wing embarked in in August 1988 for Teamwork 88, the largest multi-national exercise of the decade and operated in the North Atlantic with a port call in Wilhelmshaven, West Germany. In December 1988, CVW-8 embarked on Theodore Roosevelt for a Mediterranean deployment where they participated in ten NATO exercises. The air wing distinguished itself during this deployment by flying over 22,000 flight hours and 10,000 sorties without a mishap. Gulf War Following the August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi armor and infantry forces, CVW-8 rapidly prepared for possible combat operations. In four short months, intense training enabled Theodore Roosevelt and CVW-8 to deploy on 28 December to join five other U.S. Carrier Battle Groups in the largest display of sea power since World War II for Operation Desert Storm. After participating in combat operations in Iraq in support of Operations Desert Storm and Provide Comfort, CVW-8 returned home on 28 June 1991 for a brief standdown. During the winter of 1992, CVW-8 provided opposition forces from Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico in support of Carrier Battle Group training. In July 1992, the air wing was the first Air Wing to receive and incorporate a Marine Corps FA-18C squadron, the "Checkerboards" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 312 (VMFA-312). In December 1992, USS Theodore Roosevelt and CVW-8 operated for the very first time in Naval Aviation history as a Special Marine Air / Ground Task Force. Carrier Air Wing Eight embarked aboard Theodore Roosevelt in March 1993 and participated in Operation Provide Comfort and Deny Flight in support of NATO sanctions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In June 1993, the team passed through the Suez Canal for Red Sea duty in support of Operation Southern Watch over Iraq. CVW-8 returned to the Adriatic Sea in July 1993 to continue NATO operational tasking until returning to Norfolk, Virginia in September 1993. Bosnia CVW-8 embarked again aboard Theodore Roosevelt in March 1995 and operated in the Mediterranean Sea, North Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Adriatic Sea. CVW-8 responded to threats from Iraq by conducting joint operations with the Royal Jordanian Air Force and also enforced No-Fly Zones over Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of Operation Deny Flight. On 29 August 1995, CVW-8 commenced air-to-ground offensive operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina during Operation Deliberate Force to include the first ever Navy combat use of the GBU-24 laser-guided penetrator bomb and the first combat use of the F-14 "Tomcat" to deliver air-to-ground ordnance.