VMFA-314 takes flight for the last time at Al Asad (Al Asad)
Multi-National Force-Iraq
Friday, 25 September 2009
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
www.mnc-i.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20090925-04
Date September 25, 2009
VMFA-314 takes flight for the last time at Al Asad
Multi National Force – West PAO
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – Before dawn, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 had already suited up for the day’s mission. They fired up every single F/A -18 Hornet they had and lined up in diagonal formations of three spanning the width of the runway. One after the other, all 12 planes screamed down the tarmac to take off from Al Asad Air Base, Iraq for the very last time.
VMFA-314, the “Black Knights”, transferred authority to VMFA-112, and began their journey home Sept. 18, 2009, after a seven-month deployment supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“We participated in 13 different named operations and the squadron conducted five strikes and dropped over seven-thousand, eight-hundred pounds of ordnance in combat,” said Maj. Chad Vaughn, operations officer with VMFA-314, who appreciates the “quiet” of this deployment, referring to present day Iraq in contrast of his experiences in 2001 and 2002 while providing support in Afghanistan.
In seven months the squadron completed roughly 1,900 flights adding up to about 4,750 combat flight hours.
Lt. Col. John Passant, commanding officer of VMFA-314, who has more than 15 years experience flying Hornets, explained how his Marines made this a particularly successful deployment.
“Our biggest worry coming here was that guys would get [worn out], sloppy, tired and just make mistakes,” he said, and then credited the Marines for their consistency through great communication. “We were lucky to have a team like we did. The staff, my department heads, senior enlisted and [junior Marines] made this the best squadron I’ve been in - upstairs and downstairs. I’m lucky to be here.”
After VMFA-112’s arrival, Col. Richard J. Giudice, the commanding officer, took a flight with Passant to look at his new area of operation.
“It was a neat opportunity to fly [commanding officer] to [commanding officer],” Passant expressed. “He was in one of my airplanes and I was in one of his, and we worked on a cache sweep with [3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment], and then we had a quick [area of operation familiarization].”
VMFA-112 has now taken over and will continue their mission as a vital combat support element in Iraq … right where the “Black Knights” left off.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION OR FOR HIGH-RES PHOTOS, CONTACT THE MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE – WEST PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER BY E-MAIL AT: CE_PAO_WATCH_OFFICER@MNF-WIRAQ.USMC.MIL
FOR THIS PRESS RELEASE AND OTHERS, VISIT WWW.MNC-I.COM
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