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The Prowler Flies off into the Sunset

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
After 48 years of service and over 50 years after her first flight the last Prowler squadron was officially disestablished today. VMAQ-2, officially the 'Death Jesters' but for many years known as the 'Playboys', held their deactivation ceremony today at Cherry Point. One can certainly say the old bird served her country well.

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nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
And for almost five decades, a perfect record on two counts. We not only never lost a jet to enemy fire, but more importantly, we never lost a striker to the RF threat while we were "Music On." Ever.
 
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nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Me neither. Possibly true, but that's not something I've ever heard bandied about in the community. I suspect a deep dive into ODS shootdowns may strain the credulity of that claim, but who knows.
Can't remember where I heard it, but I remember hearing/reading it somewhere. Might be an urban legend, but I didn't remember discounting it in the context as obvious bullshit either. I think it was in relation to us and the EF-111 community. Obviously all it would take was finding someone who got schwacked to disprove. Maybe I'll do some Googling sometime if I get bored. Now you've got me curious where I found it in the first place, because I honestly don't remember. I just remember going "huh, that's cool."

Edit: the anonymous EWO Tyler Rogoway interviewed awhile back claimed a perfect record for EF-111, EA-6B, and EA-18G as far as he knew, at least since Vietnam . . . not definitive, but might have been where I heard it. I'll have to make this a little research project, but I've got housework to do in the interim.
 
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Recovering LSO

Suck Less
pilot
Contributor
I don't think the answer you're looking for is knowable. So many variables involved, so few of them documented in the moment or after the fact. It's a nice sentiment, but I'm not sure it's a necessary sentiment, as the value of AEA is widely known and accepted throughout the DoD.
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I don't think the answer you're looking for is knowable. So many variables involved, so few of them documented in the moment or after the fact. It's a nice sentiment, but I'm not sure it's a necessary sentiment, as the value of AEA is widely known and accepted throughout the DoD.
Who cares if it's not "necessary?" I'm just curious now, so I'll do a little digging in the open source, purely for my own edification. I'm not saying I'd write a Ph. D. thesis or a War College Review article. And no, if it turns out one guy got tagged in 1991 or something, it doesn't diminish the value of the AEA community. You know and I know it has its limitations, but no one expects it to be a magic panacea. I'd just heard a tale told that we'd never lost a striker, and based on the reactions, now I'm curious as to the genesis of the tale. Maybe it's a sea story. Who knows? When I get done or I get bored enough to stop, I'll know a little more about some historic esoterica. There's worse ways to spend a few bus rides into work.
 

Pags

N/A
pilot
Who cares if it's not "necessary?" I'm just curious now, so I'll do a little digging in the open source, purely for my own edification. I'm not saying I'd write a Ph. D. thesis or a War College Review article. And no, if it turns out one guy got tagged in 1991 or something, it doesn't diminish the value of the AEA community. You know and I know it has its limitations, but no one expects it to be a magic panacea. I'd just heard a tale told that we'd never lost a striker, and based on the reactions, now I'm curious as to the genesis of the tale. Maybe it's a sea story. Who knows? When I get done or I get bored enough to stop, I'll know a little more about some historic esoterica. There's worse ways to spend a few bus rides into work.
There are also better ways to spend a few bus rides in to work.
 

xj220

Will fly for food.
pilot
Contributor
So long to the flying turkey drum. I haven’t seen it in awhile but remember seeing them all over Whidbey during my JO tour.
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
The chances you will find anything definitive is pretty close to nil. You would need ATOs and MISREPs. Good luck finding those from 1991.
Yeah, if I was a historian writing a freaking book, I’d FOIA the crap out of whatever hadn’t been shredded. I’m not. I don’t expect anything “definitive.” You guys piqued my curiosity about a claim I heard about awhile back, so I’ll look around the Interwebs until I get bored, that’s all. Maybe get a Kindle book if I get a wild hair.

This is a silly thing to be going round and round about.
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
Yeah, if I was a historian writing a freaking book, I’d FOIA the crap out of whatever hadn’t been shredded. I’m not. I don’t expect anything “definitive.”
If our record keeping is good enough to be definitive then I bet it will be a few decades before it's releasable to the general public. Think of how long it took for the stuff about our WWII codes and codebreaking to see the light of day.

Just an educated guess from a historical perspective- not a technical one.
 
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