"Work Hard Play Hard!" Here's 2018 East Coast Strike Fighter Ball Video

“Work Hard Play Hard!” Here’s 2018 East Coast Strike Fighter Ball Video

By Dario Leone
Dec 3 2018
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The clip documents a year of footage compiled from squadrons stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana

The super cool footage in this post is a montage from the East Coast VFA squadrons of Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic. This video was first released at the annual Strike Fighter Ball 2018. It documents a year of footage compiled from squadrons stationed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana. According to the video description, the clip provides a look into U.S. Naval Aviators “work hard play hard” mentality.

As explained in Carrier Aviation in the 21st Century, Aircraft carriers and their units in detail by Thomas Newdick, on a strategic level, the U.S. Navy is continuing to react to the ‘pivot to the Pacific’. Vide-Admiral Robert L. Thomas commented: ‘We’re slowly shifting from a 50/50 mix in the US Navy to a 40 per cent Atlantic, 60 per cent Pacific mix’, he added, describing the swing away from traditional areas of operation.

Admiral Harry Harris, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, said in 2013: ‘Our president and secretary of defence are clear. As a nation, we will rebalance to the Pacific and we will work closely with our allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.’

"Work Hard Play Hard!" Here's 2018 East Coast Strike Fighter Ball Video

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. F/A-18F Super Hornet VFA-103 Jolly Rogers, AG200 / 166620 / 2007

While this strategy was set in motion under the Barack Obama administration, since President Donald Trump took office in 2017 the importance of the Asia-Pacific area of operations has only increased. In October 2017 the U.S. Navy took the unusual step of deploying three Nimitz-class carriers in the Seventh Fleet’s area of operations (AOO) simultaneously, underlining its presence in the region unambiguously.

However, recent budgetary restrictions have severely impacted the Carrier Strike Groups (CSG), with intense deployment schedules, and little time for rest and recuperation of assets and personnel.

Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com


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Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

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