ELECTONIC ATTACK SQUADRON 129 MILITARY
a detachment window, the maintenance
department re-baselines all inspections on the
jets, so each one is a full-up round as it goes on
detachment. It’s then about doing reactionary
maintenance turns on det [detachment]. There is
no long-term maintenance done on det.”
AIR International asked Capt Estes if other
assets are used on detachments, to which
he answered yes and no: “In order to affect
the training objectives for the syllabus, we
do not need any external assets for AEA. For
air-to-air we need adversaries. However, when
opportunities are presented that will give junior
pilots exposure to joint operations, we will fly
with other aircraft. At Mountain Home we fly with
the Singaporean F-15SGs and at Ellsworth we
have worked with B-1Bs providing protection
during close air support. Opportunities like these
are a way to get student pilots thinking about
coalition ops. At El Centro, we did a strike with
the Marine Corps F-35Bs from Yuma.
“We have also conducted joint FRS dets.
When VFA-122 [the Super Hornet FRS based at
Lemoore in California] was conducting events in
its strike phase, we provided electronic warfare
close air support during the missions, helping
122 by doing our normal role. We don’t need
such opportunities to complete the syllabus per
se, but it makes training so much better when
the opportunity is there.”
Missile shoots involving AIM-120 AMRAAM
for self-defence or AGM-88 HARM and AGM-
88E AARGM in the AEA role are a requirement
for an operational squadron’s readiness matrix,
but not a requirement for 129. That said, Capt
Estes said squadron instructors do practise
missile shots in the simulator: “The switchology
is all the same. The training modes in the jet
allow you to see all of the time lines that you
need, so you can get the same training. You just
don’t feel and see the missile leaving the rail.”
VAQ-129’s electronic attack mission
is currently unique to the entire Growler
community, but part of the role will eventually
be shared with the single-seat F-35C Lightning
II. For Capt Estes, the F-35 is an aircraft he
believes will go beyond all expectations, but
he also believes each new weapon system
at some point is only as good as the mission
planning: “We are rapidly approaching that
point in the Growler where garbage in is
garbage out. The more the F-35 community
understands electronic warfare and how
important its role is in electronic warfare, not
only as an AEA asset, but also as a sensor
node with the ability to pass back to Growlers
for processing and sharing the information,
the better the two types will be as a team.
That’s the key point: it’s a team. I don’t see
any single platform being the silver bullet. Our
future force is going to require a layering of
assets even when everything is F-35 or F/A-XX
[the term used for the US Navy’s future fighter
set to replace the Super Hornet]. VAQ-129
already has inroads to the two US Navy F-35C
squadrons, VFA-101 and VFA-125, to help
make the aircraft reach its full potential.”Command philosophy
Capt Estes explained the three-pronged
philosophy he has for VAQ-129 is production,
professionalism and fun: “I threw fun in
because VAQ-129 is shore duty. Most ofthe people that rotate in to VAQ-129 come
from sea duty and have been on extended
deployments on carriers for seven or eight
months at a time. That’s a constant reminder
that I’m the one that can throttle back and
allow folks to take a three-day weekend, let
folks take the leave they have built up over an
operational tour – leave they have not been
able to take because of the ops calendar – and
ensure they get a little of the RNR they deserve
as they rotate into shore duty.
“It’s a tough balance. It would be very easy
to run at max blast all the time, but as skipper
one of my most important jobs is to make sure
I don’t burn folks out. If they have a horrible
time at 129 because the ops tempo is just
too robust, they are going to get out. I have to
show them this is a viable career: there is time
off, there is a way to recharge the batteries and
to make sure they don’t lose the sense of fun
in their job.
“Getting to be skipper of 129 was a
complete surprise. They call it a bonus
command, because it’s another chance at
command and another chance to fly. I’m
emboldened by the quality of the people we
get through the door, from the Lieutenant junior
grade arriving from training command to the
instructor that arrives from the fleet and all the
enlisted ratings. I feel like I’m holding on to
their coat tails every day. I’m not trying to lead
the fight I am absolutely trying to keep up with
them. It gives me a lot of hope for the future
of naval aviation. The Growler community is
still growing, we are still buying Growlers, so
it’s a great place to be and will remain so for
a long time. I’m very excited with the amount
of emphasis the DoD [Department of Defense]
at large is putting on the electromagnetic
spectrum, because I think it’s an aspect that
went largely ignored for 40 years or so. Now
it’s becoming a battle space, and if we can
corner the market on that, no one is going to
be able to touch us.”
To conclude AIR International’s two-part
feature on VAQ-129, we present a selection
of images depicting current CAG-birds
from seven EA-18G Growler squadrons
assigned to the US Navy’s Electronic
Attack Wing Pacific.Landing signal officers aboard the USS George Washington (CVN 73), signal and observe an incoming
aircraft from the ship’s flight deck. Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Everett Allen/US Navy
A member of the catapult crew prepares to launch an EA-18G Growler from VAQ-129 from the flight
deck of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Mass Communication Specialist Ignacio Perez/US Navy