CVW-17 “Team Quicksand”

Story and photos by Steve Lewis

This will begin a series of articles that covers one of the most important assets in the entire United States military’s arsenal, the power of the United States Navy Carrier Air Wing. While not a single entity, each section of an Air Wing is an integral part to one of the most feared and formidable forces on earth. Make no mistake though, the men and women that make up the air wing are even more vital and important than the equipment itself. It takes everyone doing their part, no matter how small it may seem, to allow the wing to execute their mission wherever it may be needed.

Carrier Air Wings (CVWs) are generally comprised of four Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA), one Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ), one Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW), one Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM), one Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC), and will be assigned one Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) flying C-2 Greyhounds or one Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) flying CMV-22 Ospreys.

There are currently nine active Carrier Air Wings (CVWs) within the United States Navy.

Each of these CVWs is assigned to a different aircraft carrier which is the centerpiece of a much larger Carrier Strike Group (CSG), of which there are currently 11. The offset in numbers allows for regular maintenance, upgrades, and flexibility. Carrier Air Wings will also be transferred to different aircraft carriers as needed, and the same can be said regarding the squadrons operating within an air wing.

I am following along with one of these air wings, CVW-17, known as Team Quicksand, to get a deeper look into what makes a carrier air wing such a powerful deterrent and whenever needed, a very lethal asset in America’s arsenal.

In this series, I will give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse during their workup cycle as they advance towards a scheduled deployment.

First, let’s get to know the ‘Wing’ a bit better.

Today, Team Quicksand is commanded by Captain Brent ‘Bob’ Jaquith and is currently assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68), the flagship of CSG-11.

CVW-17 currently consists of the following squadrons:

VFA-22 Fighting Red Cocks, (F/A-18F Super Hornet)

VFA-94 Shrikes (F/A-18E Super Hornet)

VFA-137 Kestrels (F/A-18E Super Hornet)

VFA-146 Blue Diamonds (F/A-18E Super Hornet)

VAQ-139 Cougars (E/A-18G Growler)

VAW-121 Bluetails (E-2D Hawkeye)

HSM-73 Battle Cats MH-60R Seahawk

HSC-6 Indians MH-60S Seahawk

CVW-17 was established on November 1, 1966. Originally assigned to the USS Forrestal in 1966, they didn’t have to wait long until they saw their first deployment in June of 1967 to Vietnam.

Through 1982 they embarked on the Forrestal for 11 deployments to the Mediterranean Sea. Beginning in 1982, they cross-decked to the USS Saratoga and made six deployments over six years as the Forrestal entered a three-year maintenance phase.

In 1983 CVW-17 also operated off the USS Independence for a few weeks and from the USS Constellation in 1993.

In August of 1990, while back aboard the Saratoga, CVW-17 was dispatched to patrol the skies over Kuwait during Operation Desert Shield. At 0300 on January 17, 1991, CVW-17 struck its first targets in Iraq on the way to delivering almost 4 million lbs of ordnance in 43 days during Operation Desert Storm.

After returning home in March of 1991, CVW-17 and the USS Saratoga soon set sail again. In 1992, the Wing was involved in Operations Deny Flight and Provide Promise over Yugoslavia and Operation Southern Watch over Iraq, logging in excess of 22,500 flight hours.

In June 1994, CVW-17 was transferred to the USS Enterprise who they deployed with in 1996. Upon their return, they were transferred to the USS Dwight D Eisenhower and in 1998, returned to the Mediterranean. Following this cruise, they transferred carriers once again, this time to the USS George Washington. In 2000, they made a deployment aboard the Washington earning 52 awards which included: Six Battle “E”s, four Safety “S”s, the RADM McCluskey award (most outstanding attack squadron), the RADM Clifton award (recognizes meritorious achievement by a fighter squadron while deployed aboard a carrier), and the first ever RADM Ramage award (top aircraft carrier/air wing team for best performance as an integrated unit and excellence in Navy aircraft carrier operations).

In mid 2002, CVW-17 conducted strikes from the deck of the Washington on targets in Afghanistan against al Qaeda and the Taliban during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Upon returning from this cruise, the air wing was reassigned to the USS John F. Kennedy in 2004 and set sail on “Big John’s” last deployment prior to its decommissioning. During this six-and-a-half-month voyage, CVW-17 joined the US Air Force and US Marine Corps in striking several key targets in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as other ongoing operations in the region. In total, CVW-17 aircraft flew 8,296 sorties, 4,396 of them in support of OIF ground forces, and averaged 38 missions a day during the height of the combat operations. During this period, CVW-17 dropped 54,000 lbs of ordnance, including the US Navy’s first two 500 lb Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) on Iraq.

In 2008, CVW-17, with a mixture of squadrons, (the strike fighter squadrons coming from CVW-7, and the rest of the wing being from 17) accompanied the USS Washington from Norfolk, Virginia to San Diego, California.

The Air Wing was then reassigned to the USS Carl Vinson, part of CSG-1. In early 2010, the Carl Vinson was utilized in a humanitarian relief mission off the coast of Haiti after the major earthquake that devastated the country. CVW-17 mainly consisted of detachments of six helicopter squadrons performing disaster relief missions in the area to those in need.

Later in that year, the Carl Vinson deployed with the full complement of CVW-17 on a scheduled deployment to support Operation Enduring Freedom once again. Upon returning from that deployment however, with only a short time at home, they were sent back in a ‘surge’ to provide more than 1000 additional combat sorties.

Late in 2012, CVW-17 completed a home port change from NAS Oceana in Virginia to NAS Lemoore in California where they are stationed today. Team Quicksand deployed from August of 2014 to June of 2015 supporting strike operations in and around Syria and Iraq. They flew over 12,300 missions delivering more than 230 tons of ordnance.

In 2016 CVW-17 was reassigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt as a part of CSG-9 and supported Operation Inherent Resolve.

In 2017 Team Quicksand was assigned to CSG-11 and the USS Nimitz, with whom they sail on today. In March of 2020, they set sail on a record breaking 11-month cruise to the 5th, 6th, and 7th fleet areas of responsibility and supported Operations Inherent Resolve, Octave Quartz, and Freedom’s Sentinel.

They deployed again from late 2022 through mid 2023 aboard the Nimitz focusing on defending the Indo-Pacific region. During this most recent cruise, Team Quicksand was able to showcase their tactical superiority and lethality during several multi-national exercises with partner nations while enhancing stability and maritime security in the region.

Although I couldn’t find any definitive public records pinpointing the exact origins of the Air Wing’s call sign ‘Quicksand,’ the name seems fitting. Team Quicksand embodies adaptability and resilience making them a formidable and lethal force. As the name suggests, once the enemy is engaged, escape is impossible.

In the next part of the series, I will look into the individual squadrons within Team Quicksand.