Cmdr. LaBranche Quotations

I will miss flying the Tomcat very much. Saying good bye to the Tomcat will be like saying good bye to an old friend, but in the best interest of our people, it must be done.

Our entire crew is acutely aware of the historic nature of being the very last Tomcat squadron.

From its inception, the Tomcat has been the icon of Naval Aviation with its striking appearance, speed, formidable lethality, and versatility. It is more capable today than at any other time during its existence because of the innovation, dedication, and tenacity of every maintainer and pilot who has ever been associated with it.

It takes about three to four times more maintenance man-hours per flight hour to maintain than the newer Hornet. Retiring the extremely relevant but maintenance intensive Tomcat was a way to save the exhaustive efforts of our people and better spend their labors.

Everyone has worked very hard, pulled together and with purpose to ensure we retire this naval aviation icon appropriately and commensurate with its long and proud legacy.

As we near the end of the Tomcat's last deployment, we are proud of our legacy and take solace in the fact that the Tomcat is going out at the top of its game, but also regret saying farewell to an old, revered and trusted friend.