VT - 86 VT - 86 ' SabreHawks ' or Training Squadron 86 is an aircraft training squadron of the United States Navy . History . Training Squadron 86 is known by several names : TRARON EIGHT SIX , VT - 86 , or simply the " Sabrehawks " , a name derived from its history of flying the T - 39 D / G / N Sabreliner and the TA - 4J Skyhawk II . The squadron was commissioned on the 5th of June 1972 , under the operational control of Commander , Training Air Wing EIGHT ( TRAWING 8 ) at Naval Air Station Glynco , Georgia . The mission of the new squadron was to conduct advanced Naval Flight Officer ( NFO ) training , which had previously been overseen by Naval Air Technical Training Center ( NATTC ) Glynco . The training was in four areas : Radar Intercept Officer , Basic Jet Navigation , Airborne Electronic Warfare and Airborne Tactical Data Systems . Training was conducted in aircraft previously assigned to and supported by NATTC Glynco until February 1973 , when the squadron accepted 24 T - 39 Sabreliner , 20 A - 4C Skyhawk , 2 EC - 121K Warning Star , and 12 TS - 2A Tracker aircraft and approximately 350 enlisted maintenance and support personnel from NATTC and NAS Glynco . After receiving the aircraft and personnel , the squadron ’ s mission was expanded to include flight support for Air Intercept Control and Ground Controlled Approach training functions . Following a decision to close NAS Glynco and deactivate TRAWING 8 , a Sabrehawk detachment was established at Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida in March 1974 . On 1 June 1974 , the squadron commenced flight operations at Naval Air Station Pensacola under operational command of Commander , Training Air Wing SIX ( TRAWING 6 ) , training Naval Flight Officer s for nearly all carrier - based aircraft . Since its establishment , Training Squadron EIGHT SIX has received numerous awards to include multiple Meritorious Unit Commendations , the Training Effectiveness Award from the Chief of Naval Air Training ( CNATRA ) , the CNATRA Retention Award , the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award and 26 CNATRA Safety awards for accident - free operations . The squadron later amassed over 310 , 000 mishap - free flight hours and received the Admiral John H . Towers Safety Award and the Chief of Naval Education and Training ( CNET ) Shore / Technical Training Excellence Award . In 1994 , Training Squadron EIGHT SIX ’ s role was expanded to include the training of U . S . Air Force Navigators / Combat Systems Officer s ( CSO ) slated for eventual assignment as Weapon Systems Officer s ( WSO ) in fighter and bomber aircraft . To date , the command has trained over 7 , 200 Naval Flight Officers for the U . S . Navy and U . S . Marine Corps and over 1 , 400 Navigators / Combat Systems Officer s for the U . S . Air Force . The command has also historically provided training to international students . In 1996 , VT - 86 ' s responsibilities also entailed training international officer students from Saudi Arabia , Italy , Singapore , and Germany ; nearly 200 International Military Trainees have earned their wings through VT - 86 . Today , VT - 86 trains Naval Flight Officers in the U . S . Navy ' s T - 39 Sabreliner and T - 45C Goshawk . Retirement of the T - 2C Buckeye , which preceded the T - 45 , was completed in September 2008 . Today , VT - 86 ' s mission is to provide advanced flight instruction to Student Naval Flight Officer s ( NFO ) destined for strike fighter , bomber and electronic warfare aircraft . The squadron syllabus builds on that training previously received in the primary and intermediate NFO training squadrons , with additional emphasis on systems , instrument and radar navigation , radar intercept and attack , high - speed low - level flight , advanced aerial combat maneuvering and advanced communications . Upon completion of VT - 86 ' s program , newly - winged NFOs undergo further training at the respective Fleet Replacement Squadrons ( FRS ) for their new aircraft before reporting to their first operational Fleet squadron . VT - 86 previously trained NFOs for many well - known retired aircraft such as the F - 14 Tomcat , F - 4 Phantom II , A - 6 Intruder , RA - 5C Vigilante , R RF - 4B Phantom II , S - 3 Viking , ES - 3 Shadow , and the A - 3 Skywarrior ( whose variants included the KA - 3 , EKA - 3 , ERA - 3 , EA - 3 and TA - 3 ) . In addition , VT - 86 previously provided training for the still serving E - 2 Hawkeye until that mission was assumed by the E - 2 Fleet Replacement Squadrons in the mid - 1970s when NAS Glynco closed . Today , new Naval Flight Officer s graduating from VT - 86 go on to fly either the Navy F / A - 18F Super Hornet , Marine Corps F / A - 18D Hornet , Navy EA - 18G Growler or the Navy or Marine Corps EA - 6B Prowler . German Air Force ( " Luftwaffe " ) and German Navy ( " Deutsche Marine " ) Navigators / WSOs go on to fly either the Panavia Tornado Interdictor / Strike ( IDS ) or Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance ( ECR ) variants , while some Luftwaffe WSOs will also fly the F - 4 Phantom II . Italian Air Force Navigators / WSOs go on to fly the Panavia Tornado IDS and ECR variants . Royal Saudi Air Force WSOs go on to fly the F - 15S Strike Eagle and the Panavia Tornado IDS and Air Defence ( ADV ) variants . Republic of Singapore Air Force WSOs currently go on to fly the F - 16D Fighting Falcon , but in addition , will also soon fly the F - 15SG Strike Eagle . Training squadron EIGHTY - SIX is presently staffed by approximately 80 U . S . Navy and U . S . Marine Corps officers . Additional instructor pilots , instructor NFOs and instructor WSOs augment VT - 86 and are sourced from the TRAWING 6 staff , Naval Aviation Schools Command staff , and part - time Navy Reserve pilots and Navy Reserve NFOs embedded in TRAWING 6 ' s and VT - 86 ' s respective Reserve Component units . German and Italian Navigator / WSO instructors also support VT - 86 training operations , although they are administratively assigned to colocated German Air Force ( Luftwaffe ) and Italian Air Force training squadrons at NAS Pensacola . With the ever - changing strategy of national defense for the United States and that of its NATO and Allied partners , VT - 86 will continue to train Navy , Marine Corps and international officers in preparation for flying the world ’ s most advanced and complex tactical combat aircraft . VT - 86 celebrated its 25th anniversary of mishap - free flying on April 8 , 2002 . Since its inception in June 1972 , VT - 86 has logged more than 332 , 000 mishap - free flight hours and has the distinction of maintaining the longest documented accident - free period of any active flying squadron in Naval Aviation history . This flight - hour total and cumulative time without mishaps also represents the longest mishap - free safety record in Naval Air Training Command history . Over the years , VT - 86 has also earned twenty - seven Chief of Naval Air Training safety awards for accident - free operations and it also won the Admiral John H . Towers Safety Award in 1995 . The 25 years of mishap - free flying 332 , 000 hours breaks down to more than 1 , 100 hours per month . General information . Upon graduation from Basic Student NFO Training at Training Squadron TEN ( VT - 10 ) at NAS Pensacola , Navy and certain international students selected to fly large land - based aircraft such as the P - 3C Orion , EP - 3E Aries or the E - 6B Mercury TACAMO aircraft will report to Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training . After graduation from Intermediate NFO Training at VT - 10 , those Navy students and international selected to fly the E - 2C / D Hawkeye will report to Airborne Early Warning Squadron ONE TWENTY ( VAW - 120 ) at Naval Station Norfolk / Chambers Field , Virginia . All other students report to VT - 86 .