Assault Support is one of the six functions of United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 aviation

United States Marine Corps Aviation

United States Marine Corps Aviation is the air component of the United States Marine Corps. Marine aviation has a very different mission and operation than its ground counterpart, and thus, has many of its own histories, traditions, terms, and procedures....

 and comprises those actions required to airlift personnel, supplies or equipment into or within a battle area by helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

s or fixed-wing aircraft. It provides the Marine Air-Ground Task Force

Marine Air-Ground Task Force

The Marine Air-Ground Task Force is a term used by the United States Marine Corps to describe the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air-ground, combined arms task organization of Marine Corps forces under a single commander that...

 (MAGTF) commander the ability to concentrate his strength against selected weaknesses using speed and surprise. It also provides operational and tactical mobility as well as logistics support to the MAGTF. It is used to focus combat power at the decisive place and time to achieve local combat superiority.

7 categories of assault support

• Combat Assault Transport - provides mobility for the MAGTF. It is used to rapidly deploy forces, bypass obstacles or redploy forces to meet the enemy threat. All of these actions provide the MAGTF commander with more diverse options for operational planning. Combat assault transport allow the commander to effect a rapid force build-up at a specific time and place of his choosing.
• Aerial Delivery -
• Aerial Refueling
  Aerial refueling
  Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
  
   -
• Air Evacuation – is the transportation of personnel and equipment from a forward operating base
  Forward Operating Base
  A forward operating base is any secured forward military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support tactical operations. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, or other facilities. The base may be used for an extended period of time. FOBs are traditionally supported...
  
   or remote areas. This includes flights from areas of operations to secure areas, CASEVAC
  CASEVAC
  Casualty evacuation, also known as CASEVAC or by the callsign Dustoff, is a military term for the emergency patient evacuation of casualties from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and air...
  
  , and extraction of forces.
• Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP) – the recovery of personnel and equipment while avoiding additional loss.
• Air Logistical Support – is performed by fixed-wing aircraft and delivers troops, equipment and supplies to areas beyond helicopter range and lift capability or when surface transportation is slow or unavailable.
• Battlefield Illumination -

Mission categories

• Preplanned Missions – provide the most economical and efficient use of assets. These missions are requested far enough in advance to allow coordination between the requestor, the supporting unit and fire support/command and control agencies.
  • Scheduled Missions – missions requested in advance that permit detailed mission planning and close coordination with the appropriate MAGTF elements.
  • On Call Missions – assets are positioned close enough to provide a timely response when called needed.
• Immediate Missions – those missions which suddenly arise and cannot be planned. They can be launched in support of any requesting unit. Immediate requests will be routed through the Direct Air Support Center
  Direct Air Support Center
  The Direct Air Support Center 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...
  
  and fulfilled based on the commander’s priorities.

Asset Allocation

Asset allocations will be determined by aircraft availability, lift requirements, aircraft capabilities, threat analysis, escort and fire support requirements, time, space and logistics requirements and unit proficiency level.