Photo By Joshua Cox | Veterans and spouses representing Fighter Squadron 84 (VF-84) pose in front of the...... read more read more
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In early April, Veterans and spouses representing Fighter Squadron 84 (VF-84) gathered for a reunion visiting the Gulf Coast and Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola. The group consisted of Veterans who served on the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Capt. John Pruitt, U.S. Navy retired, who served as the commanding officer of NAS Pensacola from 2002–2005, participated in the group’s reunion. Before commanding NAS Pensacola, Pruitt served with VF-84 in the early 1990s.
“The VF-84 Jolly Rogers have been conducting reunions for a number of years,” Pruitt said.
Last year the group gathered in Austin, Texas, to commemorate 30 years since the squadron’s return from Desert Storm, he said.
“That was such a success,” Pruitt said. “We enjoyed seeing each other so much because of the shared experience of Desert Storm.”
The reunion went so well in Texas, the group decided to gather again this year in Pensacola.
“We chose Pensacola because all of us have touched Pensacola at one time or another,” Pruitt explained. “It’s just great to come back because every one us including most of our wives have a Pensacola experience because we lived here and trained here.”
Pruitt said he and his wife love Pensacola and were excited to return to the ‘Cradle of Naval Aviation.’
“I was the commanding officer here from 2002 to 2005, so my wife Lisa and I just have great memories of Pensacola,” Pruitt said.
During the visit on the base, the group toured the National Naval Aviation Museum and later gathered at the Mustin Beach Club to recount memories.
“We setup an entire day to come to the base just to reconnect with our roots,” Pruitt added.
Most of the Veterans who participated in the reunion were pilots or Naval flight officers with the squadron. The VF-84 “Jolly Rogers” Squadron flew the F-14A Tomcat during Desert Storm.
“We are all combat Veterans from Desert Storm,” Pruitt said. “We operated in the (Persian) Gulf during Desert Storm.”
Pruitt said after Desert Storm ended, the squadron operated from the Mediterranean in northern Iraq during Operation Provide Comfort.
“Most of the guys here probably have 35 to 50 combat missions,” Pruitt said.
The two Naval aviators who conducted the first combat mission from the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Desert Storm also attended the reunion.
Marty Chanik, who was the commanding officer of VF-84 during that time, said the mission occurred on the second night of the war. Chanik, alongside comrade Brian Wood, flew in the first mission from the carrier.
“The group of folks we had in that squadron at that timeframe was just a unique group,” Chanik said. “The personalities just fit so nice.”
Wood said the trip to Pensacola was his first in 30 years.
“It’s nice to see how things have changed for the better,” Wood said.
The shared experience of a Desert Storm combat deployment and the camaraderie among the VF-84 Veterans and their spouses can’t be replicated — that lives forever, Pruitt said.
“We love seeing each other today just like we did 30 years ago — maybe even more today,” Pruitt added. “There’s nothing like it.”
Note: An additional feature story, VF-84 in Desert Storm: Letters from Home, will follow this article. VF-84 in Desert Storm: Letters from Home will recount the experiences of VF-84 families during the Desert Storm campaign. Be sure to monitor NAS Pensacola on https://www.dvidshub.net/ and Facebook for the release of the additional feature.
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2022 16:58 |
| Story ID: | 418905 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 506 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, VF-84 Jolly Rogers Veterans, Spouses Visit NAS Pensacola, by Joshua Cox, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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