Afghanistan - More than two years ago, the Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew perished during reentry. On Oct. 13, the Garudas of Electronic Attack Squadron 134 celebrated the Navy’s 230th birthday by dedicating the Prowler camp at their airfield in Afghanistan in honor of the Columbia’s pilot, Cmdr. William McCool.

During the celebration honoring McCool, Brig. Gen. Bruce Burda (USAF), the commander of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, joined the Garudas to commemorate the renaming of the camp.

All of the U.S. and coalition forces deployed to the airfield are assigned individual camps to house their units. For the last two years, expeditionary prowler squadrons referred to their camp simply as “Prowler Camp.”

Upon the Garuda’s arrival, the command decided to commemorate a fallen shipmate and rename the camp. NC1 (AW/SW) Jason Lewis, command career counselor, and the VAQ-134 mobility department researched 10 Sailors who had lost their lives in the line of duty since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. These names were put to a vote among all Garuda Sailors, and the overwhelming decision was in favor of Navy prowler and Space Shuttle Columbia pilot Cmdr. McCool.

After graduating second in his class from the United States Naval Academy in 1983, McCool attended graduate school at the University of Maryland where he earned a Master’s of Science degree in computer science. After earning his wings in 1986, he was selected to fly the EA-6B Prowler.

He served in his first fleet tour with VAQ-133 and completed two deployments on the USS Coral Sea (CV 43). Following his tour with the Wizards, McCool was selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate and Test Pilot School (TPS) where he earned his second Master’s of Science degree in aeronautical engineering.

Upon graduation from TPS, McCool was assigned to Patuxent River Md. and was instrumental in testing numerous upgrades for the TA-4J and the EA-6B aircraft, to include the flight-testing phase of the Advanced Capability EA-6B. In 1996, he served his final Navy tour with Electronic Attack Squadron 132 aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN 65). During this tour, he was accepted into the NASA Astronaut program and began his training. After two years of rigorous training, McCool was chosen to pilot Columbia during the 16 day mission, STS-107.

All Prowler squadrons deployed to Afghanistan can take pride in the history of the camp’s new designation.

In the words of Cmdr. Jay Johnston, Garuda commanding officer, “McCool’s legacy both in the prowler community and with NASA is a tremendous example to us all that our highest goals and dreams can be achieved. His legacy will endure in this community and within the Navy and Marine Corps for many years to come.”