Tag Archives: VP-4

P-3C Shines as Flexible CARAT Thailand Platform

P-3C Shines as Flexible CARAT Thailand Platform.

P-3C Shines as Flexible CARAT Thailand Platform

By Commander Task Force 73 Public Affairs

Posted: May 18, 2011

UTAPAO, Thailand – One of the oldest aircraft types in the U.S. Navy’s inventory has adapted to fill a variety of missions in recent years. This adaptability, and the fact that dozens of Navies around the world fly it or some variant of the airframe, made the P-3C Orion the ideal aircraft to participate in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand 2011.

UTAPAO, Thailand (May 14, 2011) – A crew member assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 4, attaches a cover over the number two engine after returning from a U.S. / Thai mine-laying mission for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand 2011. CARAT is a series of bilateral exercises held annually in Southeast Asia to strengthen relationships and enhance force readiness. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jose Lopez, Jr.)

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During the nine-day CARAT exercise, Combat Air Crew 9, a detachment from the “Skinny Dragons” of Patrol Squadron Four (VP-4), based in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, shared best practices with Royal Thai Navy P-3 aircrews during several symposiums, discussing maintenance, operations, mine-laying and search and rescue procedures.

The two navies then boarded each other’s aircraft on the ground and in the air, conducting joint mine laying missions and participating in air defense exercise missions with combined U.S. and Thai Navy surface groups at sea.

“The Thai Navy flies the P-3, so there was a lot of commonality already in our work and procedures,” said Lt. Cmdr. Kim DaCosta, a P-3C pilot and VP-4’s Officer in Charge for the CARAT mission. “The Thai aircrews integrated well with our aircrews, and that’s exactly what this exercise is all about – becoming familiar with one another so when we are called to work together, there’s a baseline of understanding and trust already there.”

During the exercise, VP-4 and the Royal Thai Navy’s 102nd Squadron assembled and dropped a total of 2 mines at sea, mission planned together and conducted various joint missions in support of other CARAT units.

The CARAT mission nears the end to VP-4’s deployment, which earlier saw its crews flying search and rescue missions over Japan for Operation Tomodachi. “Now our crew is making new friends with the Thais through CARAT, so it’s been a great experience,” she added.

Approximately 1,800 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel are participating in CARAT Thailand 2011. U.S. Navy ships from Task Group 73.1 include the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46), the guided-missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83), the frigate USS Reuben James (FFG 57), and the rescue and salvage ship USNS Safeguard (T-ARS 50). Additional participants include an amphibious landing force of Marines from 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines, U.S. Navy Seabees, a U.S. Coast Guard training team.

CARAT is a series of bilateral military exercises between the U.S. Navy and the Armed Forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Additionally, Vietnam participates in a CARAT-like skills exchange.


VP-4 Wrapping up Business in Misawa

Naval Air Facility Misawa

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Jose Lopez
Date: 03.29.2011
Posted: 03.29.2011 05:58
News ID: 67912
NAVAL AIR FACILTY MISAWA, Japan — Patrol Squadron (VP) 4 is preparing to depart Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan in the next few days after completing their mission in support of Operation Tomodachi.
VP-4 will return to Kadena Air Base, Japan, where they are currently on a six-month deployment from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
The squadron arrived March 12, to assist after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami that devastated northeast Japan.
“We were supporting the search-and-rescue operations and providing real time data on the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami,” said Lt. j.g. Hector Robles, a navigator-communicator with VP-4. “We surveyed the area and provided images and video to the USS Essex (LHD 2) and USS Ronald Regan (CVN 76).”
While assigned to NAF Misawa, two VP-4 aircraft flew 17 sorties, surveying various locations in the northeast coast of Japan. The four-propeller P-3C Orion had varying flight times, with some missions as short as three hours.
“The flight times vary,” said Robles, a native of Fajardo, Puerto Rico. “Some missions can keep a plane on station for up to ten hours.”
While the aircrafts were not performing their traditional role while in Misawa, Robles said he was proud of the work he and his crewmates performed on a daily basis.
“We are normally a tactical aircraft,” he said about the P-3C’s intended mission. “But when you do missions like these to assist people, it feels very rewarding.”
For more news from Naval Air Facility Misawa, visit https://www.cnic.navy.mil/misawa/index.htm or check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nafmisawa.
Related photos:

Videos of VP-4 found on the web

Howdy folks,

While working on the web site I found a couple of videos I thought I’d share with you all

Video 1: Commander Fleet Activities Okinawa, Part 1

Video 2: Commander Fleet Activities Okinawa, Part 2