VFA-15
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The VFA-15 Valions is a U.S. Navy strike fighter squadron based at NAS Oceana. Their call sign is Pride, tail code is AJ, and they fly the F-18 Hornet. Their motto is Pugna Ama Arma Ferre.
[edit] History
The Valions were established just one month after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, commissioned as Torpedo Squadron Four (VT-4) aboard the USS Ranger.
The squadron initially flew the TBD Devastator and was assigned to protect the sea lanes between Bermuda and Newfoundland from their homeport of Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island. In August 1942, VT-4 transitioned from the Devastator to the TBF Avenger (later TBM). The Valions were aboard the Ranger when it escorted the RMS Queen Mary, with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard, to the Quebec Conference in August 1943.
In the closing months of World War II, VT-4 moved to San Diego and was redesignated VA-2A. In 1948, the squadron’s designation was changed to Attack Squadron 15 (VA-15). Then in March 1949, VA-15 moved to NAS Cecil Field, Florida and transitioned to the AD Skyraider.
VA-15, was located at NAS Jacksonville in May 1963.
Although scheduled to transition to the A-6 Intruder, VA-15 transitioned to the A-4 Skyhawk in 1965. Having completed the transition, VA-15 deployed aboard the USS Intrepid to Southeast Asia in April 1966. While on station in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Valions flew 4,777 hours and 2,627 sorties, the majority over North Vietnam. VA-15 again returned to Southeast Asia in 1967 on the USS Intrepid and deployed on a Mediterranian cruise in 1968-69 on the USS Forrestal after the USS Forrestal was restored from the disastrous fire.
VA-15 was disestablished as an A-4 squadron on June 1, 1969. On June 2, 1969 Attack Squadron 67 (VA-67), flying the A-7B Corsair II, was merged with VA-15.
In November 1980, the Valions were embarked on the USS Independence en route to the Indian Ocean, and were on station when the American hostages were released from Iran.
In June 1986, the Valions began transition training in the F/A-18 Hornet. In October 1986, VA-15 was redesignated Strike Fighter Squadron 15 (VFA-15). The Valions accepted their first F/A-18 Hornet in January 1987.
On December 28, 1990, the Valions departed for a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield. The Valions flew daily strikes into Iraq and occupied Kuwait until the suspension of hostilities on February 28. During 1992, the Valions transitioned to the F/A-18C (night attack) Hornet.
In March 1999, the Valions departed for an historic deployment which would involve two theaters of operation. After crossing the Atlantic in record time aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Valion aircraft were launched in support of Operation Allied Force. For the next thirteen weeks, VFA-15 flew over 1,100 combat sorties over Kosovo to bring an end to Serbian ethnic cleansing. The battle group then steamed to the Persian Gulf and supported Operation Southern Watch. Upon their return, the Valions made a homeport change to NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
During the Valions' 2001 deployment, the squadron took station in the Persian Gulf, patrolling the skies of the southern Iraqi no-fly zone.
[edit] Present day
Soon after returning through the Strait of Hormuz in early fall 2001 to begin the long voyage home, the September 11, 2001 attacks unfolded. For the next four weeks the Valions took station in the North Indian Ocean and prepared for combat, with flight operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, including combat air patrols over Pakistan. Missions into Afghanistan began on October 7, and over the next several weeks the Valions flew four– to eight-hour missions deep into Afghanistan.
In 2002, the Valions deployed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt to the Mediterranean. In combat operations against Iraqi military facilities, air defense sites and terrorist camps from March 19 to April 15, 2003, the squadron delivered over 245,000 pounds of ordnance.
