Description

VAQ-209 Star Warriors 2019 EA-18G Growler

Fly with the VAQ-209 Star Warriors in this handcrafted EA-18G Growler Model. Each piece is carved from wood and handpainted to provide a piece you’ll love.

Length – 18 inches

Electronic Attack Squadron 209 was commissioned Oct. 1, 1977, under the operational and administrative control of Commander, Carrier Air Wing Reserve 20. VAQ-209 has flown electronic warfare missions with elements of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, the U.S. Air Force and the National Guard. Shore deployments spanned the globe from the west coast of the United States to the heartland of Europe with detachments participating in exercises with Canada, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey and the federal Republic of Germany.

Deployments at sea have included operations from the carriers USS Lexington (CV-16), USS Forrestal (CV-59), USS Independence (CV-62), USS Saratoga (CV-60), USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), USS America (CV-66), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), USS George Washington (CVN-73), USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS Constellation (CV-64) and most recently USS Nimitz (CVN-68).

Having flown the EA-6A Electronic Intruder at NAS Norfolk, Virginia since 1977, VAQ-209 relocated to Naval Air Facility Washington, on Andrews Air Force Base in 1990 and transitioned to the EA-6B Prowler. This event marked not only the significant upgrading of CVWR-20’s Electronic Attack capability, but also the first assignment of the Navy’s EA-6B aircraft to be home ported outside of Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island Washington.

Starting in the mid-1990s, the Star Warriors began mobilizing in support operational commitments as directed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1995, they mobilized for combat operations over Bosnia and participated in both Operations Deny Flight and Deliberate Force.

In 1998, VAQ-209 Deployed to Incirlik AB, Turkey with 4 EA-6B aircraft to conduct combat operations in direct support of Operation Northern Watch. VAQ-209 was the first Prowler squadron to deploy with only three aircraft and not miss a single mission, the first Naval Reserve squadron to deploy to Incirlik in support of this operation, and the first EA-6B squadron to carry the AGM-88 HARM missile into theater.