Maintenance and support personnel with Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 132 returned home just in time to celebrate Independence Day. The airlift was expected to arrive Friday evening, while the squadron’s five EA-18G Growler jets are expected to return Saturday, July 9.

The Scorpions’ homecoming follows a nearly eight-month-long expeditionary deployment, which included support of Operation New Dawn from Iraq and Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector with coalition forces over Libya.

According to a release, this was a historic deployment for VAQ-132 and for the Electronic Attack Wing and U.S. Navy Airborne Electronic Attact, as the squadron was the first to transition from the EA-6B Prowler to the Boeing-built Growler. The Scorpions were the first Growler squadron to deploy last November and the first of its Super Hornet brethren to conduct an entirely land-based deployment.

The 200-plus member squadron spent eight months at VAQ-129, the Fleet Replacement Squadron transitioning to the new Growler, followed by a year of pre-deployment training before it departed in Nov., 2010. Cmdr. Jeff Craig is the commanding officer.

The EA-18G Growler is a specialized version of the F/A-18F Super Hornet and has many technological advances which increase aircrew situational awareness, add new capabilities and enhance performance in traditional mission sets. The jet features new air-to-air/air-to-ground radar, operator interface displays and the ability to carry air-to-air missiles.

The Scorpions achieved another milestone when crews flew the Growler into combat following United Nations Security Council resolution 1973, which called upon coalition forces to “protect civilians in Libya under threat of attack by Qadhafi regime forces.”

The experience gained from the Scorpion’s deployment will pave the way for future operations and other Growler squadrons, according to the release.