The VFA-102 "Diamondbacks" are located at NAS Lemoore, CA and fly the F/A-18 Hornet. They were established in July 1955, and transitioned from the F-4J Phantom to the F-14A Tomcat in July 1981 then to the F-18 Hornet in 2002. This is the Fighter Attack Refueling Team Pacific (FARTPAC) patch.

The VFA-102 "Diamondbacks" are located at NAS Lemoore, CA and fly the F/A-18 Hornet. They were established in July 1955, and transitioned from the F-4J Phantom to the F-14A Tomcat in July 1981 then to the F-18 Hornet in 2002. This is the round version of their 50th Anniversary patch.

The VFA-102 "Diamondbacks" are located at NAS Lemoore, CA and fly the F/A-18 Hornet. They were established in July 1955, and transitioned from the F-4J Phantom to the F-14A Tomcat in July 1981 then to the F-18 Hornet in 2002. This is the diamond version of their 50th Anniversary patch.

VF-103 was established in May 1952 and began the transition from F-4S Phantoms to the F-14A Tomcat in January 1983. The 'Sluggers' were with the USS Saratoga in CVW-17 for the majority of her time, before switching to the USS Enterprise. VF-103 adopted the "Skull and Crossbones" of VF-84 to continue their tradition. They have now transitioned to the F/A-18 Hornet and this is their round "black" version of their transition patch that states "Transition Time, Baby".

VFA-103 was established in May 1952 and began the transition from F-4S Phantoms to the F-14A Tomcat to the F/A-18F SuperHornet in 2005. The 'Sluggers' were with the USS Saratoga in CVW-17 for the majority of her time, before switching to the USS Enterprise. VF-103 adopted the "Skull and Crossbones" of VF-84 to continue their tradition. VF-103 had one of their TARPS-birds shot down by an optical SA-2 derivative in Desert Storm with the pilot being rescued and the RIO becoming a POW. This is their current "backpatch".

The "Gunslingers" of VFA-105 are based at NAS Oceana, VA. They were established in March 1968, and are now flying the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet. They participated in the Gulf War aboard the USS J.F. Kennedy (CV-67) as part of CVW-3, but are now part of CVW-3 aboard the USS Truman (CVN-75). This is a Friday party patch worn by the pilots. Here's the story behind it.........The patch designer was the late John Lombardo of Ghost Riders Inc. He designed a complete set of this style patch but at the time many squadrons did not bite because of the odd shape. His family picked up all the stock from his business at the factory when he passed. I have not seen any for years!! He ran a small business out of his home and the Leonard Corp (Swiss-Tec) who for many years made patches for everyone going back to the 40's. They have gone out of business as far as I know. John served with VA-164 The "Ghost Riders" on board the Oriskany in the 60's. He had many scars from the fire on board and I learned how tough life can be from someone who had paid there dues many times over. He was a good friend of mine. I was lucky to get a few tours of the Leonard Corp factory and see and buy many patches. He had family troubles and I lost touch with him for the latter years. What became of his family I will never know. He passed in the early 90's in South Phily.

The "Gladiators" of VFA-106 were established in April 1984 as the East Coast RAG for the F/A-18 Hornet. They operated the A/B/C/D models of this aircraft and flew from NAS Cecil Field, FL. They moved to NAS Oceana, VA in the 1998. This is their Key West detachment patch they wear when down at the south Air-to-Air range.

VFA-106 began operating on 27 April 1984 as the East Coast FRS ("RAG") for the F/A-18A/B/C/D models at NAS Cecil Field, FL. They are now located at the Master Jet Base at NAS Oceana, VA where they train Navy, Marine, and foreign exchange pilots. This is the class patch for Class 05-05.

VFA-106 began operating on 27 April 1984 as the East Coast FRS ("RAG") for the F/A-18A/B/C/D models at NAS Cecil Field, FL. They are now located at the Master Jet Base at NAS Oceana, VA where they train Navy, Marine, and foreign exchange pilots. This is the class patch for Class 05-06.

VFA-106 began operating on 27 April 1984 as the East Coast FRS ("RAG") for the F/A-18A/B/C/D models at NAS Cecil Field, FL. They are now located at the Master Jet Base at NAS Oceana, VA where they train Navy, Marine, and foreign exchange pilots. This is the class patch for Class 06-02.

VFA-106 began operating on 27 April 1984 as the East Coast FRS ("RAG") for the F/A-18A/B/C/D models at NAS Cecil Field, FL. They are now located at the Master Jet Base at NAS Oceana, VA where they train Navy, Marine, and foreign exchange pilots. This is the class patch for Class 06-06.

VFA-106 began operating on 27 April 1984 as the East Coast FRS ("RAG") for the F/A-18A/B/C/D models at NAS Cecil Field, FL. They are now located at the Master Jet Base at NAS Oceana, VA where they train Navy, Marine, and foreign exchange pilots. This is the patch created by the Chief Petty Officer's (CPO) Mess to try and raise some funds for their squadron.

This is the "party" patch for the VFA-113 "Stingers" poking fun at their rival, the F-14. The Tomcat always states "Anytime, Baby" and the Hornets are challenging them "Now Baby".

The 'Eagles' have a long history, beginning as Torpedo Squadron 11 in October 1942. They became VA-115 in July 1948, and for many years were nicknamed the "Arabs" until changed for obvious reasons. They also gave up their Intruders based out of NAS Whidbey Island in the early '90s and transitioned to the F/A-18C Hornet flying out of NAS Lemoore, CA. This is the "Elimination of Evil" tour, which was the FIRST cruise for the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet!

The 'Rough Riders' of VFA-125 fly all the models of the F/A-18 out of NAS Lemoore, CA. They were established as the first USN Hornet squadron in November 1980 and are the West Coast RAG. This is their commemorative patch created for their 2001 Tournament of Roses Parade and Game Flyby.

This is the 20th Anniversary patch for VFA-131. The Wildcats were established in October 1983 as a new Hornet squadron and belonged to CVW-7 aboard the USS Eisenhower (CVN-69). They participated in exercises against Libya in 1986 from the USS Coral Sea (CV-43). In 1991, they converted from 'A' Models to 'C' Models, resumed with the "Ike", and participated in Desert Shield, but not Desert Storm. Since they have flown "single seat" aircraft for their entire history, this 20th Anniversary patch also says "Single Seat Forever" along the bottom.

This is the 2002 "ESTOCIN"/Battle 'E' patch for VFA-131. The Wildcats were established in October 1983 as a new Hornet squadron and belonged to CVW-7 aboard the USS Eisenhower (CVN-69). They participated in exercises against Libya in 1986 from the USS Coral Sea (CV-43). In 1991, they converted from 'A' Models to 'C' Models, resumed with the "Ike", and participated in Desert Shield, but not Desert Storm. Since they have flown "single seat" aircraft for their entire history, this 20th Anniversary patch also says "Single Seat Forever" along the bottom.

The "Knighthawks" of VFA-136 fly the F/A-18C Hornet as part of CVW-7 from the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). This patch was created for the "Line Maintenance" guys that work on the jets. They used to be called "Line Rats", but have since changed their names to "Line Dawgs".

The "Knighthawks" of VFA-136 fly the F/A-18C Hornet as part of CVW-7 from the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). This patch is for the "Plane Captains" that are in charge of the jets. Those guys used to be the "Line Dawgs", but proved themselves worthy of having a jet of their own to maintain.

The 'Pukin Dogs' of VFA-143 began existance as VF-871, a Reserve squadron activated for the Korean War in July 1950. They flew F-4J Phantoms until 1974 when they transitioned to the F-14A Tomcat, then transitioned to the F/A-18F in 2005. They made their first Tomcat cruise aboard the USS America (CV-66) in April 1976. This is their new black-bordered Hornet "transition from" Tomcat patch.

The "Argonauts" were established in February 1967, and have converted from the A-7 Corsair to the F/A-18C Hornet in the mid-80s. This is the yellow aircraft bullet from that squadron. They fly the Hornet with CVW-9 onboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74). This is their commemmorative patch created when they did their 1992 "Flyover" at Super Bowl XXVII. It was dubbed "The Mother of All Flybys".

This is the 50th anniversary patch created by the VFA-192 World Famous Golden Dragons to commemorate their long and proud history.

This is the Top Hook patch for the VFA-192 World Famous Golden Dragons that are based out of NAS Atsugi, Japan. These are given to the pilot who has the top carrier landing grades during that particular line period for that airwing, CVW-5.

This is the 1996 March Madness Cruise patch for the VFA-192 World Famous Golden Dragons that are based out of NAS Atsugi, Japan. It was created honoring the NCAA Basketball "March Madness" as they were deployed during that time.

This is the 1997 Southern Swing Cruise patch for the VFA-192 World Famous Golden Dragons that are based out of NAS Atsugi, Japan. It was created because they headed south of the equator during their time on the boat.

This is the 1999 Battle 'E' patch for the VFA-192 World Famous Golden Dragons that are based out of NAS Atsugi, Japan. It was created after they won the Battle 'E' award in 1999.

This is the green cruise patch created for the VFA-195 "Dambusters" for their WestPac cruise.

The 'Blue Dolphins' of VFA-203 were established in July 1970 at Cecil Field, FL as the Naval Air Reserve A-7 Corsair squadron. The used to operate the F/A-18A Hornet out of NAS New Orleans, LA. This is their decommission patch created for the "End of an Era", 1970-2004. I only have a few of these.

This is the "KOOLAID" patch for the VFA-211 "Checkmates" that now fly the F/A-18F Hornet out of NAS Oceana, VA. It means that they are now "onboard" with the new aircraft, happy to have it (after a little bit of getting used to the new mindset).

This is the "det patch" created for VFC-12 for their 2004 Fallon, NV deployment where they served as the "Blue Air Strike Det". Shows the Fallon mountain range (probably B-17) in the background and the Hornet dropping a MK-80 series bomb.

This is the "Made in the Good Old USA" - "Flying For Freedom" patch created for the F/A-18 Hornet.