Left: Tail markings
to mark the
end of VFA-34’s
relationship with
the Hornet and its
last ‘RIMPAC’ with
the type.
Below: Looking
every bit the
war-weary strike
fighter, a VFA-34
F/A-18C comes
over the fantail
of the USS Carl
Vinson.
‘WESTPAC’ deployment that included an
historic port call in Vietnam. Another
notable element was that it marked the
last time a US Navy F/A-18C Hornet leet
squadron cruised. On April 11, the ‘Blue
Blasters’ of VFA-34 arrived home at NAS
Oceana, Virginia, at the conclusion of their
oicial sundown cruise. The unit then
made its inal carrier embarkation for
‘RIMPAC’, joining the Carl Vinson one last
time before the Oceana-based unit began
its transition to the Super Hornet in early- It’s worth noting that the two US
Marine Corps Hornet squadrons assigned
to CVW-11 and 17 will continue to deploy
with the F/A-18C even though the navy
has retired the type from carrier decks.
‘For CVW-2, ‘RIMPAC’ is an opportunity to
contribute directly to the maturation of
the Paciic theater — not just for the US
Navy and the US Joint Force, but for the
participant nations as well,’ added
Newkirk. ‘We’ve done so while training to
our own readiness needs and reining our
own sharp edges to maintain proiciency
in this area of responsibility.’
The land-based aviation assets for the
exercise were split between three major
air stations on the Hawaiian island of
Oahu: Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,
Wheeler Army Airield and MCAS Kaneohe
Bay, as well as using other airields and
landing zones throughout
the Hawaiian islands.
Other assets were
based in
southern California, spreading the entire
force over a giant geographical area.Realistic scenarios
Unfortunately, the USS Bonhomme Richard
sufered a severe mechanical breakdown
in its propulsion system that forced the
ship to limp back to Pearl Harbor in the
middle of the second phase of the
exercise. The Australian amphibious
assaults ship HMAS Adelaide L 01 stepped
in and was able to assume many of the
tasks that this unexpected exit presented.
The operations oicer with Hawaii-based
Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463
(HMH-463) ‘Pegasus’, Maj Gerrid Gall, said,
‘HMAS Adelaide provided day and night
deck landing qualiication opportunities
for multiple USMC aircraft, as well as
follow-on troop loading operations.
Moreover, the conidence and experience
gained by our crews, operating on a
foreign vessel, provides our unit with an
instructor base for future endeavors.’
‘The various ‘RIMPAC’ events simulated
missions and environments in which
Marine Corps units may very well ind
themselves throughout the world —
conducting recovery operations inside a
nation that may not be friendly or stable
with aviation providing overwatch and
conducting the recovery, or higher-
intensity assault operations, where
mechanized ground forces are
complemented by aviation-delivered
ire support.’http://www.combataircraft.net // November 2018 73