THE STORY BEHIND THE US NAVY HEADLINES
IT HAS BEEN 17 years since US Secretary of the Navy Gordon England signed the memorandum of agreement for the Tactical Aircraft Integration Plan (TACAIR integration) for the US Navy and US Marine Corps. The plan called for the integration of 10 marine fighter-attack (VMFA) squadrons into the 10 navy carrier air wings (CVWs), replacing a like number of navy strike fighter (VFA) squadrons in those wings. Three VFAs would join in the rotation to the Unit Deployment Program (UDP) in Japan, replacing some VMFAs. The plan was to be implemented fully by 2012.
