes,” said Nitzschke. “One is to improve the exercise for the next year, and two is to take lessons learned that we can use in combat and improve our tactics techniques and procedures should we have to fight.”
At the local level, MAG-12’s chaplain organizes multiple community relations events in the immediate area.
Events include everything from cleaning up public areas to volunteering at local schools.
Nitzschke said in addition to all the training, deployments, and high operational tempo, MAG-12 really wants to be good ambassadors for the United States, so that in the case the “ready group” goes to war, they have an alliance with their nieghbors and the local community.
By conducting exercises with various countries and keeping good relationships with its host country, MAG-12 has purposefully positioned itself in a constant stance of readiness for today and tomorrow.