Early years

In 1991, with the retirement of the EA-3B Skywarrior after 40 years of flying the US Navy,^[2] the Navy prepared for the delivery of their new ES-3As. Before this, VQ-5 was established on 15 August of that year at NAS Agana, Guam, receiving their first 2 S-3A Vikings for pilot and crew training on 10 November 1991. On 8 May 1992, the first ES-3A was delivered to VQ-5,^[1] with ES-3A's VQ-5 Det. A, on board the USS Independence, ^[3] becoming the first ES-3A unit to deploy on a carrier.^[4]

Detachments to carrier air wings

Starting in 1994, VQ-5 operated in detachments were deployed to numerous carrier air wings. As part of a 7th Fleet directive that year,^[1] it assigned a two-plane permanently attached detachment (VQ-5 Detachment 5) to Carrier Air Wing 5 based in Japan with the Independence.^[4] Unlike CVW-5 which was based at NAF Atsugi, VQ-5 Det. 5 was based in NAF Misawa. During that same year, they participated in operations in the Western Pacific during the tensions in the Korean Peninsula.^[5] VQ-5 also deployed to CVW-15 on board the Kitty Hawk during 1994 before their disestablishment in 1995.^[6]

In 1995, with the impending closure of NAS Agana in Guam, the Sea Shadows moved to NAS North Island in San Diego. During the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, VQ-5 was deployed on two carriers in the region, the USS Nimitz as well as the USS Independence.^[7][5] Other deployments to carriers in the following years included CVW-14 and CVW-11 on board the Carl Vinson,^[8] Nimitz as part of CVW-9,^[9] Abraham Lincoln with CVW-11 and CVW-14^[10] and the Constellation with CVW-2.^[11]

Final cruise and retirement

In 1998, VQ-5 made their last cruise ever as Detachment C deployed with the Carl Vinson and CVW-11 during Operation Desert Fox^[1] before returning in May 1999.^[10] VQ-5 never deployed again and remained back in North Island. In June 1999, a ceremony was held for the decommissioning of the squadron although they were officially inactivated on 31 July 1999.^[1]