Vaq-133 Grizzley Shoulder Patch – Wizards Alpha Jammer Embroidered Badge

Description

VAQ-133 Wizards Alpha Jammer Grizzley Shoulder Patch — Owning the Electromagnetic Spectrum, One Orbit at a Time

When the Wizards are airborne, the enemy’s radars go dark and their radios go silent.

Electronic Attack Squadron 133 (VAQ-133) — the ‘Wizards,’ callsign ‘Magic’ — is one of the U.S. Navy’s premier EA-18G Growler squadrons, based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. First established on March 4, 1969 at NAS Alameda, California as the ‘Golden Zappers’ flying the EKA-3B Skywarrior, VAQ-133 relocated to Whidbey Island in 1971 and transitioned to the EA-6B Prowler, becoming one of the Navy’s first dedicated electronic warfare squadrons. After disestablishment in 1992, the Wizards were reborn on April 1, 1996 as a land-based expeditionary electronic attack squadron, deploying to combat zones across the globe including Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, and Al Asad Air Base in Iraq — flying combat sorties in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn. In 2013, the Wizards ‘sun-downed’ the venerable Prowler and transitioned to the EA-18G Growler, returning to carrier-based operations with Carrier Air Wing Nine. In 2018 they completed a historic around-the-world combat deployment aboard USS John C. Stennis, flying their first Growler combat missions into Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom’s Sentinel. Most recently, in 2024, VAQ-133 made history again by becoming the first Navy squadron to deploy with the ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer aboard USS Abraham Lincoln — demonstrating the future of Airborne Electronic Attack. This Alpha Jammer Grizzley shoulder patch represents the aircrew and maintainers who keep the Wizards’ magic alive in the electromagnetic battlespace.

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