The crash near Muharraq
On August 23, 2000, Gulf Air Flight 072, an Airbus A320 flying from Cairo to Bahrain, crashed in the waters near Muharraq. All 143 people on board died.
This page remembers the passengers and crew and acknowledges the families affected by the disaster.
Read Bahrain’s official Gulf Air Flight 072 accident investigation report
My Navy assignment at NAS Fallon, 1996–1998
I was stationed at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, from 1996 to 1998. I arrived the same year the Navy moved TOPGUN, its Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, from NAS Miramar to Fallon. After my Fallon assignment, I joined Patrol Squadron Forty at NAS Whidbey Island.
Patrol Squadron Forty and Dustin Luke Kay’s Navy service
Patrol Squadron Forty (VP-40), known as the Fighting Marlins, operated the P-3C Orion during Kay’s Navy service. The Denison newspaper clipping in the service archive describes his aviation administration work with the squadron at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, including maintaining training records. His 2000 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal citation documents his work managing VP-40’s technical publications library.
VP-40 at NAS Whidbey Island, 1993–1999
Patrol Squadron Forty moved from Moffett Field, California, to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, in 1993. During a 1997 Western Pacific deployment, the Fighting Marlins introduced new electro-optical equipment to the Seventh Fleet and took part in a detachment to Qatar.
From December 1998 through June 1999, VP-40 deployed to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf in support of the Fifth and Seventh Fleets. Its work in Exercises Tandem Thrust and Cobra Gold and on search-and-rescue missions helped earn the squadron the 1999 Battle Efficiency Award.
During the following training cycle, VP-40 joined six other squadrons in tracking a Russian submarine. The Navy records 230 flight hours for the Fighting Marlins and credits them with more than half of the total contact time.
My VP-40 deployment to Misawa and Kadena, Japan
From December 1998 to June 1999, I deployed with Patrol Squadron Forty, the Fighting Marlins. I went first to Naval Air Facility Misawa in northern Japan, then to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. Our squadron was homeported at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, and flew the P-3C Orion.
VP-40 in Bahrain in 2000
During its 2000 deployment, Patrol Squadron Forty operated from Bahrain. The Fighting Marlins flew P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft on surveillance and reconnaissance missions over the Persian Gulf. By October 2000, VP-40 had crews operating from Bahrain, Masirah in Oman, and Doha in Qatar.
VP-40’s response to the USS Cole bombing
On October 12, 2000, the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole was attacked while refueling in Aden, Yemen. Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed and nearly 40 crew members were injured.
The U.S. Navy’s squadron history credits a VP-40 Fighting Marlins aircrew with the first American response to the bombing. Less than 12 hours after the attack, the first crew landed in Aden with supplies and support personnel. GlobalSecurity’s squadron history reports that Fifth Fleet commander Vice Adm. Charles W. Moore Jr. identified medical aid, security, leadership, and investigation as immediate priorities. It also records four additional VP-40 crews landing in Aden within 24 hours. The Navy traces VP-40’s subsequent support for counterterrorism operations to that response.
U.S. Navy VP-40 squadron history · FBI USS Cole bombing case archive · GlobalSecurity’s VP-40 deployment history
VP-40 deployments after the USS Cole response
On a later deployment, the Fighting Marlins established a detachment for Operation Enduring Freedom–Philippines. The Navy credits the squadron with helping secure the rescue of American hostages who had been held for more than a year.
In May 2003, VP-40 deployed to Diego Garcia, Masirah in Oman, and Bahrain in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Its work included maritime surveillance in the Persian Gulf and overland intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa. The squadron also oversaw the end of the U.S. military presence at Masirah Air Base after 25 years of operations there.
The Navy’s squadron history records nominations for the Captain Arnold J. Isbell Trophy, a second consecutive Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award, and a fourth consecutive Golden Wrench award.