NAS DALLAS = The Good 'ol Days

[Old R.O.]

I guess all this means there are no flying jobs for NFO RIO's & B/N's in the NavAirRes. That sucks, IMHO.

There have been no RIO jobs since 1999 when VF-201 became VFA-201 and gave up their F-14A Tomcats for the single-seat F/A-18A.
(The West Coast F-14s went away in 1994 with the disestablishment of VF-301, VF-302 and CVWR-30)
There have been no B/N jobs since 1994 with the disestablishement of VA-205 and VA-304, both operating A-6E Intruders.
The Marines got out of the RIO business in 1992 when VMFA-112 at NAS Dallas transitioned to the F/A-18A Hornet from the F-4S (the last Naval Service squadron to operate the Phantom operationaly).

 

[Fog]

There have been no RIO jobs since 1999 when VF-201 became VFA-201 and gave up their F-14A Tomcats for the single-seat F/A-18A.
(The West Coast F-14s went away in 1994 with the disestablishment of VF-301, VF-302 and CVWR-30)
There have been no B/N jobs since 1994 with the disestablishement of VA-205 and VA-304, both operating A-6E Intruders.
The Marines got out of the RIO business in 1992 when VMFA-112 at NAS Dallas transitioned to the F/A-18A Hornet from the F-4S (the last Naval Service squadron to operate the Phantom operationaly).

Thanks, ORO. I guess the Navy has decided that tactical air in the reserve is a luxury it can ill afford. Oh well, I guess desk jobs get mobilized less - if that's any way to look at it.

In the good ol' days, NAS Dallas had 2 F-4 VF squadrons, plus the SRU. The Marines had VMFA-112 ("Cowboys") and there was an ANG C-130 squadron there as well.

Forgot to add there was a Marine H-53 squadron there as well. The place rocked on weekends.

 

[VetteMuscle427]

I guess all this means there are no flying jobs for NFO RIO's & B/N's in the NavAirRes. That sucks, IMHO.

VAQ-209 is still at NAF Washington.

 

[Old R.O.]

VAQ-209 is still at NAF Washington.

We were talking of the subset of NFO that was RIO or B/N ...
not NFO's in general... such as EA-6Bs and P-3s
Plus there were the odd SRU units that used NFOs (S-3, F-14, etc...) before those RAGs went away.

 

[A4sForever]

.....In the good ol' days, NAS Dallas had..(a bunch of stuff) .... The place rocked on weekends.

Tell me about it -- and they actually WERE "good ol' days" back then ... and the NAS DALLAS O'Club was usually GREAT on Reserve weekends !!! Talk about "Weekend Warriors", I fondly remember it being SRO during the USA/Commie-Czech-Rooskie "Miracle on Ice" hockey matches. Guys were standing on tables & chairs in the bar to yell and get a better view !!!

Think of it as a "destination resort" of sorts in the "old school" tradition of Naval Air Station O'Clubs ....

..... And then: DEATH BY BRAC:

 

[Fog]

A4F: Man seeing those rusting hangar doors really breaks my heart. Navy Dallas was a hummin' place in the late 70's/early 80's. We never had problems getting adversaries to come to Dallas to play ACM on weekends. I'm sure you'd agree that what went down on saturday nights around there was much more dangerous than anything done down in the Brownwood MOA on Saturday or Sunday afternoons! I know it was just a reserve station but it's passing took away another colorful page of Naval Air history.

 

[Flugelman]

I remember taking a young fellow out there to watch F-14s. He is now a Naval Aviator out in San Dog flying H60s.

 

[Screamtruth]

Had the pleasure of being invited to the Cadre Ceremony of the Flying Gators of VMFA-142; Based out of NAS Atlanta,GA (No news coverage; Thus no links).

Tremendous ceremony put together by the men and women of VMFA-142 this afternoon (May 31).

Ceremonial Last Flight at 3:00pm (Three Ship); Which later followed with the Cadre at 6:00pm which ended with the squadron colors being cased; Now resting until called upon once again.

The squadron will officially be placed into Cadre status on June 31.

Only 1 USMCR Hornet Squadron Now Remains; Which is the Cowboys of VMFA-112 out of NAS JRB Fort Worth.

Gators Forever!

I remember using Cowboys out at Fort Hood on OP Jack.... I remember they always used Cowboy as the call sign when they checked in on station and I just thought it was a Texas thing...........I had always assumed that they came from JRBFW........but was never sure.

Most of those guys were putting steel on steel...........blue death style.....great to work a hill with.

 

[A4sForever]

I remember using Cowboys ..... when they checked in on station and I just thought it was a Texas thing....Most of those guys were putting steel on steel...........blue death style.....great to work a hill with.

It is a Texas thing.

After many, many "fights" w/ the Cowboys -- I declared that pound for pound, that Reserve squadron represented the BEST F-4 drivers I ever worked against -- i.e., the best attitudes, least amount of ego, best briefs, best airmanship, best tactics, and best debriefs at the NAS DALLAS O' Club. Quite different than their VF-201 cousins and most certainly different than the "always ready w/ an excuse" primadonnas in VF-202.

 

[Fog]

It is a Texas thing.

After many, many "fights" w/ the Cowboys -- I declared that pound for pound, that Reserve squadron represented the BEST F-4 drivers I ever worked against -- i.e., the best attitudes, least amount of ego, best briefs, best airmanship, best tactics, and best debriefs at the NAS DALLAS O' Club. Quite different than their VF-101 cousins and most certainly different than the "always ready w/ an excuse" primadonnas in VF-102.

A4: I think you meant VF-201 & 202. That aside, I was in the F-4 SRU at Navy Dallas from '79 to '82. During that period VF-112 (a) had a midair & (b) had a landing accident involving a fatality. During that period, I flew with about every pilot in the 2 squadrons & SRU, and would be the 1st to admit that there is some truth to your observation. But also in one of those years, 202 did go out to San Diego & beat every F-14 squadron they faced. In particular, I think they deserve better. But I'm biased against A-4's in general: if we couldn't paint you prior to the merge, the A-4 was usually locked in our 6 o'clock after 2 or 3 turns.

 

[A4sForever]

A4: I think you meant VF-201 & 202. That aside, I was in the F-4 SRU at Navy Dallas from '79 to '82. ...

Roger that, brain fart:

Actually ... the LTs and LCDRs in 201/202 weren't all that bad -- several good guys, in fact. It was the O-5s (in particular of the CO/XO variety) wherein most of the "ego" problems resided in the Navy F-4 'rons. ... they just really, really didn't like to get "beat" by an A-4 ... even though it was suppose to be about training, not their egos.

202 beatin' the F-14's like a drum?? Heck, WE beat the F-14's whenever they would invite us out.

I can say w/ a straight face that the garden variety Marine O-3/-4/AND -5 F-4 drivers had better attitudes -- in my experience in NAS DALLAS. Even the occasional USMC O-6 that would come into town or meet us @ YUMA had a better "attitude" than the heavies in 201/202.

I can't really remember any names -- just faces and a few callsigns. I wouldn't put their names out here in any case ...

 

[zipmartin]

I can say w/ a straight face that the garden variety Marine O-3/-4/AND -5 F-4 drivers had better attitudes -- in my experience in NAS DALLAS. Even the occasional USMC O-6 that would come into town or meet us @ YUMA had a better "attitude" than the heavies in 201/202.

I can't really remember any names -- just faces and a few callsigns. I wouldn't put their names out here in any case ...

The Dallas Marines were definitely more fun to work with, as a whole. I came on the scene in Dallas after A4's ('86-'89 & '92-'94) and saw 201 & 202 in F-4's and F-14's and VMFA-112 in F-4's & F-18's. The Cowboys (-112) enjoyed "groveling in the dirt" vice "shoot-in-the-face-and-run" more than the Navy guys. Not sure how "realistic" that training was, but it was definitely a lot more enjoyable for us radar-deprived bad guys. I flew one of the last of the four Dallas A-4's to the boneyard in March '94, and we dis-established OMD later that year. When I find the pics I'll post a couple. Very sad times.

 

[zipmartin]

The End of NAS Dallas A-4's

Pictures from the end of an era. VF-201 & Dallas OMD returning from the Brownwood MOA. Disestablishment ceremony. The funeral march.




Tanks are hung and final checks before off to the Boneyard. Saying goodbye to an old, trusted friend before signing the paperwork.

 

[LazersGoPEWPEW]

This place would make a great b&w photo on 35mm film. Real side note but that building seems to have tremendous potential for an outstanding photo. Wide-angle lens. Yea.

 

[A4sForever]

This place would make a great b&w photo on 35mm film. Real side note but that building seems to have tremendous potential for an outstanding photo. Wide-angle lens. Yea.

Like this??

photo by A4sForever