VFA - 122 Strike Fighter Squadron 122 ( VFA - 122 ) , also known as the " Flying Eagles " , are a United States Navy F / A - 18E / F Super Hornet and F / A - 18 Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore . History . There have been two distinct Navy squadrons known as the " Flying Eagles " . The first was established in 1950 as VC - 35 , later redesignated VA ( AW ) - 35 , and then VA - 122 . This squadron flew various models of the A - 1 Skyraider at NAS San Diego and A - 7 Corsair II at NAS Lemoore . In 1971 the " Corsair College " changed its name to the " Flying Eagles " , and continued to train pilots and maintainers for 20 years . In May 1991 VA - 122 was decommissioned . Often , the new squadron will assume the nickname , insignia , and traditions of the earlier squadrons , but officially , the US Navy does not recognize a direct lineage with disestablished squadrons if a new squadron is formed with the same designation . In January 1999 a new " Flying Eagles " squadron was brought to life as Strike Fighter Squadron 122 ( VFA - 122 ) , the first squadron to operate the F / A - 18E / F Super Hornet . On 1 October 2010 VFA - 122 was merged with VFA - 125 ( The Legacy Hornet FRS also stationed at NAS Lemoore ) . The merger was intended to cut administrative costs and streamline production in anticipation of the ' legacy ' F / A - 18 Hornet being phased out by the Super Hornet and F - 35 Lightning II in the coming years . The ' merged ' squadron retained the Flying Eagles insignia while the Rough Raiders of VFA - 125 were put into " hibernation " until a later date , when they will reestablish themselves as an F - 35 training squadron . On 26 June 2006 , squadron pilot Brian R . Deforge , 25 , died when his F / A - 18 collided with another over Fort Hunter Liggett , north of San Luis Obispo . The other pilot successfully ejected and survived . On 6 April 2011 , squadron pilot Matthew I . Lowe , 33 , and weapons systems officer Nathan H . Williams , 26 , were killed when their F / A - 18 crashed half a mile from Lemoore on a routine training mission . Mission . As the West Coast Hornet and Super Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron , the Flying Eagles ' mission is to train Navy and Marine Corps F / A - 18A / B / C / D / E / F Replacement Pilots and Weapon Systems Officer s ( WSOs ) to support fleet commitments . Every 6 weeks a class of between 8 - 12 newly - winged Navy pilots and Naval Flight Officer s begins the 9 month training course in which they learn the basics of air - to - air and air - to - ground missions , culminating in day / night carrier qualification and subsequent assignment to fleet Hornet squadrons . VFA - 122 ' s East Coast counterpart is VFA - 106 at NAS Oceana . VFA - 122 is also responsible for transitioning experienced naval aviators from other aircraft , such as the F - 14 Tomcat and S - 3 Viking to the Super Hornet . Aircrew returning from non - flying assignments undergo refresher training at VFA - 122 prior to returning to the fleet . Additionally , VFA - 122 ( with the help from the Center of Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit : CNATTTU ) trains maintenance personnel and provides replacement aircraft to fleet units . VFA - 122 currently has approximately 225 officers , 408 enlisted personnel and operates over 60 aircraft . The squadron often detaches aircraft to Naval Air Station Fallon , Nevada and Naval Air Facility El Centro , California , as well as various aircraft carriers for carrier qualifications ( CQ ) .