This is the desert version of the current squadron patch for VF-31. The “Tomcatters” are the second oldest Navy fighter squadron dating back to VF-1B on July 1935. They flew the F-4J Phantoms until transitioning to the F-14D Tomcat in January 1992. They pioneered the use of the TARPS pod for reconnaissance missions and participated in the Lebanon and Syrian conflicts, the latter of which they were engaged by hostile AAA and missile fire.
