Airforces

V M FA-112

50 // OCTOBER 2018 #367 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

he challenges faced by the men and

women of Marine Fighter Attack

Squadron (VMFA) 112 are many. It

currently flies the ‘legacy’ F/A-18++ Hornet

and the B-model trainer, and is a reserve unit,

which dictates that many of its personnel are

part-time. It also means it’s often at the back

of the queue for the spare parts to keep its

jets flying. Does this hold it back, or prevent

it from maintaining the legendary fighting

spirit of the US Marine Corps? Not one bit.

The squadron is under the command of

Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 41 and the 4th

Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) and it has an air-

to-air and air-to-ground role. Lt Col Clint J

Weber is commanding officer of the ‘Cowboys’,

as the unit is nicknamed, and Maj Brian J

Sullivan is active duty officer in charge (OIC).

The active duty officer leads the squadron

on a day-to-day basis because the

commanding officer is always a reservist.

Maj Sullivan explained to AFM: “My role is

unique, with a high responsibility for a major,

but I make the decisions that are best for

the squadron while I am in this seat.”

Sullivan started off as the unit’s maintenance

officer, something he feels has been very

beneficial. “I think every future active duty

officer in charge should have maintenance

officer experience. You do need to have

the perspective of what [the] maintenance

[team] does, especially with the old

aircraft we use. It helped me to double

the amount of serviceable aircraft.”

The squadron has around 12 F/A-18A++

and five F/A-18B jets stationed at Naval Air

Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas,

although the amount of aircraft in its inventory

is much larger. The other machines are stored

in depots all over the country and used for

spare parts. It has around 20 pilots, of which

two thirds are reservists. One of the few active

It may be a reserve squadron

flying ‘legacy’ aircraft, but Dallas-

based VMFA-112 is an exemplary

US Marine Corps fighter unit

and is ready to go to war at a

moment’s notice. Frank Visser

visits the squadron and sees how

it maintains its fighting spirit.

Itmaybeareservesquadron

flying‘legacy’aircraft,butDallas-

basedVMFA-112isanexemplary

Esprit de Corps

T

Above: A pair of VMFA-112 F/A-18A++ Hornets, high over their

home state of Texas. Callsigns used for this particular mission

were ‘Cowboy 11’ and ‘Cowboy 12’. via Northern Skies Aviation

50-55 VMFA112 AFM Oct2018.indd 50 9/10/2018 9:54:59 AM