F-14 Swan Song

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."

(ANN salutes Journalist 1st Class (SW) Jay Cope, Naval Air Station New Orleans Public Affairs)

FMI: www.news.navy.mil/local/nasno