L
OCATED NEAR THE
southernmost tip of the
spectacular Florida Keys that
extend out into the Gulf of
Mexico from the US mainland,
Naval Air Station (NAS) Key
West’s Boca Chica Field has been home to
some of the US Navy’s most intense air-to-
air fi ghter training since the mid-1960s. In
the last 50 years, each Navy fi ghter Fleet
Replacement Squadron (FRS) has trained its
students in basic fi ghter maneuvering (BFM)
and dissimilar air combat training (DACT)
over the extensive ranges located nearby.
While aircraft have changed, capabilities have
advanced, and tactics have evolved, the US
Navy continues to teach and expand upon
lessons hard-learned from experience over
100 years of air combat.
Fighter Composite Squadron One Eleven
(VFC-111) was originally set up as VFC-13
Det Key West in January 2006 to provide a
permanent adversary presence at Boca Chica
Field in support of the various FRS tactics
detachments. On November 1 of the same
year, the detachment was established as
an independent command and took on the
name and identity of former F-14 Tomcat
operator VF-111. While the US Navy does not
recognize a direct lineage between the modern
and historical ‘Sundowners’, VFC-111 has
adopted most of the history and customs,
these serving as a great inspiration for a unit
whose sole purpose is to instruct others in the
art of air combat.
In that role, the squadron brings an
incredible amount of corporate knowledge tothe table from active-duty fl eet aviators, full-
time support reservists and select reservists
that make up its cadre of aircrew. As squadron
boss CDR Todd ‘BB’ Peasley puts it: ‘There are
no nuggets in VFC-111’. All aircrew reporting
to the ‘Sundowners’ have a minimum of one
fl eet tour under their belt and usually around
700 hours of fi ghter time — as opposed
to total time — logged. These are usually
active-duty fl eet aviators serving a three-year
shore-based fl ying billet. At the opposite
end of the spectrum is the select reservist
(SelRes). These aircrew usually put in one
week a month or more at the squadron while
balancing family and careers outside the Navy
the rest of the time. Most SelRes aviators
stay within the squadron for several years.
In fact, of VFC-111’s 17 SelRes aviators, two
are plankowners (meaning they have been
with the squadron since its commissioning in
2006), two more are former US Marine Corps
aviators who transitioned to the Reserves
upon leaving the Corps, and another is a
former US Air Force F-15E weapon systems
offi cer (WSO) who became an Eagle pilot
before eventually joining the Navy.The making of an adversary
Upon arriving at VFC-111, a pilot will spend
perhaps the fi rst year becoming profi cient as
an adversary. For a fl eet aviator brand new to
the community, it’s a real eye-opener as the
pilot is not only now seeing things from the
opposing side, but is also being introduced to
a brand-new aircraft.
The Northrop F-5 Tiger II is no stranger
to US Navy service but is unlike anything‘Sundowner 101’ perches
on its wingtip as the pilot
heads out over the warm
waters o Key West. It’s
fast jet heaven, ying here
in the Florida Keys.42 May 2015 http://www.combataircraft.net42-51 VFC-111 C.indd 42 19/03/2015 10:26