VFA - 136 Strike Fighter Squadron 136 ( VFA - 136 ) also known as the " Knighthawks " is a United States Navy strike fighter squadron based at Naval Air Station Oceana , Virginia . The " Knighthawks " are an operational fleet squadron flying the F / A - 18 Hornet . They are attached to Carrier Air Wing One ( CVW - 1 ) and homeported at NAS Oceana . Their tailcode " AB " and their radio callsign is " Hawk " . Squadron insignia and nickname . The squadron ’ s Knighthawk insignia and nickname were approved by Chief of Naval Operations on 23 May 1985 and have remained unchanged . History . 1980s . Strike Fighter Squadron One Three Six was established on 1 July 1985 at Naval Air Station Lemoore , California under the instruction of VFA - 125 . The Knighthawks received their first F / A - 18A on 7 January 1986 , and a month later they moved to their new homeport of Naval Air Station Cecil Field , Florida . VFA - 136 first deployed in September 1987 with Carrier Air Wing Thirteen on board the USS Coral Sea ( CV - 43 ) . One year later , the Knighthawks joined Carrier Air Wing Seven on the USS Dwight D . Eisenhower ( CVN - 69 ) . 1990s . During the " Ike ’ s " " Centennial Cruise " in 1990 , the Knighthawks participated in exercises with French , British , Italian and Tunisian forces . The cruise took a serious turn after Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990 . In support of Operation Desert Shield , the Ike was on station in the Red Sea within 36 hours , becoming the first carrier to conduct sustained operations in the area . After returning from deployment in November 1990 , the " Knighthawks " upgraded to the new Lot XIII Night Attack F / A - 18C . The Knighthawks became the first fully operational night strike Hornet squadron in the Navy . In October 1991 , the " Knighthawks " and " Ike " were back in the Persian Gulf enforcing the peace accords set after Operation Desert Storm . Upon completion of those operations , the team transitioned to the North Atlantic to participate in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) Exercise " TEAMWORK ' 92 " . This would be the largest NATO exercise in over three years . The " Knighthawks " next deployed aboard the Navy ’ s newest aircraft carrier , USS George Washington ( CVN - 73 ) for her maiden cruise in May 1994 . " George Washington " was the flagship for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of D - Day , hosting President Bill Clinton . During the cruise , the " Knighthawks " participated in NATO Operations Deny Flight ( over Bosnia - Herzegovina ) , Southern Watch and Vigilant Warrior ( both in the Persian Gulf ) . In addition to supporting NATO , the " Knighthawks " also participated in exercises in England , France , Sicily , Jordan , Tunisia , Bahrain and Oman . The squadron returned from deployment in November 1994 . The " Knighthawks " deployed again aboard " George Washington " in January 1996 in support of Operation Decisive Endeavor over Bosnia - Herzegovina and Operation Southern Watch . In February 1998 , the " Knighthawks " embarked on the maiden deployment of USS John C . Stennis ( CVN - 74 ) . This " world cruise " included a tour of duty in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch and culminated in the arrival of USS John C . Stennis in their new homeport of San Diego , California . Immediately following this deployment , the " Knighthawks " relocated to Naval Air Station Oceana in December 1998 as mandated by the Base Realignment and Closure decision . 2000s . In February 2000 , the " Knighthawks " embarked aboard USS Dwight D . Eisenhower ( CVN - 69 ) to the Mediterranean . In March 2000 , the " Knighthawks " flew in support of the Dayton Accords governing the peace between the former warring factions in Bosnia and other parts of the Balkans . " Eisenhower " then proceeded to the Persian Gulf , in support of Operation Southern Watch , returning to Norfolk on 18 August 2000 . 2010 was an outstanding year for the Knighthawks . CDR Liam Bruen was relieved by CDR Damien R . Christopher on July 23 , 2010 . The change of command ceremony was attended by Rear Admiral Buss and Rear Admiral Manazir . August was a great month for the Hawks as they won the Strike Fighter Weapons School Atlantic ( SFWSL ) Bombing Derby trophy for the first time in the squadron ' s history . The Hawks enjoyed the tremendous results of a Maintenance Program Assist inspection conducted by CSFWL in September . The arduous pre - deployment work ups which lasted the remainder of the year culminated with the Hawks winning the 2010 CVW - 1 Top Hook Award . In January 2011 , the Knighthawks embarked on a highly successful deployment to the Mediterranean Sea , the North Arabian Sea , and Persian Gulf aboard USS Enterprise ( CVN - 65 ) . While deployed , the Hawks flew combat sorties in the skies over Afghanistan in support Operation Enduring Freedom and over Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn while also supporting anti - piracy operations and special forces in multiple theaters . The Hawks received accolades not only for their many successes in combat , but also for their prowess in carrier aviation winning their tenth straight CVW - 1 Top Hook Award posting a 3 . 706 with a 96 % boarding rate for the duration of cruise . Individual Top Ten award winners included Commanding Officer CDR Damien R . Christopher , LCDR Jeff Farmer , LCDR Mark Haas , LT Rob Littman , LT Danny Westphall and LT Bryan Knick . Top five nugget award winners included LT Mike Segrest , LT Bryan Knick , LT Andy Talbott , and LT Joey Pasko . Following deployment the Knighthawks were awarded their second straight Strike Fighter Weapons School Atlantic ( SFWSL ) Bombing Derby trophy . On October 7 , 2011 CDR Damien R . Christopher was properly relieved by CDR Jason Velivlis . The change of command ceremony was attended by Admiral John Harvey , Rear Admiral Ted N . Branch , Rear Admiral Greg Nosal , and former Mayor of Virginia Beach , Meyera E . Oberndorf . The Knighthawks finished 2011 on an exceptionally high note winning the Battle E Award for the first time in the squadron ' s twenty - six year history . The criterion for the Battle E is the overall readiness of a command to carry out its assigned wartime tasks , and is based on a year - long evaluation . The competition for the award is , and has always been , extremely keen . To win , a squadron must demonstrate the highest state of battle readiness . The Battle Effectiveness Award recognizes sustained superior performance in an operational environment . http : / / issuu . com / ussenterprisecvn65 / docs / may6 - 2011