348

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1985-Contin ued

31 October Cuts in deployment schedules were

ordered by CNO to eliminate excessive at-sea periods

for ships and aircraft squadrons. This was intended to

enhance efficient use of the expanded Navy; and, at

the same time, allow crews more time at home with

their families. During an interview, the CNO

announced major turnaround ratios of 2: 1 or better,

assuring sailors that battle groups would spend a max-

imum of six months at sea.

9-17 November A detachment from VP-66 partici-

pated in Operation Hat Trick II operating out of NS

Roosevelt Roads, P.R. It was a coordinated operation

with the Coast Guard in the war against illegal drug

traffic. The operation involved general area surveil-

lance and location of suspect vessels.

13 December VC-1O was tasked to fly cover for a

U.S. warship exercising rights of navigation in interna-

tional waters off the southern coast of Cuba. VC-1O's

regular mission was to provide air service for U.S.

Atlantic Fleet ships and aircraft and air defense of

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

1986

8 January With its change of command, CVW-8

became the first air wing to incorporate the wing com-

mander/deputy commander concept (Super CAG),

which provided an improved focus on power projec-

tion and enhanced tactical development and strike

planning. Under this system, the wing commander, 0-

6, was directly responsible to the assigned battle

group commander, both ashore and afloat, and addi-

tionally to the carrier commanding officer when

embarked. Captain Frederick L. Lewis relieved Captain

Daniel L. Rainey, Jr., as Commander, CVW-8, in a cere-

mony at NAS Oceana, Va. As part of the restructuring,

Carrier Air Wing 8 (CVW-8) was redesignated as a

"major sea command," reporting to Commander,

Carrier Group 8 and additionally to commanding offi-

cer, Nimitz when embarked.

13 January The T-39 Sabreliner completed its final

flight for the U.S. Navy as a training aircraft when VT-

86, based at NAS Pensacola, Fla., retired its last T-39D.

BuNo 150983 was included among six of the eight

remaining Sabreliners which were sent to Davis

Monthan AFB, Ariz. Two others were scheduled for

use as VIP transports at other Navy and Marine Corps

air stations. The T-39 aircraft had completed 20 years

and 300,000 hours of service within the Naval Flight

Officer program.

15 January The Royal Maces of VA-27 officially

became the first recipients of the Grampaw Pettibone

Trophy during a ceremony at the Officer's Club on

the Washington Navy Yard, D.C. Commander Joseph

P. Sciabarra, CO of the NAS Lemoore, Calif.-based

squadron, accepted the award from Secretary of the

Navy John F. Lehman. The trophy was commissioned

by Paul Warner, son of the originator of Grampaw

Pettibone, and would be awarded annually to the

individual or organization that contributed the most

toward aviation safety awareness through written

communications.

22 January Vice President George H. W. Bush was

the key participant at the official inaugural marking

the year-long observance of the 75th Anniversary of

Naval Aviation at the National Air and Space Museum,

Washington, D.C. Secretary of Defense Caspar

Weinberger and Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman

also attended.

28 January Naval Aviator and astronaut Commander

Michael John Smith and six other astronauts were

killed in a massive explosion of the space shuttle

Challenger shortly after its launch from Kennedy

Space Center, Fla. The explosion was triggered by

escaping propellant combustion products, which cut

into the shuttle's liquid-fuel booster. Commander

Smith was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and

the only Navy member of the space shuttle crew.

20 February Rear Admiral Richard H. Truly was

appointed the Associate Administrator of Space Flight

within the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration. Truly was designated a Naval Aviator

in October 1960 and had served as Commander, Naval

Space Command since its establishment in 1983.

18 March The second F-21 Kfir squadron, and the

first assigned to the Marine Corps, was established as

VMFT-401 at MCAS Yuma, Ariz. Appropriately nick-

named Snipers, the squadron provided adversary train-

ing support to the Fleet Marine Force and other units.

VF-43, at NAS Oceana, Va., was the first Navy

squadron to receive the F-21 s (Israeli-built fighter).

24-25 March Libyan Operations-VP-56 provided

ASW patrol assets for "Freedom of Navigation" exercis-

es in the Gulf of Sidra for American carrier aircraft

operating in international waters. On 24 March Libyan

armed forces fired missiles at U.S. Navy forces operat-

ing in the Gulf of Sidra. Following the Libyan missile

firings, VAQ-137 co-authored a plan to destroy the

Libyan SA-5 missile radar site at Surt. The plan was

executed using the electronic capabilities of the