CPRW-5….the final log entry 30 March 2010
All,
Today I have the honor of hauling down the CPRW-5 pennant for the final time as the 20th and last Commodore. I would be remiss of me if I did not highlight some of the command’s history and how it has touched nearly every maritime patrol aviator in our great Navy. From Wing FIVE’s origin in 1937 onboard the flagships USS Owl and seaplane-tenders USS Gannet and USS Goldsborough, through transitions ashore to Norfolk, Boca Chica, Patuxent River, and finally Brunswick, Wing FIVE has had one goal: to prepare squadrons to support and defend our national interests both abroad and off our own shores.
Wing Five squadron tail flashes have proudly adorned aircraft nicknamed Catalina, Marlin, Neptune, Orion and most recently, Global Hawk. Wing Five based aircrews have always strived to answer the call of duty, whether it be: Atlantic neutrality patrols; coastal ASW patrols after Pearl Harbor; Gulf Coast Frontier patrols; 38th parallel patrols; Cold War patrols from Keflavic to Rota/Lajes to Bermuda to the Caribbean; Cuban Missile Crisis surveillance patrols; Mercury and Gemini support; Vietnam patrols; Mediterranean patrols; Desert Shield and Storm; Yugoslavia/Kosovo; and finally, Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Our squadron mates have operated from the North Pole to the most southern tip of South America…and on any given day, any latitude and longitude between the International Date Line and Greenwich Meridian.
Many of you have fond memories of cutting your teeth on anti-submarine patrols in the local warning areas and flying home marveling at the beautiful Maine coast. There was no better feeling than when driving by Fat Boy’s on Old Bath Road, seeing your squadron’s tail flash pass overhead on final approach.
On behalf of the last Sailors at CPRW-5, we salute all our squadron mates from units present and past (VP-8, VP-10, VP-11, VP-14, VP-15, VP-21, VP-23, VP-26, VP-44, VP-92, VPU-1, TSC Brunswick, FMP MOCC ALFA, FSU-5, NAVCOMTELDET, NCTAMSLANTDET, ASD and AIMD). The bonds of Sailors serving at Wing Five and in Brunswick, Maine have strongly influenced our maritime community and we hope it will remain an enduring legacy of excellence for many operations and missions to come.
Best wishes to all in the future as we haul down our pennant for the final time. It has been an honor to serve in this capacity and with so many phenomenal people. Fly safe and Godspeed. Wing Five….out. V/r,
Jim
Captain Jim Hoke
Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing FIVE
Another piece of Naval Aviation history comes to an end… As we continue to downsize the military, and especially our aviation capability, the requirements are NOT decreasing, and in fact are increasing globally…
Sadly, we are at the point that we can no longer fight in two locations at the same time, nor can we maintain what was for us, a persistent coverage around the world as we did in the past.
I can only salute the kids today who are proudly carrying on our tradition of service 24/7/265 with little recognition and less support than at any time since Vietnam.
God Bless, and God Speed…
All I can say is “Well Done!” And it is sad that we cannot do what we have before.
Jim, It was like a kick in the gut to read that NASB was closing. It was 47 years ago that I got my orders to FAETULANT DET 1 to help set up and run the SERE school there! Just married, an E6 and I wound up loving every single day I spent in Maine, working or playing. Made a life times worth of friends there, Navy and Civ!
I hate to see all that disappear just when things are beginning to heat up agin. Best, Everett
Keads- Concur…
Ev- Yep, things are changing, and not for better…
Seems a waste to see all the institutional memories being lost by the armed forces. Short sided, and will in the future, get people needlessly killed. Just my opinion.
And from the AF perspective, I look at all the bases now closed and most will never be able to be re-used for any aviation use. My last assignment was to Richards-Gebaur AFB on the south side of KC. It transitioned to an AFR base in the 70’s and finally closed a few years later. It survived for a while as a general aviation public airport (the only one in the area long enough to land the larger aircraft like a C5 or 747 outside of KCI up north). It was turned over to KC in the late 1990s with the understanding that it would remain in use for aviation. KC, instead, ripped up the runway and taxi ways to build a railroad spur. The land was converted to a customs-free terminal for Toyota. Finally, in the last years, the hangers have been torn down and the POL tanks removed. The Officer military housing was turned over to the Marines a dozen years ago (for those assigned to the Marine Finance Center). The former base commissary is now the local Army Reserve HQs and some of the old AF barracks were sold for a Bible College.
Only the name Richards-Gebaur remains and that took a federal lawsuit against KC just to keep that.
Out democrat politicians at work.
WSF- Not only the institutional memory, it’s the real estate for airfields… With the closure of NAS Brunswick, there is no longer ANY military airfield closer than Rhode Island to the NE borders…
Crucis- Yeah, it seems like there are more bases that I served at that are closed than are left open… dammit…