Show me your CAG/CDR birds

mwpeters · Post by **mwpeters** » 26 Jun 2008, 22:37

A topic dedicated to the CAG/CDR-Bird, do you have some examples share them with us. I will start with this one:

CAG-bird F/A-18D 165413/VK-01 VMFA(AW)-121

joost · Post by **joost** » 26 Jun 2008, 22:45

Isn't a CAG bird always a x00 modex? 01 would indicate Sqn Cdr..?

Grtz
Joost

mwpeters · Post by **mwpeters** » 26 Jun 2008, 22:54

Not always, this is really a CAG of VMFA(AW)-121 (Indeed Sqdn C
dr). Beside this, there are also aircraft were CAG marks are assigned when it is a Wing Commander aircraft. This particulair aircraft is assigned to the 2nd Marines Division.

SquAdmin · Post by **SquAdmin** » 27 Jun 2008, 07:28

mwpeters wrote:Beside this, there are also aircraft were CAG marks are assigned when it is a Wing Commander aircraft.

In fact, that's the real definition of a CAG. I think the one in the picture is "just" a squadron commander (wiki).

Interesting picture nonetheless... I thought most of the USMC commander birds had black tails nowadays.

Hoogy · Post by **Hoogy** » 27 Jun 2008, 07:43

Cecil Field 1996

SquAdmin · Post by **SquAdmin** » 27 Jun 2008, 07:46

NAS North Island (CA) 1999

mwpeters · Post by **mwpeters** » 27 Jun 2008, 07:52

Ohh sorry, I tought that both were called CAGs, nevertheless please also send your Commander aircraft if they are just as beautifull as the above showed CAGs.

Joris van Boven · Post by **Joris van Boven** » 27 Jun 2008, 08:25

This is a 'steamy CAG'

guustafo77 · Post by **guustafo77** » 27 Jun 2008, 14:54

Here some of mine, taken february this year.

EA-6B VAQ-138 163887/NG500, Nellis 14-02-2008

F/A-18F VFA-154 165910/NG100, El Centro 20-02-2008

F/A-18E VFA-147 166437/NG400, El Centro 21-02-2008

F/A-18C VMFA-314 165188/VW00, North Island 22-02-2008

Greetz, Guus Geluk

Thijs · Post by **Thijs** » 27 Jun 2008, 15:35

WOW after the Slovakian MiG-29 also the Marines use the "digital camo".

Great picture!

SquAdmin · Post by **SquAdmin** » 27 Jun 2008, 16:59

Thijs wrote:WOW after the Slovakian MiG-29 also the Marines use the "digital camo". Great picture!

The Marines have been using camo this for some years now and started testing well before the Slovak MiG-29 was sprayed in a bits and bytes scheme. I wonder if the USMC experiments were succesful, since it still hasn't been applied to other aircraft yet.

(Who needs camouflage anyway in "beyond visual range" wars?)

Richard from Rotterdam · Post by **Richard from Rotterdam** » 27 Jun 2008, 17:42

Typically you'll find one, maybe two aircraft on a carrier marked "CAG" for Commander Air Group. Although the Carrier Air Groups have been redesignated as Carrier Air Wings, they kept the CAG-designation for the wing commander. They used to paint some of them in rainbow markings, to represent the whole Carrier Air Wing.

They will normally be the "Double Nuts" of a squadron, but not necessarily.

Almost every squadron has a Double Nuts (x00) in high viz markings, but these are not by definition CAG-birds. The squadron commander's name will normally be on them, they might even mark the aircraft with "CO" (Commanding Officer) or sometimes you'll find "XO" on the x01, which will be flown by the squadron's Executive Officer.

Joris van Boven · Post by **Joris van Boven** » 27 Jun 2008, 18:21

CAG tail onboard USS Kennedy in 2002.

And a complete view of the last ever Tomcat '00'

Spacedust · Post by **Spacedust** » 02 Jul 2008, 21:08

Fallon October 2007

dinovandoorn · Post by **dinovandoorn** » 04 Jul 2008, 13:26

Another CDR-Bird on NAS North Island...

Dino