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Home / West/Pac / 1981 VMFP-3 ) 1981 Detachment Charlie By Marc "Devil Dog Of The Web" Iseli / Updated Dec. 2025 VMFP-3, 1981: Det Charlie packed up four RF-4Bs, RF116 153092, RF115 153110, RF117 153103, RF120 153108, 14 Officers and 150 enlisted personnel. 14 officers, and 150 of the finest enlisted knuckle-draggers on 5 June and pointed our noses west for a TransPac. We rolled into Iwakuni, relieved Det Bravo, and by 20 June, the handoff was official. Our job? Keep the recon game going strong in the Western Pacific, because apparently the Soviets and every other bad guy in the neighborhood didn’t take summers off. The USS Midway and CVW-5 were bouncing around every patch of ocean from the Philippine Sea to the Indian Ocean, and the Cold War was still in full swing. We weren’t just playing war games, real-world intel was the name of the game, and we were up to our eyeballs in it. Even though we were parked at Iwakuni, Det Charlie wasn’t part of the local crowd. We answered to MAG-12, which meant we were under 1st MAW’s watchful eye, lucky us. We were the only ones in CVW-5 with real recon gear, so if you wanted eyes on target before or after a strike, or needed to know if you actually hit what you aimed at, you called us. We mapped out air defenses, snapped shots of Soviet ships lurking around, kept tabs on shipping lanes, and played photo support for every Marine landing exercise they could dream up. Nobody else on the boat had the RF-4B’s bag of tricks, so if you wanted the good stuff, you came knocking on our door.  
Marine Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron 3 WestPac Deployment Det Charlie Deployed 05 June 1981 To 15 January 1982 1st Marine Aircraft Wing Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, japan Movement Control Officer Capt. M. Healey Commanding Officer Major J. Thomas
1981 Det Charlie Timeline TransPac Party Hawaii, Guam, Wake Island MCAS Iwakuni, Japan Marine Corps Air Station USS Midway Life On The Mud Duck Temorary Assigned Duty Clark Air Base/Subic Bay,Philippines Liberty Call, Japan The Kintai Bridge, Miyajima Island Detatchment Termination, PDF 1030 15 Jan. 82 Iwakuni -1345 15 Jan. 82 El Toro
Notable Events Air Florida Flight 90 Crashes 13 January, 1982 Killing 75 By Marc "Devil Dog Of The Web" Iseli / Updated Dec. 2025 We finally dragged our sorry selves into Hawaii, just long enough to suck down some jet fuel and pretend we weren’t dead on our feet after the marathon haul from Iwakuni. The airport TV was blaring about Air Florida 90 taking a nosedive into the Potomac, killing 75. Just what you want to see before strapping in for another five-hour hop back to El Toro. Morale was high, as you can imagine, but still in the back of my mind, the possibility that anything could happen during this final leg home. Alright, you glorious Rat Phixers and Phlyers, if we ever survived a TAD, a Det, or a BOHICA, who haven't, and you didn’t think I was the biggest gaff off in the squadron. Got a sea story, or some grainy photos your ex didn’t set on fire, and they’re only slightly illegal? Send ‘em by email, snail mail, or safety wire it to a carrier pigeon. I collect ‘em all, just nothing that would incriminate me. 80svmfp3@gmail.com Return To The Home Page  |
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