The fleet is losing one of its 10 carrier air wings this fall, and with it thousands of personnel and dozens of aircraft will be scattered to plus-up the rest of the fleet. If the 2017 budget plan is approved, the carrier air wing will begin its shutdown in October, Navy spokesman Lt. j.g. Kara Yingling told Navy Times.

The one to go is Carrier Air Wing 14, based out of Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, which hasn’t deployed since 2011 or been fully staffed since 2013. Squadrons have rotated in and out since then, Naval Air Forces spokeswoman Cmdr. Jeannie Groeneveld told Navy Times.

The ones that will leave the wing are:

  • Strike Fighter Squadron 15 out of Naval Air Station Oceana. It’s the Navy’s oldest legacy F/A-18 Hornet squadron, and the aircraft could end up at training squadrons or in the reserve, Groeneveld said, after the squadron shuts down.
  • Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 112 at Naval Base Ventura, California, to shutter in fiscal 2017.
  • Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 15 out of Naval Station North Island, California, slated to be disbanded in fiscal 2017.
  • Electronic Attack Squadron 134 at Whidbey Island, Washington. This squadron will not deactivate, but will become a land-based expeditionary squadron that will deploy with detachments, Groeneveld said.
  • Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 76, which cancels the planned 2017 stand-up of the squadron in Jacksonville, Florida.

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