ship. They made a low pass over the ship, waving wings to indicate that they needed to land. They made a ready deck, and landed successfully with F.O.D. (Foreign Object Damage) in both engines. They returned to the ship with a near-perfect recovery. Pilot's blindness was temporary, and he returned to flight status shortly thereafter. On 20 February 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, the 's VS-32 became the first S-3 squadron to engage, bomb and destroy a hostile vessel–an Iraqi gunboat. During its final deployment in 2007, VS-32 aircraft flew 960 sorties, which totaled more than 2,200 flight hours, and included more than 950 carrier landings. Squadron VS-32 operated at sea for 180 days with 13 days spent in port. VS-32 was officially deactivated effective 30 September 2008 in a deactivation ceremony on 25 September 2008. See also History of the United States Navy List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons United States Naval Aviator Citations External links Globalsecurity.org: VS-32 Military units and formations in Florida Sea control squadrons of the United States Navy Anti-submarine squadrons of the United States Navy