|
|
|
|
|
|
CD ROM HISTORY |
|||
|
|
|||
|
MARINE
FIGHTER/ATTACK TRAINING SQUADRON 101, |
|||
|
THE SHARPSHOOTERS |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Author’s Collection |
|||
|
VMFAT-101 was activated 3 January 1969 at MCAS, El Toro, California. The war in Southeast Asia was raging at this time, and the Marine Corps had a pressing need for aviators and ground crewmen to man the fighter/attack squadrons that were rotating in and out of the war zone. As a result, the first three years of the squadron’s existence perhaps were the busiest in its history to date. Shortly after the squadron’s activation, the Marines began to withdraw from combat in Southeast Asia, and the shortages of trained personnel among the fighter/attack squadrons had largely been made good. After eighteen months of operations from El Toro, the squadron was relocated to MCAS, Yuma, Arizona. From its new base, it was able to take advantage of the less crowded airspace to be found over the desert. [Although unstated, the remoteness of the Arizona desert location with regard to the attractive off-duty diversions of Southern California likely played at least a small part in the decision as well.] |
|||
|
The mission of the
"Sharpshooters" is that which the designation implies, namely,
the training of new aircrews and ground crews for the Marine Corps
Fighter/Attack squadrons. Before
a newly hatched aviator reports to his operational Fighter/Attack
squadron, he will first attend the course of instruction conducted by
VMFAT-101. During his time
with the squadron he will be trained in the fighter/attack mission and
to fly the aircraft of the operational squadron to which he will
ultimately report for duty, currently the F/A-18 HORNET.
Thus, the squadron is the Marine Corps’ functional equivalent
of the Navy's Fleet Replenishment Squadrons (F.R.S.'s).
[These squadrons were at one time called. Replacement Air Group,
or R.A.G squadrons.] |
|||
|
In addition to aircrew training, VMFAT-101 is responsible for training the ground crews that will be assigned eventually to one of the Marines’ fighter/attack squadrons equipped with the current operational aircraft found at squadron level. Most of these individuals have completed training courses on the various systems to be found in the HORNET, but, while the equipment is often the same, classrooms bear little similarity to the cramped interior spaces of an operational aircraft. |
|||
|
At the time of its activation, the squadron’s
mission was to train F-4 PHANTOM II air and ground crews.
When the Navy disestablished its last F-4 F.R.S./R.A.G. squadron,
VF-171, in June 1984, VMFAT-101 assumed the additional responsibility of
training the Navy’s F-4 aircrews, in addition to those for the
Marines. No doubt this
close mix of “squids” and “jarheads” led to some interesting
sessions in the various watering holes in the area! |
|||
|
In October 1987, the squadron relocated
again to El Toro and began to train aircrews for the Marines' newest
fighter/attack aircraft, the McDonnell/Douglas F/A-18 HORNET.
It continues to serve in this role today and will continue to do
so for the foreseeable future. With the decision by the Base realignment and Closure
Committee of the House and Senate, to order the Navy to vacate NAS,
Miramar near San Diego, it was decided to move most of those units
resident at El Toro to Miramar and to close El Toro.
VMFAT-101 now operates from the former Naval Air Station, which,
interestingly, was formerly a Marine Corps facility. |
|||
|
At
least five versions of the squadron's insignia are known to exist, and
these are shown in the accompanying plates.
In them, the first insignia, at the head of this section, is the
official squadron insignia, and the second, third and fourth are one of
at least three unofficial variations.
The last insignia is an example of the squadron’s insignia
adopted upon its activation in 1969.
With the exception of the first and last examples, it seems the
"Sharpshooters" have adopted an unofficial insignia that
commemorates each type of aircraft they have flown since their
activation. |
|||
|
According to regulations that govern
insignia design and content, this practice is a no - no.
Perhaps they skirt regulations by considering these to be
unofficial insignia. If
this is indeed the case, it serves to prove the old adage that every
rule is made to be broken, even in the Marine Corps. |
|||
|
Note the red “S” and the blue “H”
in the larger of the two designs that depict the F/A-18. The combination of the red and blue letters, as opposed to
both letters in red indicate this particular insignia dates from a
period during which the squadron trained both Navy and Marine aircrews
in the HORNET. |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
Order your own U.S. Marine Corps Aviation Squadron Lineage, Insignia & History. Click here for details |
||
