The WTTP centered on a graduate level Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) Course that was conducted by both MAWTUPac and MAWTULant. This began in 1976. A year later both courses were merged into a single course that was moved to MCAS Yuma. The success of the merger became readily apparent when, the Commandant of the Marine Corps formed Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona, in June of 1978.
The MAWTS-1 Mission Statement says, “The mission of MAWTS-1 is to provide standardized advanced tactical training and certification of unit instructor qualifications that support Marine Aviation training and readiness. MAWTS-1 also provides assistance in the development and employment of aviation weapons and tactics.”
Since its introduction in 1978, MAWTS-1 has held two WTI Courses per year, with each class lasting about seven weeks, producing approximately 140 WTI graduates. Each WTI involves more than 200 instructors, 90 aircraft and more than 3,000 personnel, including a small number of troops from allied nations. The school utilizes all aspects of aviation and includes every type of aircraft used by the Marine Corps as well as some contracted air assets.
This course has evolved over the years but has always been broken into two parts. First, students spend three and a half weeks in the classroom receiving instruction on their respective military occupational specialties, basic weapon systems and tactics which in known as the “walk phase”. After the classroom instruction has been completed the flying portion begins as the students begin an intense three-and-a-half-week flight training syllabus designed to build their Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF)execution skills by subjecting them through a variety of simulated real-world missions, such as transporting troops, providing close-air support, evacuating non-combatants and various combat action operations.
The air side of the MAGTF is called the aviation combat element (ACE). Its job is to provide the six functions of Marine aviation necessary to accomplish the MAGTF's mission. They are:
15