Marine Air Support Squadron 2
Marine Air Support Squadron 2 (MASS-2), is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control unit that provides the Direct Air Support Center (DASC) for the III Marine Expeditionary Force. It is the oldest and most decorated aviation command and control unit in the Marine Corps.
Marine Air Support Squadron 2
Inside the Tactical Air Control Center (TACC) run by MASS-2 in March 1954. This agency was responsible for coordinating the air defense of South Eastern Korea.
Squadron insignia from 1992 to 2017
Direct Air Support Center
The Direct Air Support Center (DASC) is the principal United States Marine Corps aviation command and control system and the air control agency responsible for the direction of air operations directly supporting ground forces. It functions in a decentralized mode of operation, but is directly supervised by the Marine Tactical Air Command Center (TACC) or the Navy Tactical Air Control Center (NTACC). During amphibious or expeditionary operations, the DASC is normally the first Marine Air Command and Control System (MACCS) agency ashore and is usually categorized as the Ground Combat Element's (GCE's) senior Fire Support Coordination Center (FSCC). The DASC's parent unit is the Marine Air Support Squadron (MASS) of the Marine Air Control Group (MACG).
Overhead shot of a DASC setup
Photo showing MTACS-2's Air Support Section at Hagaru-ri during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
Dev Chrl Sign
Photo of the AN/TPQ-10 Radar outside of the MASS-3 Headquarters building on Camp Pendleton, CA. This is one of the radars employed by the ASRTs during the Vietnam War.