 It was RF-8 Crusaders from Light Photographic Squadron SIX TWO (VFP-62) out of NAS Cecil Field (along with Marine Aviators from Marine Photographic Squadron TWO (VMAQ-2|VMCJ-2), based at MCAS Cherry Point, NC and flying the same aircraft) who, in coordination with U.S. Air Force U-2 and RF-101 aircraft, detected the presence of nuclear-armed intermediate range ballistic missiles in Cuba and monitored the associated Soviet buildup during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.Naval Air Station Cecil Field was identified for closure by the 1993 federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) and approved by the U.S. Congress and President Bill Clinton in July 1993.Upon this notice by the BRAC, the city of Jacksonville initiated the development of a reuse plan to guide transition of base property and facilities to other uses that support local goals for economic and community development.