1995-Contin ued

30 June The 36-year-old Independence became the

oldest ship in the Navy's active fleet and the first car-

rier in history to hold that distinction. Captain David P.

Polatty III was presented the "Don't Tread on Me"

Navy Jack in a formal ceremony on 1 July. The flag

was received from Mauna Kea (AE 22) following her

decommissioning ceremony.

14 July An F-14D Tomcat from NAWCAD Patuxent

River, Md., flew for the first time using a new Digital

Flight Control System designed to protect aviators

against unrecoverable "flat spins" and carrier landing

mishaps.

19 August The winter fly-in to McMurdo Station,

Antarctica, began with LC-130 Hercules aircraft of

VXE-6 delivering supplies and support personnel.

They would construct the ice runway in preparation

for the 1995-1996 season's surge of scientists and sup-

port workers. This would be the 40th season for

Operation Deep Freeze.

30 August F/A-18 Hornets, F-14 Tomcats, S-3

Vikings and ES-3A Shadows under the guidance of EA-

6B Prowlers and E-2 Hawkeyes from Theodore

Roosevelt led the initial attacks on Bosnian Serb mili-

tary targets in Bosnia during Operation Deliberate

Force. The air strikes, approved by both NATO and

the UN, targeted air defense missile sites, radar sites

and communication facilities.

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UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

395

1-3 September Traveling on board Carl Vinson,

President William Clinton and the First Lady attended

the 50th anniversary commemoration of the end of

World War II in Hawaii.

9-30 September America and embarked CVW-l

conducted strike and flight operations in the Adriatic

Sea in support of Operation Deliberate Force.

1 October VAW-77 "Night Wolf' was established at

NAS Atlanta, Ga., and would work in tandem with the

Coast Guard and other federal law enforcement agen-

cies to combine and coordinate operations of the na-

tion's counternarcotics forces.

1 October The Naval Aviation Supply Office,

Philadelphia, Pa., was disestablished. The Naval

Inventory Control Point (NAVICP), Philadel-

phia/Mechanicsburg, Pa., was established in its place.

The new command took over both the functions of

ASO and the Ships Parts Control Center at

Mechanicsburg, which was also disestablished. NAV-

ICP Philadelphia would be commanded by a Deputy

for

Aviation

under

Commander

NAVICP,

Philadelphia/Mechanicsburg who would report to

Commander, Naval Supply Systems Command. The

Aviation Supply Office was established on 1 October

1941 to provide centralized control of all aeronautical

materials regularly maintained in general stock.

29 November The F/ A-18E Super Hornet made its

first flight from St. Louis' Lambert International

Airport, Mo.

The F/A-l8E on

its maiden flight.

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