VAW-77

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77


caption= VAW-77 Insignia
dates= November 17, 1995
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Navy
type= Reconnaissance
role= Counter-Narcotics Squadron
size=
command_structure= Carrier Air Wing Reserve 20
current_commander=
garrison= NAS Atlanta
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= "Nightwolves"
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=
awards=Joint Meritorious Unit award
Meritorious Unit Commendation
Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation
anniversaries=The Nightwolves of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77) based at Naval Air Station Atlanta, comprise the U.S. Navy's only fully dedicated counter-narcotics squadron. VAW-77's beginnings go back to 1995, when the U.S. Congress created the reserve squadron as a result of the United States escalating war on illegal drug trafficking. VAW-77 received four specially modified E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft optimized for counter-drug missions. As part of the Navy's post-Cold War role, VAW-77 flight crews patrol the waters of the Caribbean in joint missions with the United States Coast Guard and other drug enforcement agencies in search of illegal aircraft and ships.

The officers and enlisted members of VAW-77 are a mix of Selected Reservists and active duty TAR personnel. Because the squadron is a component of the Naval Reserve, a significant number of its men and women are Selected Reservists. They participate in the squadron's mission on a part-time basis because of their civilian commitments. The aircraft are serviced and maintained by Northrop-Grumman civilian contractors who also deploy with the squadron.

History

On 18 November 1995 Carrier Early Airborne Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77) was commissioned, as a Reserve Squadron serving with the US Coast Guard and other Federal Agencies to fight the war on drugs, providing sophisticated air surveillance on traffic off the southern coast of the US. VAW-77 "Night Wolves" work in tandem with Coast Guard and other federal law enforcement agencies to combine and coordinate operations of counter-narcotics forces. The E-2C Hawkeye squadron deploys four to five times a year to bases near known drug trafficking routes to help identify suspected drug smugglers. The squadron spends approximately four to five months per year forward deployed to bases near illegal drug traffic lanes.

Since commissioning, the Nightwolves have completed a number of sixty-day counter-drug deployments to the Caribbean Theater. VAW-77 deploys primarily to Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, but has also worked out of Howard AFB, Panama, Patrick AFB, Florida, Comalapa AB, El Salvador, Borinquien CGAS Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and Curacao, Netherland Antilles. Squadron aircraft have been involved in over 120 high profile arrests and seizures of drug carrying container ships, high-speed watercraft, and light civilian aircraft. In fact, the mere presence of the Nightwolves in the Caribbean has caused drug traffickers to change their tactics in order to avoid detection by VAW-77 aircraft.

Unit Citations

VAW-77 was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for their exceptional performance with the Joint Interagency Task Force. The Task Force's teamwork contributed to the interdiction of more than $3 billion of contraband and supported the seizure of 72 metric tons of cocaine and 4 metric tons of marijuana, the confiscation of 23 vessels and aircraft involved in the movement of illegal drugs.

The squadron’s other awards include a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation, two Battle "E" awards, the Safety "S" and numerous Bravo Zulu's and unit citations.

See also

References

[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/vaw-77.htm Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77)] Global Security.org. Retrieved 2006-10-26