The Yellow Jackets arrived at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev., Aug. 13 along with the other squadrons from Carrier Air Wing CVW 9,
the Shoguns, to participate in the Air Wing Training Syllabus provided by the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center. The grueling
five-week training exercise is a dynamic program designed to integrate, expose and train the carrier air wing to deal with the most
current and realistic combat scenarios and tactics.
During the course of the five weeks, the entire Yellow Jacket team was challenged to meet the requirements of the NSAWC training
in terms of mission planning, crew and aircraft integration, and squadron training and readiness. This challenge was met
wholeheartedly as the Yellow Jackets and the rest of the Shogun team used this cumulative and comprehensive training as part of
workups for their upcoming deployment.
The Yellow Jacket Maintenance department not only did an outstanding job of keeping aircraft available during the entire detachment,
but also delivered aircraft 502, which had not flown in over five months while undergoing a significant structural repair, to the
squadron at Fallon.
The arrival of 502 on Aug. 26 represented over a month of hard work restoring the aircraft to full-mission capability after completion
of the structural repair. The Yellow Jacket maintenance team worked extra hours and came in on weekends to ensure that the squadron
would be “ready to fight” at Fallon, and the addition of 502 brought the squadron back to a full compliment of four ICAP III Block III
aircraft, the latest variant of the venerable EA-6B Prowler. All of the hard work paid off, with the Yellow Jackets completing 75 sorties
and over 95 percent of scheduled missions.
If the training and fast-paced schedule of operations during the detachment was not enough, the Yellow Jackets team found even more
ways to distinguishing itself. On the afternoon of Sept. 11, VAQ-138 was awarded the CVW-9 Carrier Air Group Cup for their triumph
over their fellow Shogun squadrons in an air wing softball tournament.
Overall, the Yellow Jackets and the rest of the CVW-9 completed their training at NAS Fallon in a successful and highly productive manner. 
The detachment gave plenty of opportunity for all the participants to practice and hone their skills in anticipation of the upcoming deployment.
The Yellow Jackets have superbly withstood the hot, dry, harsh summer conditions of the Nevada high plains desert and the rigors of flying
realistic combat scenarios. Now we look forward to a short break before their next and final set of workups and deployment.