Tactical Warfare Squadron ONE FOUR ONE (VAQ-141)
Insignia of the Harriers.
The Harriers have a long and splendid lineage dating back a hundred and eleven years. Founded on Scorpia in response to the growing Leonisian threat as Space Defense Squadron Twelve, the Harriers saw heavy action during the ensuing civil war, acquitting themselves well despite their obsolescent planes and relatively green pilots. By the end of the conflict, their ranks had been decimated and replenished so many times that they'd earned their macabre informal nickname: the "Revolving Doors." Since then, the Harriers have identified themselves to each other by means of a plus sign embedded in a circle — a revolving door seen from the air, subtle tribute to their honored dead.
When the First Cylon War broke out, Space Defense Squadron Twelve — now equipped with early-model Raptors produced by its home Colony — lived up to its grim reputation once again, losing two-thirds of its number in the initial Cylon ambush. Those crews that survived jumped to Leonis to regroup, where to their chagrin they found themselves folded into the Leonisian command structure. Reconstituted as Tactical Warfare Squadron ONE FOUR ONE (VAQ-141), the Harriers spent the next several years on the run with the rest of the surviving Leonisian forces until a fleet had been gathered of sufficient strength to assault the Scorpian Shipyards. VAQ-141 paved the way for the reclamation of its home with a bang heard around the Colonies, unloading a full ten tactical nuclear weapons into a pair of unsuspecting Cylon-crewed battleships during a daring hit-and-run attack. While the Harriers' raid inflicted only superficial damage, the resulting Cylon redeployment permitted the Colonials to surround and annihilate the enemy fleet. Miraculously, VAQ-141 sustained only one casualty during this its finest hour: a bloody nose on one of its ECOs, who had failed to strap herself into her harness before the in-system jump.
Following the Armistice, VAQ-141 moved about the Cyrannus System on various carriers and bases, performing roles as varied as its stations: search and rescue on Aquaria, surveying on Canceron, even planetary pacification on Sagittaron. Its commendable performance during that last mission led directly to its transfer to Carrier Fighter Wing ONE FOUR and the Battlestar Cerberus. But despite its new Squadron Leader and several new flight crew, VAQ-141's commitment to upholding the memory of its storied past has wavered not one whit.
The motto of the Harriers is Nec temere, nec timide: "Neither rashly nor timidly."
Mission
The Harriers' fundamental mission is to provide that holy trinity of electronic warfare: surveillance (searching for, intercepting, identifying, and locating sources of EM energy for threat recognition, targeting, and planning of future operations); attack (assaulting electronic equipment with the intent of degrading, neutralizing, or destroying enemy combat capability); and protection (safeguarding friendly facilities and equipment from enemy surveillance and attack).
The pilots and ECOs of VAQ-141 are also trained in the use of heavy munitions, though these weapons are only mounted on their Raptors' hardpoints when required by special mission circumstances.
OOC Note: This means you should NOT assume you're flying into combat with a full loadout of missiles and whatnot unless you've received explicit instructions to the contrary!
Recent Deployments
- Carrier Fighter Wing ONE FOUR (CVW-14: "The Fighting Fourteenth"), Battlestar Cerberus (BS-132), current station
- 3rd Battalion 11th Marines ("Arrowheads"), Fort Argus, Sagittaron, 2036-2040 AE, 48 months
- Carrier Fighter Wing TWO NINE (CVW-29: "Shooting Stars"), Escort Carrier Pasiphae (CEC-254), Canceron, 2032-2036 AE, 48 months
- CVW-29, Escort Carrier Pasiphae, Aquaria, 2024-2032 AE, 96 months
Command Staff
- CPT Kal "Bootstrap" Trask: Squadron Leader
- CPT Maggie "Jugs" Quinn: Deputy Squadron Leader
Resources
Electronic Warfare — Likely all you'd ever need to know about what it is to be an ECO.
The Raptor Guide — All the information that's fit to print about the most versatile boat in the Navy.