June 2006 the Carrier Strike Group Seven, with the air wing embarked aboard Ronald Reagan, took part in Exercise Valiant Shield 2006, held in the Guam operating area. Carrier Air Wing Fourteen provided a wide variety of capabilities during Valiant Shield 2006. Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 139 (VAQ-139) flew Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler equipped with state-of-the-art Improved Capability Version III technology. Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 113 (VAW-113) provided command-and-control capability with its E-2C Hawkeye 2000 aircraft. Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 4 (HS-4) was one of four helicopter squadrons that operated 24 SH-60F and SH-60H Seahawk helicopters used to protect the carrier task force against an underwater force consisting of five submarines. In early 2007, CVW-14 embarked on a surge-deployment to the Pacific Ocean, and on 18 May 2008, the carrier and its strike group departed Naval Air Station North Island for a scheduled deployment to an undisclosed location. On 28 May 2009, Carrier Air Wing 14 deployed aboard Ronald Reagan to the 7th and 5th Fleet Areas of Responsibility. One highlight of the 2011 WESTPAC deployment occurred on 18 April 2011 when Captain Kevin "Nix" Mannix made his 1,000th arrested landing when he landed his F/A-18F Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 154 on the flight deck of Ronald Reagan. Captain Mannix was the deputy commander of Carrier Air Wing 14. Mannix noted the occasion by noting: "There is nothing but professionals in this line of work. The men and women on the flight deck, the maintainers, I've worked with nothing but absolute professionals." Mannix's first arrested landing occurred on board the training aircraft carrier on 6 December 1987. Deactivation Originally, it was planned to deactivate CVW-14 in 2012. However, the U.S. Navy directed Pacific Fleet and Naval Air Forces to stop and reverse the deactivation process for Carrier Air Wing 14 in a memo dated 20 March 2012. Due to budget restrictions, CVW-14 has been in a state of reduced manning since 2013. In 2016, the Navy included the deactivation of one of its ten carrier air wings in its FY17 budget submission. The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), drafted in 2016, authorized the Navy to reduce to 9 the minimum number of CVWs until additional deployable CVNs can fully support a 10th CVW, or 1 October 2025, whichever comes first, at which time the Secretary of the Navy shall maintain a minimum of 10 CVWs. CVW-14 was