Posted on Apr 21, 2023
Marines Stand Back Up 'Tomcats' as a F-35C Lighting II Squadron - USNI News
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A deactivated squadron got new life as Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 311 in a Friday ceremony attended by scores of combat veterans and an F-35C Lightning II jet sporting the “Tomcats” historic squadron logo.
The Marine Corps had deactivated the “Tomcats” – it had flown the AV-8B Harrier attack jet as VMA-311 – in 2020 with plans to transition it into an F-35C squadron as part of the service’s force modernization. Its reactivation paves the way for the squadron to become fully operational with Joint Strike Fighter jets better poised to counter threats from peer adversaries’ advanced aircraft.
“Tomcats” commander, Lt. Col. Michael P. Fisher, and squadron Sgt. Maj. Janet Marrufo unfurled the squadron colors, a colorful pile of streamers pouring from the casing. The activation marks the second F-35C squadron to call Miramar home, joining the “Black Knights” of VMFA-314.
The Marine Corps had deactivated the “Tomcats” – it had flown the AV-8B Harrier attack jet as VMA-311 – in 2020 with plans to transition it into an F-35C squadron as part of the service’s force modernization. Its reactivation paves the way for the squadron to become fully operational with Joint Strike Fighter jets better poised to counter threats from peer adversaries’ advanced aircraft.
“Tomcats” commander, Lt. Col. Michael P. Fisher, and squadron Sgt. Maj. Janet Marrufo unfurled the squadron colors, a colorful pile of streamers pouring from the casing. The activation marks the second F-35C squadron to call Miramar home, joining the “Black Knights” of VMFA-314.
Marines Stand Back Up 'Tomcats' as a F-35C Lighting II Squadron - USNI News
Posted from news.usni.org
MCAS Miramar
Marines
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Throughout its history, the “Tomcats” provided close-air support – “our bread-and-butter mission,” Brown said – to ground forces. That included combat in Korea, where it supported the U.S. 8th Army near the Chosin Reservoir; nearly eight years of flying missions in Vietnam; the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War; Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; and four deployments for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Through those years, the squadron achieved several firsts as it transitioned into varying models of different airplanes, including the F4U-1 Corsair, F-80A Shooting Star, F9F2 Panther, F9F-8 Cougar, A-4 Skyhawk and AV-8B Harrier. It earned five Presidential Unit Citations – the highest honor any military unit can earn – in four different wars and 13 Navy Unit Commendations.
“It’s amazing, quite simply,” Brown said, telling the new squadron commander that “it’s that legacy that’s entrusted to you. You inherit that. And it’s not just looking back. You keep one eye on the past to remember. But you also keep one eye forward for what’s coming next.”
“You’re going to train this squadron to fight and win,” he said. “That’s what the ‘Tomcats’ are all about – to shoot down the enemy’s airplanes and to put their ships at the bottom of the ocean… We kill bad people, and we break their things.”
Looking to the east or to the west, he said, “we would see oppressive regimes actively encircling people who want to live in freedom, and that’s always been our call-to-arms,” he said, telling the new commander to “bring this squadron back to life.”...
..."Throughout its history, the “Tomcats” provided close-air support – “our bread-and-butter mission,” Brown said – to ground forces. That included combat in Korea, where it supported the U.S. 8th Army near the Chosin Reservoir; nearly eight years of flying missions in Vietnam; the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War; Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; and four deployments for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Through those years, the squadron achieved several firsts as it transitioned into varying models of different airplanes, including the F4U-1 Corsair, F-80A Shooting Star, F9F2 Panther, F9F-8 Cougar, A-4 Skyhawk and AV-8B Harrier. It earned five Presidential Unit Citations – the highest honor any military unit can earn – in four different wars and 13 Navy Unit Commendations.
“It’s amazing, quite simply,” Brown said, telling the new squadron commander that “it’s that legacy that’s entrusted to you. You inherit that. And it’s not just looking back. You keep one eye on the past to remember. But you also keep one eye forward for what’s coming next.”
“You’re going to train this squadron to fight and win,” he said. “That’s what the ‘Tomcats’ are all about – to shoot down the enemy’s airplanes and to put their ships at the bottom of the ocean… We kill bad people, and we break their things.”
Looking to the east or to the west, he said, “we would see oppressive regimes actively encircling people who want to live in freedom, and that’s always been our call-to-arms,” he said, telling the new commander to “bring this squadron back to life.”...
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