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VA-115 Eagles



A new squadron insignia was approved by CNO on 17 September 1956. Colors for the globe and abstract wing design are: a black background; white globe with black lines; white stylized clock hands; gold stars and abstract wing design; gold scroll outlined in black with black lettering.

Nickname: Arabs, 1950s–1979. Eagles, 1979-present.


Command History

Aug 1967–Jan 1970: During this period the squadron was in an inactive stand-down status. There were no aircraft and only a few administrative personnel assigned. The inactive status was a transitional period, awaiting the time when the squadron would assume an active status and receive the A-6 Intruder. This is the only known instance in which a squadron was not disestablished but remained on the active squadron inventory in an inactive status. The squadron resumed an active status on 1 January 1970.

May–Oct 1971: The Squadron was deployed on USS Midway and supported interdiction operations along the DMZ, the northern part of South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

May 1972–Feb 1973: The Squadron was deployed on USS Midway and support Linebacker 1 & 2 operations primarily in North Vietnam. This included day & night interdiction and strike missions, as well as Alpha strikes. It also participated in the first three days of the December bombing campaign of Haiphong. (This was the Navy�s longest combat cruise.)

Feb 1973: The call sign "Arab" was changed to "Eagle," probably to be more PC.

Apr–May 1975: The squadron participated in Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of American personnel from Saigon, South Vietnam, as the country fell to the communists.

Aug–Sep 1976: The squadron operated near the Korean Peninsula following the murder of U.S. military personnel in the Korean DMZ by North Koreans.

Apr–May 1979: Midway, with VA-115 embarked, deployed to the Gulf of Aden to relieve Constellation (CV 64) and maintain a U.S. carrier presence following the outbreak of fighting between North and South Yemen and the fall of the Shah of Iran.

Oct 1979: As a response to anti-American demonstrations in Iran, Midway and its air wing, including VA-115, were ordered to deploy to the Indian Ocean for the second time in 1979.

Nov–Dec 1979: In response to the seizure of the American Embassy and its staff by an Iranian mob, Midway returned to the Arabian Sea.

May–Jun 1980: Following the massacre of several hundred people in the city of Kwangju, South Korea, the squadron operated from Midway off the coast of South Korea until the crisis subsided.

Dec 1981: Following unrest in South Korea the squadron operated from Midway off the coast of South Korea for several days.

29 Feb 1988: During an exercise in the Gulf of Siam, a squadron aircraft spotted a boatload of Vietnamese refugees, leading to their rescue by Midway (CV 41).

Sep 1988: During the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, the squadron was embarked on Midway and operating in the Sea of Japan to demonstrate U.S. support for a peaceful Olympics.

Nov 1990–Jan 1991: The squadron flew missions in support of Operation Desert Shield, the build-up of American and Allied forces to counter a threatened invasion of Saudi Arabia by Iraq and were part of an economic blockade of Iraq to force its withdrawal from Kuwait.

20 Jan–9 Mar 1991: The squadron participated in Operation Desert Storm, striking Iraqi naval targets and bases, airfields and bridges, a communication center, and providing close air support for Allied ground forces.

After the retirement of the A-6, VA-115 stood up again. At the present time it is currently flying the new F-18 Super-Hornet.


There have been a total of 18 Commanding Officers of VA-115 as an A-6 squadron. The first was CDR C.J. Ward in Jan 1970 and the last was CDR James D. Kelly in July 1991.