Official VAW-121 Bluetails E-2D Dr.Dre Patch - Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 121 (VAW-121) E-2D Advanced Hawkeye morale embroidered patch, hook-and-loop backing.Bluetails in the stack, eyes on the battle space, and enough squadron personality to make the ready room laugh and the flight deck remember.VAW-121 was established on 1 April 1967 at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, where the squadron remains homeported today. Originally commissioned as the Griffins, the unit adopted the Bluetails call sign and its now-iconic blue tail flash during a 1978 deployment aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first carrier to operate the E-2C as a full fleet squadron. Over the following decades the Bluetails built one of the most decorated records in the airborne early warning community, earning multiple Battle Efficiency awards, AEW Excellence Awards, and CNO Safety citations across deployments spanning the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2014 the squadron became the second fleet unit to receive the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, closing out 37 years on the E-2C and stepping into the Navy's most capable carrier-based early warning and battle management platform. In 2017 the Bluetails deployed aboard USS Nimitz for Operation Inherent Resolve and became the first E-2 squadron to execute combat Defensive Counter-Air operations since 1991. The Dr. Dre morale patch sits squarely in the Navy aviation tradition of sharp, pop-culture-riffing designs that capture a deployment's humor and a crew's shared identity without saying anything that needs to stay in the spaces.Perfect For: VAW-121 veterans and current aircrew, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye enthusiasts, Navy carrier aviation collectors, Carrier Air Wing 17 alumni, USS Nimitz cruise book displays, morale patch panel builders, shadow boxes, flight bag and gear patches, deployment keepsakes, and anyone who appreciates the specific brand of ready-room humor that turns a famous name into a piece of squadron lore worth keeping.Bluetails heritage, battle-tested since 1967, stitched into one patch that knows exactly what it is.
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