Strike Fighter Weapons Detachment Fallon
In December 1983, the first Strike Fighter maintenance personnel arrived in Fallon from NAS Lemoore, Calif., to establish the VFA-125 detachment. The mission of the detachment was to maintain an operationally rich aircrew training environment by providing quality organizational level maintenance for Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) F/A-18 aircraft maintenance and limited support for transient F/A-18 aircraft.
In March 1987, VFA-106 stood up a detachment in Fallon supporting FRS training from Cecil Field, Fla. Both commands performed similar missions to support FRS training in Fallon.
In 1994, the detachments combined under VFA-125 to form Strike Fighter Wing Detachment (SFWD). In late 1996, the detachment came under the control of Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific, (CSFWP) NAS Lemoore, Calif., and was renamed Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific Detachment (CSFWPD). This allowed better coordination of training for F/A-18 fleet replacement pilots in strike and fighter weapons tactics for east and west coast Navy and Marine forces. CSFWPD's normal manning level consists of 149 enlisted personnel and three officers.
A typical six-week cycle at CSFWPD consists of a two-week VFA-125 strike training (air-to-ground) detachment, followed by a two-week VFA-125 fighter weapons training (air-to-air) detachment and a two-week VFA-106 strike training (air-to-ground) detachment. This schedule continues year round. In 2000, CSFWPD safely flew more than 4,300 sorties and 5,000 flight hours and safely expended more than 52,000 rounds of 20mm ammunition and half a million pounds of live and inert ordnance during 20 detachments.
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