wrote:

Great to hear from you again!:-)

The most up-to-date Carrier Air Wing composition you can find at:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/gonavy/atsugi/gonavy602.html
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/gonavy/atsugi/gonavy601.html
Lots of data there are really exhausting, and I often complimented the
site on this r.a.m.n. newsgroup.

You can also try http://www.scramble.nl/usn.htm (though some details
there are out-of-date).

To make it as short as possible talking about the communities:

TOMCAT
There remain only four fleet squadrons who still fly F-14B/D:
VF-32, VF-213, VF-31 (all of them will switch to F/A-18F in FY 2006)
and VF-101 (to be deactivated this year).

SUPER HORNET & HORNET
You might be surprised to see Super Hornets with markings of VFA-154
(NG-1xx), VFA-211 (AB-1xx), VFA-11 (AG-2xx) and VFA-143 (AG-4xx -
F/A-18E) ;-)

As you probably remember, VF-211, VF-213 and VFA-22 were given to
LANTFLT in exchange for VF-41, VF-14 and VF-102.

Now VFA-22 is filling the gap in CVW-14 until VF-31 comes back as VFA.
Then Redcocks go to CVW-8. The nearest cruise of CVW-8 is gonna be the
last (double-squadron!) Tomcat deployment.

VFA-82 (to be deactivated soon) is now surge-deployed with
CVW-2/Lincoln team, and VFA-15 is going to replace it in CVW-1.

VFA-106 is a combined Hornet/Super Hornet FRS for the moment, to become
fully F/A-18E/F in future (the role of "legacy" Hornet FRS remaining
with VFA-125 and VMFAT-101 only). Establishment of VFA-174 was
considered, but never happened.

VFA-97 is the first of Navy squadrons put into the UDP cycle according
to Navy/Marine TACAIR integration plan. It received F/A-18C from
VMFA-212 (who, in turn, upgraded to a newer Lot a/c), and is deployed
to MCAS Iwakuni, bearing no tail code. You can find a single photo on
that page:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/gonavy/atsugi...-2004-02f.html

PROWLER
Waiting for EA-6B ICAP III sooner, and EA-18G Growler later.

VIKING
Only one operational squadron reamins in PACFLT (in CVW-9), and in
LANTFLT CVW-7 is going to lose their S-3Bs first. As the Super Hornet
transition goes on, and CVWs receive their full complements of
F/A-18E/F, Vikings will be phased out, and totally gone until 2009.

HAWKEYE
An upgrade to E-2C Hawkeye 2000 (with funny-looking eight-blade
propellers) going.

SEAHAWK
Smells like a big merge coming to put more helos on carriers and make
it fewer types (MH-60R/MH-60S only).

Best regards,

Jacek Zemlo

(my older is no longer valid)




Thanks a lot Jacek. (somebody remembers me!)





I had looked at the scramble site, but all I could find was a list of links

to various bases. With about an afternoon or so I could have probably

figured out the composition from those.


Your overview is about as complete as I could have hoped for. I knew
about most of the upgrades,
but not the carrier wing assignments. I have recently read a magazine
article
about the eminenet changes for the HS/ HSL/ HC community, including a
table of
planned transition dates for numerous squadrons, although these things
tend to be fluid.


Regards,
Ralph Savelsberg