VFA-137 embarked aboard for a Western Pacific deployment in October 2004 , participating in Operation Unified Assistance , the humanitarian relief effort to aid the victims of the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia . In March 2006 , the squadron again deployed with CVW 2 aboard USS '' Abraham Lincoln '' for a 5-month WestPac . The deployment included port calls in Hong Kong , Thailand , Singapore and Sasebo , Japan , and was marked by participation in Exercises Foal Eagle , Valiant Shield , and RIMPAC . Between March 24 – 31 , 2006 , during Foal Eagle 2006 exercises , strike squadrons VFA-2 , VFA-34 , VFA-137 , and VFA-151 from CVW-2 teamed with U.S. Air Force aircraft from the 18th Wing based at Kadena Air Base to provide combat air patrols and coordinated bombing runs via the exercise ’s Combined Air Operations Center . VFA-137 returned from deployment in August 2006
tsunami that struck Southeast Asia
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
VFA-137