VR-62

Fleet Logistics Support Squadron SIX TWO FLELOGSUPPRON SIX TWO VR-62
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Navy Reserve
Type	Fleet Logistics Support Squadron
Role	Medium Airlift
Stationed	NAS Jacksonville, Florida
Nickname(s)	Nomads
Insignia
Aircraft flown
Transport	McDonnell Douglas C-9B Skytrain II Lockheed C-130T Hercules

Overview[]

Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 62 (VR-62), nicknamed the Nomads, is one of five U.S. Navy Reserve squadrons operating the Lockheed C-130T Hercules medium-lift cargo aircraft. Based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, the squadron is manned by a combination of traditional part-time drilling Selected Reservists (SELRES) and a full-time active duty Navy Reserve cadre known as Training and Administration of the Reserve (TAR) personnel (previously known as Full Time Support (FTS) personnel from August 2006 to November 2021).^[1]

Mission[]

VR-62 provides Navy Unique Fleet Essential Airlift (NUFEA), a capability totally resident in the Naval Air Force Reserve, comprising 24 C-130T Hercules aircraft in five squadrons and 17 Boeing C-40A Clipper^[2] aircraft in an additional six squadrons for responsive, flexible and rapidly deployable air logistics support to combat operations at sea and from the sea. The C-130T fills the U.S. Navy's airlift requirements for outside cargo and, prior to the introduction of the Bell Boeing CMV-22B Osprey,^[3] was the only U.S. Navy aircraft capable of internally lifting all modules of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine for the Lockheed Martin F-3B Lightning II STOVL variant strike fighter flown by the U.S. Marine Corps from WASP class and AMERICA class amphibious assault ships and the F-35C CATOBAR variant strike fighter flown by both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps from NIMITZ class and GERALD R. FORD class aircraft carriers.^[4]

The C-130T also provides the U.S. Navy with the unique ability to deliver passengers and cargo to austere locations, including unprepared fields and runways less than 3,000 feet long.^[5]

History[]

VR-62 was established on 1 July 1985 at then-Naval Air Facility Detroit, a tenant activity at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan under the operational control of Commander, Fleet Logistics Support Wing (COMFLELOGSUPWING) at then-Naval Air Station Dallas, Texas. In February 1988, the squadron began providing logistics support flights operating the McDonnell Douglas C-9B Skytrain II aircraft, adopting the squadron nickname of Motowners in view of their proximity to Detroit. Following nine years of outstanding airlift service to the fleet and with the 1991 BRAC-directed realignment of NAF Detroit as Naval Air Reserve Center Detroit (NAVAIRESCEN Detroit), the VR-62 Motowners were ordered to change their homeport and transition to the newly acquired C-130T aircraft. In 1994, the squadron changed its homeport from NAF Detroit to Naval Air Station South Weymouth, Massachusetts, and adopted a new nickname of Mass Transport.^[6]

VR-62 retired its C-9B aircraft and received their first of four C-130T aircraft in January 1995. Following several months of rigorous transition training, VR-62 began its operational commitments with the C-130T, sending squadron detachments to Sicily, Japan and Bahrain in support of worldwide naval operations.^[7]

The 1995 BRAC commission ordered the disestablishment and closure of NAS South Weymouth and VR-62 was again ordered to change their homeport. In 1996, the squadron relocated to Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine, and received yet another nickname as the Nor' Easters. A subsequent 2005 BRAC commission ordered the disestablishment and closure of NAS Brunswick and VR-62 relocated to their present homeport of NAS Jacksonville in 2009. With this move, the squadron adopted their current nickname of the Nomads, a tongue-in-cheek reference to their three previous BRAC-directed moves.^[8]

VR-62 continues to report to COMFLELOGSUPWING, the latter command now located at NAS JRB Fort Worth (former Carswell AFB), Texas. Now equipped with six C-130T aircraft and manned by 215 personnel, the squadron consists of 85 active duty TAR and 130 drilling SELRES. Of the officers, a total of 35 TAR and SELRES are pilots, all on operational flight status as Naval Aviators. The remaining 180 personnel perform various roles in aircraft maintenance, squadron administration, safety, and operations. A portion of the squadron's SELRES and TAR enlisted force are also on active flight status as Naval Aircrewmen, flying as C-130T flight engineers and loadmasters.^[9]

In many respects, VR-62's operational tempo is practically indistinguishable from that of an active duty Regular Navy aviation squadron. The squadron's SELRES pilots and enlisted flight crewmembers readily perform twice the amount of military duty, if not three or four times as much, as the traditional one weekend drill a month and two weeks active duty per year model typically associated with most Reserve Component organizations and personnel in the U.S. Armed Forces.^[10]

Today, VR-62 remains an integral part of fleet support having transported in excess of 29,500 passengers and over 29 million pounds of cargo since receiving the C-130T aircraft. ^[11]

A Lockheed Martin C-130T Hercules (BuNo 165348) from the Nomads of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron SIX TWO (VR-62) arrives at NAS Jacksonville. VR-62 is the first C-130 squadron to be home based at NAS Jacksonville since the air station was established on 15 October 1940.

See also[]

• History of the United States Navy
• List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons
• List of Inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons

References[]