From the President,

Though the VQ squadrons were made up of some of the largest aviation commands in the Navy we comprise a relatively small number of individuals. As we know these people had very special talents and most had an almost fanatical dedication to the job they were performing. As one of my newly wed operators told me, after an exceptionally long period of deployment in beautiful downtown Diego Garcia, during the Iranian Hostage crisis, “ there is nothing they (they, being VQ ops) can do to make me quit”. This sort of commitment and loyalty to the community are what has kept us together all these years. Following that line, many of the sailors who served in VQ did so more than once and many in more than one of the commands. This camaraderie and continuing fellowship is what lead to the creation of this Association in 1989. Since that time the word has gotten out slowly about the organization which meets once a year, rotating sites from the West Coast to the Middle States to the East Coast and back again. Each meeting we meet associates we have not seen in years and reminisce about current and past events involving the VQ community.

What we need most is to get the word out about the organization and to enlist new members. As with many organizations these days we see our group getting older and thinning. We need to cultivate members from the active duty community and the recently retired to keep it viable. We don’t want to become just an old boys drinking club we need to provide our members with a meaningful organization. I solicit your ideas on how to make this happen and encourage you to bring your ideas to the next gathering.

Clint
Clint Epley
President, VQ Association