Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77) "Nightwolves" was an aviation unit of the
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...
based at
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans is a base of the United States military located in Belle Chasse, unincorporated Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. NAS JRB New Orleans is home to a Navy Reserve strike fighter squadron ...
from 1995 to 2013. It comprised the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
's only fully dedicated
counter-narcotics
The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States.Cockburn and St. Clair, 199 ...
squadron.
Squadron History
![US Navy 110212-N-ZS026-315 An E-2 Hawkeye flies over San Diego Bay during the Centennial of Naval Aviation Open House and Parade of Flight](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/US_Navy_110212-N-ZS026-315_An_E-2_Hawkeye_flies_over_San_Diego_Bay_during_the_Centennial_of_Naval_Aviation_Open_House_and_Parade_of_Flight.jpg)
VAW-77's beginnings go back to 1995 when the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
created the reserve squadron as a result of the United States escalating
war on illegal drug trafficking. VAW-77 received four specially modified
E-2C 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 ...
airborne early warning aircraft optimized for counter-drug missions. As part of the Navy's
post-Cold War role, VAW-77 flight crews patrolled the waters of the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
in joint missions with the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
and other drug enforcement agencies in search of illegal aircraft and ships.
1990s
On 18 November 1995, VAW-77 was commissioned, as a Reserve Squadron serving with the US Coast Guard and other Federal Agencies to fight the war on drugs, providing sophisticated air surveillance on traffic off the southern coast of the United States. The squadron worked in tandem with Coast Guard and other federal law enforcement agencies to combine and coordinate operations of counter-narcotics forces. The
E-2C 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 ...
squadron deploys four to five times a year to bases near known
drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
routes to help identify suspected drug smugglers. The squadron spends approximately four to five months per year forward deployed to bases near illegal drug traffic lanes.
After
Hurricane Floyd
Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd tr ...
hit in late 1999, VAW-77 and VAW-78 provided communication,
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 ...
(C3) support to U.S. Coast Guard,
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
,
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
aircraft, and
C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...
for
humanitarian relief
Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...
and
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
evacuation operations in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
,
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. When flooding began in Virginia and North Carolina near the
Tar River
The Tar River is a river that is approximately long, in northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound. The Tar River becomes the tidal Pamlico River once it underpasses the U.S. Highway 17 Bridge in Washin ...
, VAW-77 and
VAW-78
Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 78 (VAW-78), nicknamed the "Fighting Escargots" or "Slugs" was a reserve Airborne early warning and control, Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron of the U.S. Navy. It was established on 1 July 1970 as part ...
initially supported
Search and Rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
operations over the drill weekend.
2000s
Since commissioning, the Nightwolves have completed a number of sixty-day counter-drug deployments to the Caribbean Theater. VAW-77 deployed primarily to
NS Roosevelt Roads until the Naval Station ceased active operations in October 2003 prior to its inactivation on March 31, 2004. VAW-77 continues to operate out of
Howard AFB
Howard Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in Panama. It discontinued military operations on 1 November 1999 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which specified that US military facilities in the former Pa ...
,
Patrick AFB
Patrick Space Force Base is a United States Space Force installation located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, USAAC. It is home to Space Lau ...
,
Comalapa AFB,
Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen
Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located at the Rafael Hernandez International Airport (formerly Ramey Air Force Base), in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
History
United States Coast Guard Air Station Borinque ...
,
Manta Air Force Base, and
Hato International Airport
Hato or HATO may refer to:
Places
* Hato International Airport, Willemstad, Curaçao
* Hato, Curaçao, a village and former plantation in Curaçao
* Hato, Santander, a town in Santander Department, Colombia
* Hato, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, a barr ...
. Squadron
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
have been involved in over 120 high profile arrests and seizures of drug carrying container ships, high-speed watercraft, and light civilian aircraft. In fact, the mere presence of the Nightwolves in the Caribbean has caused drug traffickers to change their tactics in order to avoid detection by VAW-77 aircraft.
In 2005 the squadron participated in the federal military response to
Katrina
Katrina or Katrine may refer to:
People
* Katrina (given name)
* Katrine (given name)
Meteorology
* List of storms named Katrina, a list of tropical cyclones designated as Katrina
** Hurricane Katrina, an exceptionally powerful Atlantic hurrican ...
in 2005.
![E-2C VAW-77 taking off Joint Base Andrews May 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/E-2C_VAW-77_taking_off_Joint_Base_Andrews_May_2010.jpg)
In August 2008, VAW-77 moved to its new home of NAS JRB New Orleans in response to BRAC's decision to close
Naval Air Station Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 li ...
.
2010s
The squadron was the first U.S. Navy fixed-wing squadron to deploy to Colombia in 2011, also in 2012, it had a role in disrupting the flow of $735 million in illegal drugs into the U.S. and the arrest of 17 international
smugglers
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
.
Because of spending cuts throughout the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
, the unit was recommended for deactivation by the
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
. In February 2013, the Nightwolves were formally disbanded, and its crew & equipment were in the process of being redistributed throughout other naval squadrons.
VAW-77 was deactivated on 9 March 2013. The squadron's six aircraft were transferred to other carrier airborne warning squadrons and the squadron members were transfer to various other Commander Naval Air Force Reserve (CNAFR) squadrons.
Unit Citations
The squadron's other awards include a
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
The Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JMUA) is a US military award that was established on June 4, 1981, by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982. The Joint Meritori ...
,
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...
,
Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...
, two Battle "E" awards, the Safety "S" and numerous Bravo Zulu's and unit citations.
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
VAW-77 - Global SecurityGlobal Security.org.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaw-77
Military units and formations in Georgia (U.S. state)
Early warning squadrons of the United States Navy