[MilCom] Re: NavNews for Wednesday, December 15, 2004

[Greg Brazil]

Maybe some of your listened into this.
Greg

>                                    -USN-
> 
>  NNS041214-04. VFA-204 Helps Prepare VF-213 for Final
>  Tomcat Deployment
> 
>  By Journalist 1st Class (SW) Jay Cope, Naval Air Station New
>  Orleans Public Affairs
> 
>  NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- The last planned work-ups for a
>  deployment of F-14D Tomcats began at Naval Air Station Joint
>  Reserve Base (NAS JRB) New Orleans Nov. 30, when Fighter
>  Squadron (VF) 213 arrived at the base to begin their Strike
>  Fighter Advanced Readiness Program (SFARP) training with
>  Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 204.
> 
>  VF-213, based at Oceana Naval Air Station, Virginia Beach,
>  Va., is scheduled to be the last Tomcat squadron to deploy
>  before the aircraft is replaced with F/A-18 Super Hornets in
>  2006. The SFARP training completed Dec. 9 at NAS JRB New
>  Orleans was the beginning of the nine-month work-up cycle in
>  preparation for that deployment, as part of the air wing aboard
>  USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the summer. 
> 
>  "The SFARP is a big part of our pre-deployment preparation,"
>  said Lt. j.g. Jim Cunningham, a radar intercept officer (RIO)
>  from VF-213. "We are getting a lot of good training we might
>  not get elsewhere, and it is giving us an opportunity to develop
>  our skills and put us back at our peak readiness."
> 
>  The training focused on air-to-air combat with VFA-204, based
>  at NAS JRB New Orleans, performing the adversarial role. The
>  two squadrons flew two sorties each day, with the most common
>  arrangement being VF-213 flying four allied (blue) aircraft versus
>  VFA-204's six adversary (red) aircraft.
> 
>  While the "River Rattlers" of VFA-204 were flying against the
>  "Black Lions," the goal of the engagement wasn't to defeat the
>  blue team, but to provide the maximum training benefit to the
>  unit. It is a role the reserve unit relishes.
> 
>  "The 'Black Lions' will be the next set of pilots on the 'tip of the
>  spear,'" said Cmdr. Jim Kuhn, commanding officer of VFA-204.
>  "Our job is to enact or mimic any viable foreign threat which they
>  could encounter. We love being the opposition, and we will do
>  anything we can to make our active-duty brothers better."
> 
>  While the air-to-air combat emphasis for the SFARP is only
>  three of the 15 sorties the weapons school instructors have
>  planned for the "Black Lions'" workups, Cmdr. Brian Kocher,
>  Commanding Officer of VF 213, stressed that it had been a
>  good start. The unit still has another detachment in early 2005 to
>  work on air-to-ground tactics before beginning strike group
>  work-ups in the spring.
> 
>  "It's been great. I can't say enough about VFA-204. They
>  portray the adversarial role very professionally," he said. "It has
>  definitely been a pleasure to work out of JRB." 
> 
>  For the pilots of VF-213, the work-ups were bittersweet. The
>  training was successful, but the SFARP signaled the beginning of
>  the end for an aircraft of which they are very fond.
> 
>  "The Tomcat is still the sexiest, prettiest and fastest airplane on
>  the flight line. It says a lot about the aircraft that after all these
>  years it is still the most capable plane of its type and a very lethal
>  aircraft," said Kocher. "It is a sad day to see her go, but we are
>  here to see her go out on top."
> 
>  For related news, visit the Naval Air Station New Orleans Navy
>  NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/nasno. 
> 
>                                    -USN-