thedrifter
03-11-07, 06:51 AM
Posted on Sun, Mar. 11, 2007
Squadron puts Moonlighters to bed, awaits new jets
By Lori Yount
McClatchy Newspapers
BEAUFORT - The walls, stripped of polka dots, are now white, and the purposeful cacophony of Marines preparing jets for flight has dulled to a slightly melancholy hum inside the headquarters of the Moonlighters at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
The squadron's dozen two-seater F/A-18 Hornet jets are gone, as are about half the Marines as Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 332 prepares for deactivation at the end of the month, taking the air station down to six Hornet squadrons.
But especially to the Marines who call themselves Moonlighters, VMFA(AW)-332 isn't just any squadron - it's a close-knit family that faced the rigors of Iraq and whose proficiency there won national recognition.
The Moonlighters supported ground troops from the air and helped provide security for Iraq's western border and for historic events, such as the December 2005 elections. During the deployment, the Moonlighters flew more than 2,500 combat missions with more than 6,000 mishap-free flight hours.
"When they chose us to be deactivated ... the Marines understood, but we don't feel it's fair they chose us," said Chief Warrant Officer Mario Valle, who heads maintenance and has been with the squadron since May 2004. "They voted us VMFA of the year."
Base officials announced in 2005 the squadron, which was commissioned in 1943 in Cherry Point, N.C., and stationed in Beaufort since 1993, would be decommissioned.
But officials later decided to place the squadron in "cadre status," a type of hold, until the new fighter jet, the Joint Strike Fighter, comes on line in about five years.
For now, almost two-thirds of Moonlighters are transferring to different units in Beaufort, while the squadron waits to rise again with the new plane, and a new crop of crew and pilots.
Ellie
Squadron puts Moonlighters to bed, awaits new jets
By Lori Yount
McClatchy Newspapers
BEAUFORT - The walls, stripped of polka dots, are now white, and the purposeful cacophony of Marines preparing jets for flight has dulled to a slightly melancholy hum inside the headquarters of the Moonlighters at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
The squadron's dozen two-seater F/A-18 Hornet jets are gone, as are about half the Marines as Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 332 prepares for deactivation at the end of the month, taking the air station down to six Hornet squadrons.
But especially to the Marines who call themselves Moonlighters, VMFA(AW)-332 isn't just any squadron - it's a close-knit family that faced the rigors of Iraq and whose proficiency there won national recognition.
The Moonlighters supported ground troops from the air and helped provide security for Iraq's western border and for historic events, such as the December 2005 elections. During the deployment, the Moonlighters flew more than 2,500 combat missions with more than 6,000 mishap-free flight hours.
"When they chose us to be deactivated ... the Marines understood, but we don't feel it's fair they chose us," said Chief Warrant Officer Mario Valle, who heads maintenance and has been with the squadron since May 2004. "They voted us VMFA of the year."
Base officials announced in 2005 the squadron, which was commissioned in 1943 in Cherry Point, N.C., and stationed in Beaufort since 1993, would be decommissioned.
But officials later decided to place the squadron in "cadre status," a type of hold, until the new fighter jet, the Joint Strike Fighter, comes on line in about five years.
For now, almost two-thirds of Moonlighters are transferring to different units in Beaufort, while the squadron waits to rise again with the new plane, and a new crop of crew and pilots.
Ellie