wrote:

The most of these facts seem obvious, but what about these two
deactivated Prowler squadrons? One of them is expeditionary
(land-based) VAQ-128, but what about the other? Do you have any ideas?

Purest speculation on my part, based on some things I know, and
some I suspect. The EA-6B is, and has been since the USAF
ditched its EF-111As, the only proven, operating, ECM/ECCM asset
the US has. There were a finite number of EA-6Bs made, years
ago; and they have been heavily used over the past few years -
more I suspect, than anyone in the DoD et al NCA precincts
predicted when they acceded to the USAF's desire to ditch the
EF-111A. Water under the bridge. But it means that until a
follow-on replacement for the EA-6B is firmly underway - and
right now there's a lot of inter-service infighting going on,
combined with the ever-present budgetary worries, over whether
it'll be an "EF-18 Growler", an F-22 variant, or whatever. So I
suspect that the Navy [either at the behest of DoD, or on its own
hook] is deactivating those two Prowler squadrons [remember,
EA-6B squadrons are only 5 aircraft] to put 10 EA-6Bs in the
"bank", for reactivation a few years down the road as the ones
remaining active start to face end-of-useful life problems due
flying the heck out of them in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq,
and ghods only know what's to come.
--
OJ III
[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]