1955, the Wing left MCAS Miami for Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. 3rd 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 and 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 6 airfields throughout the theater. After the end of hostilities, 3rd 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 Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base while Wing ground units also established 15 Forward Operating Bases (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 Fixed-wing aircraft F/A-18 Hornet F-35B Lightning II AV-8B Harrier II KC-130J Super Hercules Rotary-wing aircraft AH-1W SuperCobra AH-1Z Viper UH-1Y Venom CH-53E Super Stallion Tiltrotor aircraft MV-22B Osprey UAVs RQ-7 Shadow Scan Eagle See also List of United States Marine Corps aircraft groups List of United States