378

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1992-Contin ued

Center, Indianapolis, Ind.; and the Naval Air Test

Center, Patuxent River, Md. The operating site at

Warminster was eventually to be consolidated at

Patuxent River, Md.

2 January Flight Test and Engineering Group

(FTEG) was established under NAWC AD. The Naval

Air Test Center (NATC) Patuxent River, Md., was dises-

tablished the same day. The old NATC directorates be-

came directorates under FTEG. Captain Robert

Parkinson, former NATC deputy commander, became

the director of FTEG.

9 January The Department of Defense announced its

acceptance of an offer from the government of Saudi

Arabia to award its Kuwait Liberation Medal to mem-

bers of the U.S. armed forces who directly participated

in Operation Desert Storm. The award had been estab-

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lished by King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia to

honor the outstanding performance of coalition forces

in their historic liberation of Kuwait last year.

13 January In a memorandum, Secretary of the

Navy (SECNAV) directed the Navy and Marine Corps

to integrate VMFA and VMAQ squadrons into Navy

CVWs, in order to reduce the requirements for F-14s,

F/ A-18s, and EA-6Bs. Historically, Marine tactical

squadrons had operated frequently as part of carrier

air wings, but rarely had this concept been institution-

alized in any permanent form.

18 January VMFA-112 at NAS Dallas, Tex., the last

operational squadron to fly the F-4 Phantom II, held a

retirement ceremony for its last F-4. The last opera-

tional flight was made by Colonel John Brennan of the

VMFA-112 on 10 January. The first flight of the Navy's

Phantom II, the F4H -1, had taken place on 27 May

1958.

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An F-l4 Tomcat flies over a liberated Kuwait.