and UH-1 squadrons. VF-84 flew critical TARPS reconnaissance missions during Operation Deny Flight, providing information about Bosnian Serb positions around Sarajevo. The squadron also flew in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. VF-84 returned to NAS Oceana in September 1993. It was to be the squadron's last Mediterranean deployment. Due to the downsizing of the Navy after the Cold War, the Navy disestablished several squadrons, and VF-84 was one of them. The squadron spent its last eighteen months of existence participating in several joint service operations, honing its skills in air-to-air combat, strike and TARPS. The squadron also made another memorable appearance in another motion picture, Executive Decision. VF-84 was disestablished on October 1, 1995, but VF-103 Sluggers adopted the name and insignia of the Jolly Rogers. From its transition to the F-14 until its disestablishment, VF-84 had been a part of CVW-8. Popular culture The markings of Roy Focker's VF-1S Valkyrie (which was itself inspired by the F-14 Tomcat) in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross is obviously inspired by the squadron insignia of VF-84, and his "Skull Squadron" is considered the equivalent of VF-84; in the Americanized version, Robotech, the squadron was also considered to be elite. In the movie Macross: Do You Remember Love this is even more apparent, as the skull-and-crossbones insignia is worn by all Valkyries in Skull Squadron. This painting scheme has continued to be reproduced in both the prequel series Macross Zero (2002), on Focker's VF-0S experimental Valkyrie, and more recently Macross Frontier (2008), where the pilot Ozma Lee, as the senior leader of Skull Squadron, has the markings on his VF-25S. VF-84 plays a predominant role in The Final CountdownVF-84 Tomcats appear in a brief scene in The Philadelphia ExperimentA Jolly Rogers squadron is featured in Executive Decision film. VF-84 is one of two squadrons that help dismantle the Soviet fighter force based on Iceland in Tom Clancy's novel Red Storm RisingSee also History of the United States Navy List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons References Further reading Tony Holmes (2005). US Navy F-14 Tomcat Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Osprey Publishing Limited. Tom Blackburn, The Jolly Rogers'' (Orion Books, 1989) External links The Jolly Rogers Squadron: Past and Present Almansur's Unofficial History of the Jolly Rogers VF-84 History VFA-84 Military units and formations in Virginia