Carrier Air Wing Three Carrier Air Wing Three ( CVW - 3 ) , known as the " Battle Axe " , is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana , Virginia . The wing was created on 1 July 1938 and has seen service in World War II , Korea , the Cuban Missile Crisis , Vietnam , Lebanon , against Libya , and since September 11 , 2001 . As of 2012 , the air wing is routinely embarked aboard USS Harry S . Truman ( CVN - 75 ) as part of Carrier Strike Group Ten . Captain Sara A . Joyner , USN , became the first woman to lead a U . S . Navy carrier air wing when she took command of Carrier Air Wing Three on 7 January 2013 . Mission . " To conduct carrier air warfare operations and assist in the planning , control , coordination and integration of seven air wing squadrons in support of carrier air warfare including ; Interception and destruction of enemy aircraft and missiles in all - weather conditions to establish and maintain local air superiority . All - weather offensive air - to - surface attacks , Detection , localization , and destruction of enemy ships and submarines to establish and maintain local sea control . Aerial photographic , sighting , and electronic intelligence for naval and joint operations . Airborne early warning service to fleet forces and shore warning nets . Airborne electronic countermeasures . In - flight refueling operations to extend the range and the endurance of air wing aircraft and Search and rescue operations . " Subordinate units . CVW - 3 consists of 8 Squadrons History . WWII . The air wing was commissioned on 1 July 1938 and during World War II was assigned to the first carrier to bear the name ( USS Saratoga ( CV - 3 ) ) . The wing was deployed on " Saratoga " until the ship was torpedoed in January 1942 . Part of the wing was then deployed aboard USS Yorktown ( CV - 5 ) and helped cripple the Japanese carrier Soryu during the battle of Midway . The wing was also involved in the first carrier strikes against Tokyo . Korean War . The air wing was assigned to the USS Leyte ( CV - 32 ) in 1950 when she transited the Panama Canal en route to Korean War operations . The Wing flew in support of the Pusan Perimeter , the invasion on Wonsanand , and strikes on Hungnam Salient and Yalu River Bridges . The wing accumulated over 11 , 000 operational hours flying against the North Korean and Chinese Communist Forces . Missile Crisis . During refresher training in the Caribbean Sea in December 1962 , CVW - 3 was on station during the Cuban Missile Crisis " " . At end of the 1960s the air wing took on Reserve Squadrons during the USS " Pueblo " incident . CVW - 3 squadrons embarked with the Royal Navy ' s 892 Naval Air Squadron for two weeks , and flew in response to a number of events in the Mediterranean including ; hijackings , internal fighting in Jordan , and the death of Egyptian President Nasser . Vietnam . In the early 1970s CVW - 3 began the task of testing the new CV Concept , to incorporating the missions of attack squadrons and anti - submarine submarine squadrons . After completing their missions successfully the CV Concept was validated and implemented . In 1972 , CVW - 3 was given 60 hours notice before deploying around South Africa en route to Vietnam . Operations there saw CVW - 3 provide strike and support sorties in South Vietnam , Alpha strike s , AAW missions , and reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam . The wings first kill came on 21 June when an F - 4J Phantom II downed a MIG - 21 . Dropping over 14 , 000 tons of ordnance , CVW - 3 spent 175 days on the line engaged in combat operations against North Vietnam . Lebanon . CVW - 3 was assigned to the , in 1981 and participated in air strikes against Lebanon in support of United States Marines stationed there . Libya . In January 1989 , two CVW - 3 F - 14 Tomcats shot down two hostile Libyan MIG - 23 fighters over international waters in the Central Mediterranean . In August 1990 , CVW - 3 and " JFK " departed on a no - notice Mediterranean / Red Sea deployment in support of Operation Desert Shield , and air crews later flew combat sorties in association with Operation Desert Storm against Iraq . In 1994 - 95 , CVW - 3 made a single deployment aboard to the Mediterranean Sea . For the next deployment in 1996 - 97 , the wing transferred to . The wing concluded a successful 24th Mediterranean Sea / Persian Gulf deployment aboard the , in 1998 - 99 . During this time , the wing aircraft participated in Operation Desert Fox , a four day strike campaign against Iraq in December 1998 . Global War on Terror . In 2000 , CVW - 3 , was assigned to on her maiden deployment . The early months of 2001 saw the air wing operating in the Persian Gulf , conducting Response Options strikes , to include the largest strike over Iraq since Operation Desert Fox , in support of Operations Southern Wact and Maritime Interception Operations . This was the longest period any carrier had spent in the Gulf since Operation Desert Storm . The Air Wing completed its 25th deployment and returned home on 23 May 2001 . On 5 December 2002 , CVW - 3 departed for its 26th deployment to the Mediterranean , in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and on 20 March 2003 , CVW - 3 participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom , taking part in defensive counter air missions in Western Iraq , launching aircraft off the coast of Egypt in the South Eastern Mediterranean . CVW - 3 made four deployments aboard " Harry S . Truman " to the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean between 2004 and 2010 . First female CAG . On 7 January 2013 , Captain Sara A . Joyner , USN , took command of Carrier Air Wing Three , becoming the first woman to lead a U . S . Navy carrier air wing as well as the air wing ' s 57th CAG . Before assuming command of CVW - 3 , Joyner had served as its deputy commander . CVW - 3 began its current deployment to the U . S . 5th and 6th Fleet on 22 July 2013 .