VMFA — Fixed Wing Marine Corps Fighter Attack squadron
VS — Fixed Wing Sea Control squadron (formerly Air-Antisubmarine squadron)
Winchester — out of ordnance
Wire — A 1.25” diameter steel cable stretched across carrier landing area to arrest tailhook aircraft, also known as “the cable” or “cross deck pendant.”
XO — Executive Officer
CVW-4 “Tomahawk” call letters AH “Alpha Hotel”
VFA-91 — Spartans — (side number 100) — “Spartan” — FA-18F — RR 8
VMFA-262 — Moonshadows — (side number 200) — “Red River” — FA-18C — RR 6
VFA-47 — Buccaneers — (side number 300) — “Cutlass” — FA-18C — RR 3
VFA-64 — Ravens — (side number 400) — “Raven” — FA-18C — RR 7
VAQ-146 — Sea Owls — (side number 500) — “Rickshaw” — EA-6B — RR 1
VAW-111 — Knight Riders — (side number 600) — “Knight” — E-2C — RR 2
VS-36 — Bloodhounds — (side number 700) — “Redeye” — S-3B — RR 5
HS-12 — Golden Angels — (side number 610) — “Switchblade” — SH-60F — RR 4
Strike-Fighter Squadron SIX FOUR (VFA-64) Officers
CDR Steve Lassiter — Commanding Officer — Cajun
CDR Bill Patrick — Executive Officer — Saint
LCDR Jim Wilson — Operations Officer — Flip
LCDR Mike Hopper — Maintenance Officer — Weed
LCDR Walt Morningstar — Administrative Officer — Clam
LCDR Ted Randall — Maint. Material Control Officer — Ted
LT Sam Cutter — Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor — Blade
LT Mike Van Booven — Safety Officer/LSO — Dutch
LT Kristin Teel — Training Officer — Olive
LT Zach Offenhausen — Quality Assurance Officer/LSO — Smoke
LT Nicholas Nguyen — AV/ARM Division Officer — Little Nicky
LT Ramer Howard — Airframe Division Officer — Prince
LT Tony Larocca — Line Division Officer — Guido
LT Melanie Hinton — Personnel Officer — Psycho
LTJG Josh Fagan — Schedules Officer — Nttty
LTJG Bob Jasper — NATOPS Officer/LSO — Sponge Bob
ENS Anita Jackson — Material Control Officer — Anita
CWO4 Gene Humphries — Ordnance Officer — Gunner
“Most of us, most of the time, live in blissful ignorance of what a small elite, heroic group of Americans are doing for us night and day. As we speak, all over the globe, American Sailors and Submariners and Aviators are doing something very dangerous. People say, ‘Well, it can’t be too dangerous because there are no wrecks.’ But the reason we don’t have more accidents is that these are superb professionals; the fact that they master the dangers does not mean the dangers aren’t real.
Right now, somewhere around the world, young men are landing aircraft on the pitching decks of aircraft carriers — at night! You can’t pay people to do that; they do it out of love of country, of adventure, of the challenge. We all benefit from it, and the very fact that we don’t have to think about it tells you how superbly they’re doing their job — living on the edge of danger so the rest of us need not think about, let alone experience, danger.”
