Airborne Command & Control Squadron 125 (VAW-125), known as the "Torch Bearers" or "Tigertails", was established on 1 October 1968, at
Naval Air Station Norfolk
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
. The squadron's initial supporting command was
Carrier Air Wing Three
Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3), known as the "Battle Axe", is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The wing was created on 1 July 1938 and has seen service in World War II, the Korean War, the ...
(CVW-3) deploying aboard .
The squadron is equipped with the
E-2 Hawkeye
The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable tactical Airborne early warning and control, airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed duri ...
. It was the first east coast squadron with E-2B's in 1968, among the first to operate the E-2C in 1975, receiving the E-2C 2000 in its first operational year in 2003, and the first unit to operate the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye in 2014.
Squadron History
1970s
![F-14A VF-32 and VAW-125 E-2C in flight c1975](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/F-14A_VF-32_and_VAW-125_E-2C_in_flight_c1975.jpeg)
In December 1976, Vice Admiral
Howard E. Greer,
COMNAVAIRLANT
Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (a. k. a. COMNAVAIRLANT, AIRLANT, and CNAL) is the aviation Type Commander (TYCOM) for the United States Naval aviation units operating primarily in the Atlantic under United States Fleet Forces Command. Type Co ...
, presented VAW-125 with the COMNAVAIRLANT
Battle "E" for readiness, the
CINCLANTFLT
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...
"Golden Anchor" Award for career retention, and the
CNO Safety "S" Award. VAW-125 is believed to be the first Navy unit to win all three awards in the same year.
On 14 January 1978, the squadron suffered the loss of an aircraft (
BuNo
In the United States, all military aircraft display a serial number to identify individual aircraft. These numbers are located on the aircraft tail, so they are sometimes referred to unofficially as "tail numbers". On the Northrop Grumman B-2 S ...
159107) and the deaths of three aviators.
In June, VAW-125 took the E-2C's newest weapons system upgrade, the Advanced
Radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
Processing System (ARPS), to sea for the first time. The squadron then assigned to
Carrier Air Wing Seventeen
Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17), is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier .
Mission
To conduct carrier air warfare operations and assi ...
(CVW-17) in November 1979, with the squadron making their eighth
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
deployment, this time aboard .
1980s
![VAW-125 taking off USS Saratoga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/VAW-125_taking_off_USS_Saratoga.jpg)
While deployed in August 1981, VAW-125 participated in
Freedom of Navigation (FON) Operations & Open Ocean Missile (OOM) Exercise in the Central Mediterranean Sea
and
Gulf of Sitra,
during which
two Libyan MiGs were destroyed after attacking Battle Group aircraft. Upon return from deployment, the squadron provided range control services for the second launch of the
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
space shuttle,
STS-2
STS-2 was the second Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA, and the second flight of the orbiter ''Columbia''. The mission, crewed by Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly, launched on November 12, 1981, and landed two days later on November 14, ...
, and detection and monitoring services in the first E-2C Counter-Drug tasking, Operation Thunderbolt.
While on a routine deployment in October 1985, the squadron assisted in the successful intercept of the Egyptian airliner carrying the
hijackers of the Italian cruise ship, MS ''Achille Lauro''. Squadron aircrew spoke directly to the hijackers, convincing them that the communications were coming from the two
VF-103
Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (VFA-103), nicknamed the Jolly Rogers, is an aviation unit of the United States Navy established in 1952. VFA-103 flies the F/A-18F Super Hornet and is based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia (US). The squadron's ra ...
AND
VF-74
VF-74, Fighter Squadron 74, ''Be-Devilers'' was an aviation unit of the United States Navy in service from 1944 to 1994. Originally established as VBF-20 on 16 April 1945, it was redesignated as VF-10A on 15 November 1946, redesignated as VF-92 on ...
F-14
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the ...
s on their wing and persuading the airliner to divert into
NAS Sigonella, Sicily.
From January to March 1986, the squadron participated in "Freedom of Navigation" operations off the coast of Libya which escalated with the
Action in the Gulf of Sidra in March.
In August 1988, the squadron deployed aboard for an "Around the Horn" cruise to San Diego, California.
1990s
In August 1990, CVW-17 aboard USS ''Saratoga'' responded to the
invasion of Kuwait
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...
by deploying to the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
. VAW-125 and
VAW-126
Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 126 (VAW-126), nicknamed the "Seahawks", is a carrier airborne early warning squadron of the United States Navy. The squadron is based at NS Norfolk, equipped with five E-2D Hawkeye aircraft.
Squadron his ...
E-2Cs flew around-the-clock as the force build-up of
Operation Desert Shield
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
continued. VAW-125 flew over 890 combat hours controlling strikes on Iraqi targets while providing AEW coverage for the Red Sea Battle Group. On a 17 January 1991 strike, squadron aircrew detected two Iraqi
MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...
s threatening the strike group. Controllers vectored two
VFA-81
Strike Fighter Squadron 81 (VFA-81), also known as the "Sunliners", is a United States Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet strike fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana. They are a part of Carrier Air Wing One, their radio callsign is ''Inf ...
F/A-18
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part ...
s toward the MiGs which recorded the only Navy fixed-wing air-to-air kills of
Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
.
In January 1994, the squadron deployed aboard USS ''Saratoga'' for her final cruise. During the deployment, the squadron joined
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
forces flying in support of Operations
Deny Flight
Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation that began on 12 April 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations (UN) no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Nations and NATO later expanded the mis ...
and
Provide Promise. The squadron conducted operational tests of the Navy's newest Mini-DAMA Satellite Communication Suite, using this new system, the squadron, for the first time, functioned as an Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (ABCCC). With the decommissioning of USS ''Saratoga'', VAW-125 and CVW-17 were deployed aboard . After completing a two-month Counter-Drug assignment at
NS Roosevelt Roads, the squadron deployed to the Mediterranean Sea aboard USS ''Enterprise'' in June 1996. In July, the squadron again joined NATO forces in the former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, this time in support of
Operation Joint Endeavor
The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''.
Background
NATO ...
. In September, USS ''Enterprise'' moved to respond to mounting tensions in Southwest Asia, supporting
Operation Southern Watch
Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003.
United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of mon ...
over the next three months. Squadron pilots earned the CVW-17 "Top Hook" Award for carrier landing performance and the squadron was recognized for its achievements in 1996, being awarded the COMNAVAIRLANT Battle Efficiency Award, the CNO Safety Award, and the VAW community's AEW Excellence Award.
2000s
![An E-2D Hawkeye flies over Naval Base Norfolk (13315193084)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/An_E-2D_Hawkeye_flies_over_Naval_Base_Norfolk_%2813315193084%29.jpg)
Within hours of the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, squadron personnel were embarked at sea, leaving NS Norfolk to deploy on to support
Operation Noble Eagle
Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks..
...
. Squadron aircraft flew numerous
command and control
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
missions in the New York City vicinity in the days following the attacks as commercial air traffic slowly resumed. During this cruise, the squadron surpassed a 32-year Class "A" mishap-free milestone with over 64,000 flight hours.
In April 2003, the squadron became the first East Coast squadron to transition to the E-2C Hawkeye 2000, which boasted improved electrical and vapor cycle systems, mission computer and display stations, and
Cooperative Engagement Capability
Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) is a sensor network with integrated Fire-control system, fire control capability that is intended to significantly improve battle force anti-aircraft warfare, air and missile defense capabilities by combining ...
(CEC). The squadron participated in the Operational Evaluation of the AN/USG-3 airborne node of the Navy's net-centric CEC sensor fusion system.
While deployed aboard in the Central Persian Gulf, North Arabian Sea, and Western Indian Ocean VAW-125 played roles in the US War on Terror,
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
, and operations off the coast of Somalia.
2010s
In January 2010, the squadron was deployed to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in support of
Operation Unified Response
Operation Unified Response was the United States military's response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. It was conducted by Joint Task Force Haiti and commanded by United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) Military Deputy Commander Lieutenant Gene ...
providing humanitarian assistance following the
2010 Haiti earthquake
A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...
. The squadron flew missions to provide communications relay, command and control, and general airborne radar services allowing forces afloat and ashore to distribute thousands of tons of rations, water, and medical supplies. The squadron then joined on its trip around South America as it returned from Norfolk to its home port in San Diego.
In March 2015, the squadron departed with to the Middle East as part the first deployment of
Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) Carrier Strike Group.
On 2 February 2017, VAW-125 arrived at
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni
is a United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki river delta, southeast of Iwakuni Station in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
History
The Japanese government bought a large portion of what is today MCAS I ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It replaced
VAW-115
Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 115 (VAW-115), also known as the "Liberty Bells", is a United States Navy airborne early warning and control Squadron (aviation), squadron that flies the Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, E-2C Hawkeye.
Squadron ...
in
Carrier Air Wing Five
Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier . It was initially formed in 1943. It has participated in the Second Wor ...
aboard the aircraft carrier . The squadron made its first deployment aboard ''Ronald Reagan'' from 16 May to 9 August 2017.
2020s
Deployments and awards
Shipborne deployments and assignments
Awards
VAW-125 has been presented with the following unit awards and campaign medals:
[http://awards.navy.mil Navy unit awards query accessed July 21st, 2015]
See also
*
History of the United States Navy
The history of the United States Navy divides into two major periods: the "Old Navy", a small but respected force of sailing ships that was notable for innovation in the use of ironclads during the American Civil War, and the "New Navy" the ...
*
List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons
This is a list of active United States Navy aircraft squadrons. ''Deactivated'' or ''disestablished'' squadrons are listed in the List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons.
Navy aircraft squadron (aviation), squadrons are composed of ...
References
External links
US Navy Patrol SquadronsOfficial VAW-125 Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaw-125
Early warning squadrons of the United States Navy