USS JOHN C. STENNIS, At Sea (NNS) -- For the first time in 15 years EA-6B Prowlers from the "Garudas" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 134 landed on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier March 18.
VAQ-134 is completing carrier qualifications (CQ) aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) before going to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17, attached to USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70).
The last time a Prowler from VAQ-134 made an arrested landing aboard a carrier was in 1994, when the Garudas went on a Western Pacific deployment with USS Kitty Hawk (CVN 63) before being ordered to a permanent land billet.
VAQ-134 is stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and returned in November from Afghanistan after flying hundreds of missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, where the squadron logged approximately 2,000 hours of flight time in support of ground forces.
Due to the various squadrons transitioning from the Prowler to the E/A-18G Growler, an electronic warfare variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, land-based Prowler squadrons must fill sea-based air wing billets that need Prowlers.
"It is exciting and professionally rewarding to have the honor of being part of a squadron again and doing what they do to support missions around the world," said VAQ-134 Commanding Officer Cmdr. David Slayton.
VAQ-134 is qualifying five pilots, who must each complete approximately 10 carrier arrested landings during the day and six at night.
"It was a huge shock finding out we're going back to a carrier," said Lt. Ryan Koziol, a VAQ-134 pilot who made the first carrier landing in 15 years for the Garudas. "It was an honor and unexpected. Landing on an aircraft carrier takes more discipline, skill and a lot of training."
Air Force Capt. Tony Breck, an electronic countermeasure officer in the back seat of Koziol's Prowler, made his first carrier landing ever.
"It was awesome," said Breck. "Going from 120 knots to zero is a thrill. It was nothing I ever experienced before."
As the surge-ready carrier, Stennis executes a vital role in the timely training of pilots at sea. By providing a landing platform for VAQ-134, Stennis allows the Garudas' pilots to qualify or re-qualify aboard an aircraft carrier, and gain experience before joining CVW-17.