VAQ-130 Lands its First Growler aboard Truman

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Taylor DiMartino, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Public Affairs

USS HARRY S. TRUMAN, At sea (NNS) -- Airborne Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130, the Zappers, landed its squadron's first operational EA-18G Growler on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), July 18.

The Growler, a variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, replaced the EA-6B Prowler as the primary electronic warfare strike aircraft for Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3.

Getting Growlers aboard Truman is a huge achievement for the squadron, said Cmdr. Jeff Chism, the Zappers' executive officer.

"This is the first time our squadron has landed a Growler aboard a ship," said Chism. "Truman is only the second carrier on the East Coast with a VAQ squadron embarked, and we are thrilled to be here."

Zappers' Commanding Officer Cmdr. Rich Vaccaro landed the Growler on Truman.

"The Prowler is an older aircraft," said Lt. Nathan Gingery, a VAQ-130 pilot. "The Growler will extend the electronic attack mission into the distant future."

The Growler has implemented and improved upon much of the old EA-6B equipment, said Gingery.

"The advanced radar jammers, while similar to the Prowler's, have been integrated in a totally different way into the Super Hornet's frame allowing for new additions like a better communication system," said Gingery. "The new system allows data transfer and communication between various aircraft and ships in the air wing and carrier strike group."

Pilots in VAQ-130 had no trouble adapting from the EA-6Bs to the Growler's Super Hornet air frame, said Gingery.

"We went from crews of four in the Prowlers to only needing two pilots in the Growlers," said Chism. "The pilots' transition from the EA-6B to the EA-18G's cockpit was almost seamless. It was streamlined by the Super Hornet's user-friendly controls."

Due to its Super Hornet air frame, the Growler allows for better integration with other squadrons embarked aboard Truman.

"Maintenance of the Growler's frame is much easier as we can now share parts with other squadrons," said Chism. "We never saw this type of squadron integration with the old EA-6Bs."

VAQ-130 is scheduled to train aboard Truman throughout flight deck certifications and carrier qualifications.

Zappers Return Home to NAS Whidbey Island

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tucker M. Yates, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Det. Northwest



OAK HARBOR, Wash. (NNS) -- Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130, the "Zappers," were welcomed home to Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, June 1, after a deployment aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

The Zappers departed NAS Whidbey Island, Nov. 1, in order to meet Harry S. Truman on the East Coast for a departure date of Nov. 4.

"We were supporting ground commanders with electronic attack jamming in support of the troops on the ground," said Cmdr. Scott Moran, VAQ-130 commanding officer. "In addition to that, there are many other objectives the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has for naval forces in the Arabian Gulf and we also supported those missions as well."

The Arabian Gulf is a body of water more commonly known as the Persian Gulf.

The Zappers are composed of nearly 200 Sailors with 15 electronic countermeasures officers and six pilots among them. With their complement of four Prowlers, they achieved a 99 percent mission accomplishment rate for the combat sorties in support of CENTCOM.

Over the whole deployment, the Zappers flew a total of 565 sorties and logged 1,798 flight hours. Of this, approximately 200 sorties and 1,200 hours were logged as combat hours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Included in the deployment were also a number of port visits made by Harry S. Truman. Among these were port calls to Naples, Italy; Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates; Rhodes, Greece; and Marseilles, France. Moran was pleased with his crew's performance both on- and off-duty.

"From the most junior people in my squadron to the most senior, everyone did a fantastic job," said Moran. "It was long hours and we ended up missing a port call, but we were able to work through that. My most junior guys bore a lot of the burden for the deployment, but they did a fantastic job. We couldn't have done our mission without everyone in the squadron."