New Orleans' VAW-77 targeted

NEW ORLEANS -- The Navy proposes to decommission a squadron at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, eliminating a flying unit that focuses on stemming the flow of drugs to the United States. Under the 2013 spending plan released this week, the Navy Reserve's Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 would cease to exist Sept. 30. VAW-77 has about 100 active duty and reserve Navy personnel and about 55 civilian contractors. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 02/20/12)