“It was never the Electric Horsemen.” The call sign was always “Flashbacks.” Rich Affeld, former VAQ-34 XO
Two of the most renowned U.S. Navy attack aircraft, the A-3 Skywarrior and A-7 Corsair II, took on roles as adversary aircraft. The RA-3B and EA-7L, which were dedicated versions of the Skywarrior and Corsair II, operated within Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 34 (VAQ-34) as part of the Fleet Electronic Warfare Support Group (FEWSG) to mimic Soviet aircraft, frequently equipped with various jamming and ECM pods.
People often refer to VAQ-34 as the “Electric Horsemen,” but according to Joe Hawkins, who served as a former VAQ-34 A-3 Flying Plane Captain and maintainer as well as an EA-7L Maintainer, “Flashbacks” was the squadron’s true name. The initial logo featured “Pegasus,” the winged horse, while the second logo incorporated the Soviet “Red Star.”
Rich Affeld, who held the position of XO of VAQ-34 during the squadron’s establishment, confirmed Hawkins’ statement.
‘Joe Hawkins is correct; it was never the “Electric Horsemen.” The call sign was always “Flashbacks.” The first patch had a background of orange air since that was our usual role – as the air arm of the Orange forces. Pegasus was used by Zeus (king of the Greek gods) to carry his lightning bolts. The red star was directed by RADM “Bear” Taylor, when he was Commander, Light Attack Wing Pacific, to be the equivalent of the aggressor squadrons training Top Gun & Strike U. Some guys at a Navy publication came up with the Electric Horseman moniker in a story about the squadron.
‘We were pretty happy with “Flashbacks.” It was a call sign assigned by CNO upon our commissioning, but we interpreted it to mean that if the fleet was ever attacked by the Soviets, they should remember (have a flashback) the procedures and tactics they had to use against FEWSG. The first patch was designed by my son CJ, who was a very artistic 12-year-old at the time. John Millward wanted the Orange background and wanted a horse because he wanted the nickname “Chargers.” When we checked, another squadron already had that name, so, knowing Greek mythology, I proposed Pegasus. My son drew up the patch, John agreed, and we sent it to CNO for approval in January ’83. So, that’s the history of that patch.’
Further details on the VAQ-34 original logo are provided in the following official US Navy Press Release from 1987.
“Soviet red stars have been spreading like wildfire at Point Mugu.
Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Thirty Four (VAQ-34), the Navy’s west coast aggressor squadron has received permission to totally redefine its image.
As an aggressor squadron—one of only two in the Navy with the specific mission of utilizing electronic warfare tactics in training exercises VAQ-34 plays the role of hostile forces in training other Navy units.
To more accurately reflect that role, the squadron is changing its aircraft tail design from two lightning bolts to the most recognizable potentially hostile forces logo, that of a red star trimmed with a white border.
“At first, the idea was just to change the tail design,” said CDR. Rex Kibler (Camarillo), Commanding Officer of the squadron. “Then we decided to go ahead and change the whole nine yards.”
The ‘whole line yards” consisted of changing the units logo, which adorns the squadron’s hangar and appears on doors throughout the buildings. It is also used on memorabilia such as patches, t-shirts, nametags, and stickers.
The squadron’s logo had been based on the Greek mythological character Dellerophon, who triumphantly rode Pegasus into battle. The logo was Pegasus and a lightning bolt on a field of orange, the color signifying enemy forces in war games.
The new logo, designed by Airman Ireneo Espiritu (Oxnard) centers on the white-trimmed star on a field of red, white, and blue. The streamers’ stars Are those of the United States, and the red and white stripes at the bottom signify the stripes of the U.S. flag.
The Russian words at the top of the logo translate to EW Aggressor, the role of electronic warfare aggressor that the squadron plays in training. The missile represents an aggressor being acted upon by electronic warfare, the lightning bolts of VAQ-34.
“Although we chose the red star because of its obvious recognizability”, Kibler said, “It really signifies hostile forces in general.”
“The troops are really pumped up about the change”, he continued. “I think they can identify more closely with the mission we do when they see an aircraft rolling down the runway with Soviet markings.” And that says nothing about the feelings of the “good guys” who will be seeing that Red Star during training exercises!”
And that says nothing about the feelings of the “good guys” who will be seeing that Red Star during training exercises!”
Photo by U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force
