Last modified Wed., February 21, 2007 - 04:31 PM
Originally created Thursday, February 22, 2007

VS-24 takes one last flight

By PH2 Brian Smarr, Fleet Public Affairs Center Detachment Southeast

Line division members of VS-24, bring aircraft 700 to its parking spot on the tarmac following the squadron's last flight Feb. 8. The squadron will decommission in March. Photos by MC2 Brian Smarr

The VS-24 "Scouts" took their last flight Feb. 8, prior to the squadron's upcoming decommissioning ceremony March 22.

VS-24 traces its history back to Jan. 1, 1943, when it was commissioned as Bombing Squadron 17. Since then, VS-24 has been deployed in Operations Desert Storm, Provide Comfort, Southern Watch, in the Eastern Mediterranean in support of NATO strikes against Bosnian-Serb military targets and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"I see our decommissioning as a necessary thing because change is inevitable" said VS-24 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Ted Mills. "We are winding up a good tradition here. This squadron has been activated for more than 60 years."

The Navy decided to decommission the S-3 Viking and move to the FA-18E/F Hornet, to lighten the workload on its people after recognizing the amount of maintenance needed to keep them operational. "This is a legacy aircraft," said Mills about the S-3. "It has served the Navy well." The aircraft are not the only things being affected by the move.

Although the Sailors knew about the upcoming changes, the transformation is still uncertain for many. Many squadron members will transfer to other VS commands or sea going commands.

VS-24 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Ted Mills thanks his Sailors for their hard work following the squadron's last flight Feb. 8.

VS-24 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Ted Mills gets doused with water by his squadron members as part of the tradition of getting "wetted down" after a last flight.