With only 1.7 hours separating their total EA-6B Prowler fight time, Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Yarusso and Lt. Joe Vandelac both passed their 1,000-hour mark in the same flight.

Yarusso, a pilot, and Vandelac, an Electronic Countermeasures Officer, or ECMO, manned the front cockpit of aircraft 502 on a mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on Jan. 25.

The flight, which launched off of USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), was uneventful, as both men climbed out of the jet with big smiles on their faces.

“We were watching the clock,” said Vandelac. “We got distracted with mission work when Junior’s 1,000-hour time passed, but I saw mine.”

Maintenance collected the catapult holdback fitting for the launch and gave the two parts to Vandelac. The fitting breaks into two pieces; a male end and a female end.

“Art gave me the female end,” said Yarusso with a grimace.

Though both men hit 1,000 Prowler hours at nearly the same time, their careers have taken very different paths on the way to this benchmark.

Yarusso originally selected helicopters out of flight school. He spent three years with HC-8 flying the CH-46, and then submitted a package for a jet transition. His package was approved and Yarusso returned to flight school.

This time, Yarusso selected Prowlers and moved to Whidbey Island with his family. He reported to VAQ-129 and then moved on to the VAQ-131 Lancers. In September 2003, Yarusso joined the Zappers for his department head tour.

Vandelac finished flight school in Pensacola and came directly to VAQ-129. He then spent three years with the VAQ-132 Scorpions, where he accumulated just under 900 hours of Prowler flight time. After a shore tour at Naval Space Command, he reported to CSG-10 as the Flag Electronic Watch Officer.

“Basically, I’m the Admiral’s point of contact for everything that includes electronic and information warfare for the strike group,” said Vandelac.

When he is not standing duty as Flag EWO, Vandelac flies with the Zappers. His flights have been backseats, but for his 1,000-hour hop, Vandelac got to fly in the ECMO One spot next to the pilot. It had been four years since his last front seat flight.

“It was great to get back in the front,” said Vandelac. “Some of it was like riding a bike, but there are so many new pieces of equipment. It was a lot of good learning.”