Tomcat Ceremony Honors Aircraft, People Associated With Jet
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS060926-04
Release Date: 9/26/2006 9:33:00 AM
By Cathy Heimer, Naval Air Station Oceana Public Affairs
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- The F-14 Tomcat final flight ceremony Sept. 22 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana brought 36 years of naval aviation history to an end.
More than 3,000 of those associated with the Tomcat, including those who designed it and tested it, past and present aviators, maintenance personnel, family members and community leaders, gathered Friday morning for the final flight by the last Tomcat squadron, the "Tomcatters" of Fighter Squadron (VF) 31.
“We've all been a part of something very special, something that not too many other programs will ever really achieve," said Scott Seymour, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems. The F-14, first flown in 1970 was designed and flight tested by Northrop Grumman.
"I was so impressed by the Navy people who were around it. It was a 'can-do' attitude. They all have such pride and such ownership," Seymour said about his experiences working with the jet.
Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Adm. John B. Nathman, who also served as a guest speaker, has flown more than 40 different types of aircraft during his 36-year career, including the F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet.
Nathman said the F-14 had an unprecedented following and the aircraft's history includes many milestones. He also described some of the best aspects of the aircraft.
“What stood out about our association with the Tomcat was, above all the rest, tough. Like incredibly tough in a fight. Tough as nails around the carrier,” said Nathman, as he quoted an aviator. “‘If I knew I was going to be in a tough fight, I wanted to be in a Tomcat.’”
Nathman remembered the many crew members who lost their lives in the jet, as he acknowledged the many challenges the jet presented.
“The F-14 was tough in many other ways, sometimes tough to fly. The F-14 was unforgiving and we lost some people as a result. We also grew many great sea worthy pilots. We lost a lot of jets along the way and a lot of friends,” he said. “Luck and skill both played a role in surviving and then thriving in the Tomcat.”
Nathman went on to explain why he felt the people involved with the Tomcat were so dedicated.
“It’s really because of these challenges that the men and women who fix the Tomcat are totally committed to it. While this ceremony is about the awesome physical presence of the F-14, the guts of that aircraft are as much human as they are hydraulic,” said Nathman. “The Tomcat is about the sweat, some blood, some tears of the men and women whose teamwork, ingenuity, troubleshooting and finally a testimony to that very personal skill and determination to get that aircraft to the catapult. That allowed us to bring our assigned mission to a successful conclusion."
The admiral stressed that the Tomcat's final flight isn't a finality for all the lives involved with the F-14.
“It ends its career at the top of its game – a premier naval strike fighter. But it’s really not an end. The Tomcat lives on through its enduring missions. It lives on through the men and women were committed to those missions," Nathman said. “It’s a transition from one superb aircraft to another- the Tomcat to the Super Hornet. When you see the Super Hornet flying out of NAS Oceana, remember the Tomcat, with its Northrop Grumman twin tails,” he said.
Nathman asked the audience to join him in a time-honored naval tradition of standing and offering three cheers as a farewell salute to the Tomcat.
Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, who spoke briefly during the ceremony, proclaimed Sept. 22, 2006, as “Tomcat Day,” and read a proclamation detailing the history and achievements of the jet and saluted all those associated with it.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
