'Swordsmen' begin transition to Super Hornet
Lt. Ashley Augostini, PAO VF-32
The "Swordsmen" of VF-32 officially became VFA-32 and commenced their transition to the Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet Tuesday, Nov. 1. Having flown the Tomcat for over 30 years, "Fighting 32" will follow in the footsteps of other east coast Tomcat squadrons and complete their transition at VFA-106, home of the "Gladiators." The Swordsmen are the final Northrop-Grumman F-14B upgrade squadron to transition.
The Swordsmen are excited to have the opportunity to complete their transition at their home base of NAS Oceana. VFA-32 Executive Officer Cmdr. Scott Butler explained, "We are really fortunate to be able to transition at home. Being able to train here obviously has a huge positive impact on the morale of the squadron, especially so soon after completing a deployment."
Most other squadrons have been required to move their entire commands to NAS Lemoore, Calif. during the transition, often immediately following a six month deployment.
The VFA-32 aircrew will receive intensive training in the classroom, in simulators, and flying VFA-106 aircraft while the maintenance crews will receive classroom training at the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Oceana and hands-on training at VFA-106 and other Super Hornet squadrons. AO1 Chabonnie Alexander, VFA-32's Ordnance's LPO, is looking forward to the new jet because "it will give the shop more exposure to new weapon systems and advanced technology that wasn't available in the Tomcat."
Due to the foresight and excellent planning by the Assistant Maintenance Officer Lt. Vic Allende, the Swordsmen enter into this transition period well-prepared. Many Gypsy maintainers have already commenced their Super Hornet training and will be complete before the official transition.
No other squadron in naval aviation flew the Tomcat longer than VF-32. The squadron began flying the F-14A in 1974, transitioned to the F-14B in 1997, followed by the F-14B upgrade in 1998.
Fighting 32's most recent deployment aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) took them throught the Mediterranean and into the Northern Arabian Gulf, where they remained on station for four months. During their six-month deployment, they flew over 1,120 sorties totaling 3,300 hours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Gypsies flew 413 combat missions dropping 21 tons of ordnance allowing the first successful Democratic election in Iraq in over 50 years.
As they were the only Tomcat squadron in town at the time, the Swordsmen said their final good-byes in the venerable F-14B when they performed one last time at the NAS Oceana Air Show this past September. Executing a precision attack demonstration in front of thousands of supporters, the Gypsy aircrew and maintenance team upheld the highest standards of aviation excellence and performed flawlessly in front of the crowd, some of whom had come from as far as Japan to see the last Tomcat performance. The command's Maintenance Master Chief AFCM[AW] Russ Bargy, worked with the dedicated professionals of the Swordsmen maintenance work centers to provide the fans with flawlessly groomed jets for the show.
The end of an era came in early October for the Swordsmen. Upholding the time-honored tradition of displaying planes from naval aviation history, Fighting 32 delivered their last two Tomcats to aviation museums. On Oct. 4, Gypsy 115, crewed by Lt. Brian Hodges and Lt. Ashley Augostini, flew to the MAPS Air Museum in Canton, Ohio where it will be displayed next to an F-4 Phantom and a MiG-17 Fresco.
The following day, as maintainers and aircrew looked on, VFA-32 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Mike Wallace and Maintenance Officer Jeffery D'Alatri, departed Oceana flying Gypsy 101 to the Aviation Museum of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. This departure marked the final Tomcat flight for the Swordsmen.
At the flight line in Kentucky, crowds of people waited in anticipation to greet the veteran plane. "You can't imagine how excited these people are to receive the Tomcat into their museum. You can see it by looking at their faces and you realized how honored they are," said D'Alatri. The two F-14B will remain on permanent loan from the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. allowing present and past Swordsmen a place to visit their old jets.
Fighting 32 looks forward to the chance of tackling the challenges of the transition to the Super Hornet over the next several months. Since their inception, the Swordsmen have carried the fight to the enemy in seven consecutive decades. In every instance, they have responded with pride, professionalism and deadly accuracy. The Swordsmen have a proud tradition of service with honor, unrivaled spirit and unmatched dedication - a tradition that will continue in the new era of the Super Hornet.
| | |
|
|
