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Chapter Closes On Pacific Vikings

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050823-07
Release Date: 8/23/2005 12:07:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class Paul Cage, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Pacific

NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND (NNS) -- Sea Control Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CSCWP) held its disestablishment ceremony Aug. 19 at the Sea Control Squadron (VS) 41 hangar at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif.

“Some would see this as a day of loss. I see it as a day of celebration of a remarkable history,” said Rear Adm. Michael H. Miller, commander, Carrier Strike Group 7. “It’s the end of an era, and the beginning of the next, with greater challenges and greater opportunities.”

CSCWP was established in April 1993 as the first West Coast Type Wing. Since its establishment, the wing has seen the completion of the transition from the S-3A to the more versatile S-3B for all Pacific Fleet Squadrons.

“This community is rich,” said Capt. Gregory F. LaBuda, commander, Sea Control Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet. “It is rich in history, rich in people and it’s about people who care for people.”

CSCWP was responsible for five Fleet S-3B squadrons, one S-3B Fleet replacement squadron and two shore commands. In total, CSCWP managed the administrative, manpower, operational and training requirements of 62 aircraft and more than 1,800 military and civilian personnel.

“The wing’s chief petty officers and junior enlisted maintenance and administrative professionals are the best at what they do, and it showed daily,” said LaBuda. “The wing is and always has been a support organization. We are here to support fleet squadrons and the Fleet Replacement Squadrons, Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Detachment and Aviation Support Detachments. Our function was not to run other units, but manage them, and I think we did that very well.”

Participating in the ceremony were all five former Wing commanders, who expressed pride in the legacy the wing is leaving behind.

“For those of us in this community, we can always hold our heads high that we did it and we did it well,” said retired Capt. Conrad A. Langley, who was the wing commander from 1995 to 1997. “It wasn’t just refueling. It was saving lives. It was for all the search and rescues. It was for all the time on target. It was for all the things that you did, that I look back now and realize what an experience it was.”

The Lockheed S-3 Viking aircraft was originally used to hunt and destroy enemy submarines and provide surveillance of surface shipping. The S-3B version can be fitted with "buddy stores," external fuel tanks used to refuel other aircraft. The S-3B Viking is gradually being phased out of the Navy’s inventory after 30 years of service.

“Today is not the past, but rather a transition,” said retired Capt. Terry S. Douglas, who was the first Wing commander, from 1992-1995. “Through the years, the Navy has maintained its pre-eminence as the most powerful Navy in the world, and naval aviation continues to rule the sky. I can rest in retirement knowing the Viking Sea Control Pacific established the underpinnings of what naval aviation is about today.”

A highlight for the wing was the unveiling of a plaque that honors the S-3 community for its many decades of service to the Navy and the nation.