THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 14, 1994 TAG: 9407140006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Regarding ``Oceana grasps for key to longevity'' (news, June 21): As the type wing commander for all the Atlantic Fleet S-3B and ES-3A aircraft stationed at Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Florida, I take professional issue with labeling the S-3 a ``dying, aging breed.''
The S-3 Viking entered service in 1975 (the same year as the F-14) and is scheduled to remain in service through 2015 - as is the F-14.
By my count, this means that some of the young men and women who will someday fly the Viking have yet to be born.
The S-3/ES-3 Viking community is not dying. It's growing! While Oceana's venerable A-6 Intruder is disappearing rapidly and the number of F-14 Tomcat squadrons are cut in half, the number of aircraft per squadron for the S-3 community is increasing from six to eight with a concurrent significant increase in manpower.
While that is not many aircraft, it makes each S-3 squadron about the same size as the A-6 squadrons you're losing (40 officers, 220 enlisted).
What's most important is that the ES-3A is a brand-new aircraft which has just completed its first operational deployment on USS Saratoga (CV-60) and is the most recent addition to the carrier air wing. It is the latest, repeat latest, aircraft to deploy with our carriers.
S-3/ES-3 aircraft offer a strike-support-weapons suite second to none and perform a lot of missions besides anti-submarine warfare. In fact, our sea-control squadrons picked up many of the A-6 Intruder missions, including anti-surface-ship warfare, using the Inverse synthetic aperture radar and the advanced version of the Harpoon and Maverick missiles, mining and in-flight refueling. We are now the only carrier-based tanker in the Navy. Several of our squadrons have selected A-6 aviators to serve in and even command the S-3 squadrons that will come to Oceana. Obviously, the Navy doesn't think we're dying either.
We fully understand Virginia Beach's desire to get the F/A-18 Hornets. We know they are truly the future of naval aviation, and we understand the security they bring to your reading audience. We hope you get the Hornet, since we have been working closely with F/A-18s since their introduction.
Regardless, our five S-3 sea-control squadrons and one ES-3 electronic-reconnaissance squadron are planning to move to Virginia Beach within the next few years. We bring with us 2,300 officer, enlisted and civilian personnel, 55 aircraft and an annual payroll of $55 million. We look forward to our new home in Virginia.
The S-3/ES-3 Viking community is not a dying breed. We will remain for the long haul. We hope Oceana will also.
PHILIP D. VOOS
Captain, U.S. Navy
Commander, Sea Control Wing
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
Naval Air Station
Cecil Field, Fla., June 24, 1994 by CNB