2010 Isbell Trophy goes to VP-16 ‘War Eagles’

By Lt. j.g. Nichole Giampietro

VP-16 Public Affairs

The Captain Arnold Jay Isbell Trophy, sponsored by Lockheed Martin, was awarded to the VP-16 “War Eagles” recently for demonstrating superior anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASUW) acumen in the P-3 community.
Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11, Commodore Trey Wheeler presented VP-16 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Brad Rosen with the 2010 Isbell Trophy, citing the squadron’s ASW excellence and superb leadership within the community from October 2009 to September 2010.
“During that time, the War Eagles completed a rigorous tri-site deployment to EUCOM, Horn of Africa, and SOUTHCOM – in addition to executing numerous exercises and real-world missions while on its home cycle. VP-16 constantly ensured that Wing-11’s high standard of readiness was maintained,” said Wheeler.
Innovative tactics, aggressive on-station performance and optimization of resources enabled the squadron to excel at every turn during the 2010 Inter-Deployment Readiness Cycle.
During the 2009 Operational Readiness Evaluation (ORE), CPRW-11 evaluators commented that VP-16’s performance was, “by far, the highest ASW productivity during an ORE we have ever seen.”
VP-16 successfully operated from three areas of responsibility (AOR) during deployment, executing 98 percent of its sorties and flying more than 3,733 flight hours.
War Eagle combat aircrews put the multi-role capabilities of the P-3 on display by successfully executing theater security cooperation engagements, humanitarian missions, real-world ASW and ASUW operations, and fleet support missions.
They continuously honed their ASW skills by participating in eight multinational exercises while in the European Command AOR.
The War Eagles conducted joint operations in France, Ukraine, Finland, Scotland and Norway by successfully tracking evasive, real-world submarine contacts. They also flew around the clock in support of Operation Active Endeavour.
Skipper Rosen said, “The many and varied accomplishments of the War Eagle team has established them as the most trusted and consistent ASW/ASUW squadron based at NAS Jacksonville. VP-16 has proven itself as the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force standard bearer in ASW, Sea Control, deterrence, power projection, maritime security and overall readiness. Our level of pride, professionalism and operational effectiveness is matched only by our dedication and perseverance to accomplish the mission, regardless of the obstacles. We are humbled and honored to accept this award and will continue to lead the way for the MPRF community.”