OAK HARBOR — An EA-6B Prowler squadron returns to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station late this week and Monday after a three-month deployment in the western Pacific Ocean.
Electronic Attack Squadron 128, the "Fighting Phoenix," was deployed as an expeditionary logistics unit to Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni in Japan. Pilots and air crews from the Prowler squadron spent much of the deployment supporting missions and training exercises in Guam and Japan.
During the squadron’s time at Misawa Air Force Base, Japan, maintenance personnel from the unit traveled to Naval Air Station Atsugi, Japan, and worked around the clock to finish an aircraft exchange with Electronic Attack Squadron 136. The swap left the "Gauntlets" of VAQ-136 with a full complement of four upgraded Prowlers, the military’s radar- and communication-jamming jets. The Gauntlet planes will return to the United States for modification.
Enlisted personnel from VAQ-128 will start arriving in Oak Harbor late this week. The Prowlers and their crews will return on Monday A homecoming celebration is planned.
VAQ-128 is made up of 180 personnel and is supported by 50 additional maintenance personnel from Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment, Whidbey.
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