Strike Fighter Squadron 34 (VFA-34), also known as the "Blue Blasters", is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

F/A-18E Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The Super Hornet is in service with the armed forces ...

strike fighter squadron stationed at

Naval Air Station Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The station is located on 23.9 square kilometers. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mi ...

. They are a part of Carrier Air Wing 3 and are attached to the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

. Their tail code is AC and their radio call sign is "Joker".

Squadron insignia and nickname

The squadron's first insignia was approved for use by VF-20 during World War II, and was a " Joker" breaking out of a deck of cards carrying a machine gun. This insignia was selected by the squadron because the young and inexperienced pilots in the squadron were referred to as the "Jokers". It was approved by

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

(CNO) on 15 March 1944. The next insignia adopted by the squadron was the outline of a human skull, approved by CNO on 1 February 1946. Superimposed on the nose of a skull was a human skeleton with the arms holding paddles that became the eyes of the skull, while the teeth were represented by the word "Fighting 20." On 10 June 1949, CNO approved another modification to the squadron insignia which embellished the skull design. This insignia was in use from 1949 until the squadron's disestablishment in 1969. In 1957 the squadron adopted their present nickname, taking inspiration from their blue tail colors and their nuclear weapon delivery capability; hence the name "Blue Blasters." When the third VA-34 was established in 1970, it adopted the insignia and Blue Blasters nickname used by the previous VA-34 squadron (the second VA-34). On 10 May 1999 the CNO approved a modification to the squadron's insignia tailoring the design to the strike fighter community.

History

Three distinct U.S. Navy squadrons have been designated VA-34. The first squadron to hold the VA-34 designation was in 1948, this squadron was redesignated VA-35 in 1950. The second VA-34 was established in 1943 and disestablished in 1969. The third VA-34, established in 1970, was later redesignated VFA-34 and is the subject of this article. Officially, the US Navy does not recognize a direct lineage with disestablished squadrons if a new squadron is formed with the same designation. Nevertheless, new squadrons often assume the nickname, insignia, and traditions of the earlier squadrons.

1970s

Less than a year after disestablishment of the second VA-34, a new ''Blue Blaster'' squadron was established at

NAS Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The station is located on 23.9 square kilometers. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mi ...

, Virginia, on 1 January 1970 as the Atlantic Fleet's sixth

A-6E Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a twinjet all-weather subsonic attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace. It was formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The A-6 was designed in res ...

squadron. The actual establishment ceremony was conducted at NAS Oceana on 17 April 1970. On 18 September 1970, VA-34 embarked aboard as part of

Carrier Air Wing One Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, with most of its various squadrons also home based at NAS Oceana. Additional squadrons are based at Naval Station Norfolk ...

for a short at-sea period prior to its scheduled November deployment to the Gulf of Tonkin in the Western Pacific. However, while en route to the Caribbean for an operational readiness inspection, the ship was ordered to deploy to the Mediterranean after Syria invaded Jordan. The squadron returned home in March 1971 from this unscheduled deployment, only one year old, but already in possession of the

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

. In August 1971, VA-34 received the Battle "E" award as the Atlantic Fleet's top A-6 squadron. In September 1972, a squadron A-6 Intruder conducted crossdeck operations on while operating in the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea (; ; ) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separate ...

. Due to the outbreak of the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, VA-34 and USS ''John F. Kennedy'' departed the Norwegian Sea in October 1973 and re-entered the Mediterranean, conducting surveillance operations south of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

1980s

VA-34 deployed aboard , in August 1982 for an eight-week North Atlantic cruise. The squadron subsequently made deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean in 1982 and 1984. In September 1985 while deployed aboard USS ''America'' to the North Atlantic, the squadron conducted flight operations from the carrier while it operated within the

Vestfjorden Vestfjorden (; sometimes shortened to ''Vestfjord'' in English) is a long fjord or oceanic sea in Nordland county, Norway. The name literally means "the west fjord", although it is called a fjord, it could best be described as a firth or an op ...

, a Norwegian fjord. On 24 March 1986,

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n missiles were fired at U.S. Navy forces operating in the

Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra (), also known as the Gulf of Sirte (), is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or the city of Sirte. It was also historically known as the Great Sirte or G ...

. As a result of this hostile act, the squadron participated in retaliatory strikes Operation Prairie Fire against Libya by the

U.S. 6th Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Si ...

forces in the area. VA-34's A-6E Intruders, operating from USS ''America'', attacked and damaged a Libyan fast attack missile craft with an

AGM-84 Harpoon The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Mis ...

missile marking the first combat employment of Harpoon. On the night of 14 April 1986, the squadron conducted a low-level, high-speed attack against targets at the

Benina Benina is a suburban borough ( formerly Basic People's Congress) and an administrative division of Benghazi, Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea ...

airfield and military barracks in

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

, Libya as part of

Operation El Dorado Canyon The United States Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps carried out air strikes, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, against Libya on 15 April 1986 in retaliation for the West Berlin discotheque bombing ten days earlier, which U.S. President Ron ...

. In October 1986 the squadron detached from Carrier Air Wing One and joined

Carrier Air Wing Seven Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. At the moment, CVW-7 is assigned to the . The tail code of aircraft assigned to CVW-7 is AG. CW-7's insignia featur ...

aboard , deploying in February 1988 for an extended Mediterranean deployment. The squadron participated in operations off the Libyan Coast and returned to NAS Oceana in August 1988.

1990s

The squadron's deployment in 1990 featured integration of

night vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD) or night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The ...

and

Standoff Land Attack Missile The AGM-84E SLAM (Standoff Land Attack Missile) was a subsonic, over-the-horizon air-launched cruise missile that was developed by McDonnell Douglas from the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile. The SLAM was designed to provide all-weather, day and ni ...

capability into their A-6Es. In 1990, USS ''Dwight D. Eisenhower'' completed her seventh Mediterranean deployment. The deployment became a commemorative event in the worldwide 'Dwight D. Eisenhower Centennial,' celebrating the 100th anniversary of the late President's birth. During

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

anniversary ceremonies off the coast of Normandy, President Eisenhower's son

John Eisenhower John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (August 3, 1922 – December 21, 2013) was a United States Army officer, diplomat, and military historian. He was the second son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. His military ca ...

and D-Day veterans embarked on the ship, while Carrier Air Wing Seven conducted a memorial flyover of the

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial () is a World War II cemetery and memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, that honors American troops who died in Europe during World War II. It is located on the site of the former temporary ...

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors of the amphibious assault component of Operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies of World War II, Allies invaded German military administration in occupied Fra ...

. In August 1990, the squadron flew missions from the Red Sea in support of

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, the buildup of American and Allied forces to counter a threatened invasion of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. The squadron returned home in September 1990 and returned to Southwest Asia in September 1991. The squadron returned to NAS Oceana, on 2 April 1992. The squadron's next deployment was from May to November 1994, embarked on for her maiden voyage. In June 1994, the squadron commemorated the 50th Anniversary of D-Day with a "missing man" formation over Omaha Beach, which was televised worldwide by

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

. The squadron was awarded the Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Battle "E" for 1994 and 1995. VA-34 departed in January 1996 aboard USS ''George Washington'' for their last A-6E Intruder deployment. They flew in support of

Operation Decisive Endeavor The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background I ...

over

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

over Southern

. Typical missions included

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

assisting US and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

troops on the ground. On 30 September 1996, Attack Squadron 34 was redesignated Strike Fighter Squadron 34 (VFA-34) and returned once again to

NAS Cecil Field Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area. ...

, Florida. The squadron immediately began the transition to the

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

. In June 1998, VFA-34 deployed aboard USS ''Dwight D. Eisenhower'' in support of

Operation Deliberate Force Operation Deliberate Force was a sustained air campaign conducted by NATO, in concert with the UNPROFOR ground operations, to undermine the military capability of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), which had threatened and attacked UN-desig ...

and

. The squadron returned to NAS Cecil Field in December 1998. In March 1999, the squadron conducted a homeport shift from NAS Cecil Field to NAS Oceana.

2000s

The squadron embarked on USS ''George Washington'' in June 2000 for deployment to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

, and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

in support of Operations Southern Watch and Deliberate Forge. In December 2000, the squadron returned to NAS Oceana. Upon their return, the squadron received the Wade McClusky Award as the most outstanding attack squadron in the U.S. Navy, and the

Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet The Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (also known as COMNAVAIRLANT, AIRLANT, and CNAL) is the aviation Type Commander (TYCOM) for the United States Naval aviation units operating primarily in the Atlantic under United States Fleet Forces Comman ...

Battle E Award as the finest East Coast Strike Fighter Squadron. The squadron embarked on USS ''George Washington'' in June 2002 for another deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, Arabian Sea, and Persian Gulf in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and

, returning to NAS Oceana in December 2002. VFA-34 returned to USS ''John F. Kennedy'' for her last combat cruise in 2004, deploying to the Mediterranean Sea/Persian Gulf in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In March 2005, VFA-34 became operationally attached to

Carrier Air Wing Two Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. The air wing is currently attached to the aircraft carrier . Subordinate units CVW-2 consists of 8 squadrons and 1 detachment (V ...

(CVW-2), deploying aboard the west coast carrier for Operations Valiant Shield and

Foal Eagle Foal Eagle () is a combined field training exercise (FTX) conducted annually by the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the United States Armed Forces under the auspices of the Combined Forces Command. It is one of the largest military exercises ...

2006. Between 24 and 31 March 2006, during Foal Eagle 2006 exercises,

VFA-2 Strike Fighter Squadron 2 (VFA-2) also known as the "Bounty Hunters" is a United States Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. Their tail code is NE and their callsign is "Bullet". They ...

, VFA-34,

VFA-137 Strike Fighter Squadron 137 (VFA-137), also known as the "Kestrels", are a United States Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet strike fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. Their radio callsign is "''Falcon''". History 1980s ...

, and

VFA-151 Strike Fighter Squadron One Five One (VFA-151) nicknamed the ''Vigilantes'' are a United States Navy Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The squadron is a part ...

from (CVW-2) teamed with U.S. Air Force aircraft from the

18th Wing The United States Air Force's 18th Wing is the host wing for Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan and is the Air Force's largest combat wing. It is the largest and principal organization in the Pacific Air Forces Fifth Air Force. The Wing's 18th ...

based at

Kadena Air Base (International Air Transport Association airport code, IATA: DNA, International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO: RODN) is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena, Okinawa, Kadena and Chatan, Okinawa, Chatan and the ...

to provide combat air patrols and coordinated bombing runs via the exercise's Combined Air Operations Center. The squadron returned home to NAS Oceana in August 2006. In March 2008 the squadron again deployed on USS ''Abraham Lincoln''. Reporting to the 5th Fleet Operating Area, VFA-34 launched strikes over Iraq and Afghanistan, returning home in October 2008. After an extended stand down period the squadron returned to USS ''Abraham Lincoln'' for deployment back to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman from 7 September 2010 to 24 March 2011. In 2012, the squadron won the Battle "E" award for excellence during a period of sustained readiness and combat operations. When ''Abraham Lincoln'' began its

Refueling and Complex Overhaul In the United States Navy, Refueling and Overhaul (ROH) refers to a lengthy Refit, refitting process or procedure performed on Nuclear marine propulsion, nuclear-powered naval ships, which involves replacement of expended nuclear fuel with new f ...

in 2013, CVW-2 was reassigned to . The wing made only a short deployment aboard ''Ronald Reagan'' during exercise

RIMPAC The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held ...

between June and August 2014, before the carrier was stationed in Japan. CVW-2 then accompanied USS ''George Washington'' for her voyage around South America from September to December 2015. In 2016, CVW-2 and VFA-34 were reassigned to . The wing made its next deployment to the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean aboard ''Carl Vinson'' from 23 January to 23 June 2017. On 5 January 2018, VFA-34 left San Diego aboard ''Carl Vinson'' for another scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific. This deployment marked the final "Legacy" Hornet deployment for the squadron as upon their return, they will transition to the

. On 1 February 2019, the squadron bid its final farewell to the

F/A-18C Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

. As the final operational "Legacy" Hornet in the U.S. Navy, that flight also happened to be the final F/A-18C flight by a deployable squadron.

In popular culture

The VFA-34 logo is featured in the television show '' The Brink'' as the logo of the fictional squadron VFA-181 "The Smokin' Skulls."Pablo Schreider as LCDR Zeke Tilson and Eric Ladin as LT Glenn Taylor in ''The Brink''
/ref>

Aircraft assignment

The squadron first received the following aircraft on the dates shown: * A-6A ''Intruder'' – 17 Apr 1970 * A-6B ''Intruder'' – May 1970 * KA-6D ''Intruder'' – 1971 * A-6C ''Intruder'' – 1971 * A-6E ''Intruder'' – Dec 1973 * F/A-18C ''Hornet'' - 1996 * F/A-18E ''Super Hornet'' - 2019

References

External links

VFA-34's official webpage

Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Third VA-34
{{United States Navy Aircraft Squadrons Strike fighter squadrons of the United States Navy