VFA-213 Blacklions

VFA-213 Blacklions Welcome to VFA-213's page.

Fair winds and following seas to some of our departing BLACKLIONS and congratulations to those who earned their Ensliste...
03/23/2026

Fair winds and following seas to some of our departing BLACKLIONS and congratulations to those who earned their Enslisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualifications!

We got to advance and award some phenomenal BLACKLIONS the other night! We can express how proud we are of every single ...
01/09/2026

We got to advance and award some phenomenal BLACKLIONS the other night! We can express how proud we are of every single member of the BLACKLION Family.

Congratulations to the BLACKLIONS "Of The Year" Winners!Pictured from left to right:-Commanding Officer CDR Swift-Chief ...
11/15/2025

Congratulations to the BLACKLIONS "Of The Year" Winners!
Pictured from left to right:
-Commanding Officer CDR Swift
-Chief Petty Officer of the Year, ADC Griffin
-Sailor of the Year, AE1 Poe
-Junior Sailor of the Year, LS2 Danmola
-Blue Jacket of the Year, LSSN Casiano
-Petty Officer of the Year, PR2 Lowe
-Plane Captain of the Year, PR3 Chin
-Command Master Chief Croshaw

Phenomenal work to you all!

Please join the Blacklions in congratulating PR2 Lowe and AD3 Palomo. These two sailors promoted this via the Meritoriou...
10/18/2025

Please join the Blacklions in congratulating PR2 Lowe and AD3 Palomo. These two sailors promoted this via the Meritorious Advancement Program this week. Bravo Zulu!

More BLACKLION swim call photos!
10/13/2025

More BLACKLION swim call photos!

Who says Big Cats don't like the water? BLACKLION Sailors taking part in swim call while at sea somewhere in the Mediter...
10/13/2025

Who says Big Cats don't like the water? BLACKLION Sailors taking part in swim call while at sea somewhere in the Mediterranean prove otherwise!
More photos to follow!

10/09/2025

BLACKLION FAMILIES!

We would like to offer greetings from the Mediterranean Sea! We are working to be better at communicating with you, our most important people, as we continue operations in defense of our nation and Constitution. As you may have noticed our BLACKLION PRIDE is getting a little more face time on our social media platforms to include our new Instragram page. The goal is to connect your Sailor with you from wherever we are at across the world while bragging about their achievements, of which there are many!

In the recent months USS GERALD R FORD has put some miles under her keel having transited in and out and in again into the Mediterranean Sea, having visited Marseille, France and recently Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Last month we were in the high north where your Sailors earned the right to be called a “Blue Nose” Sailor. This is accomplished through ceremony while transiting in the Arctic Circle, a place few have traveled and as a result are no longer seen as being Warm Blooded Sailors. After our time in the Arctic Circle we traveled to Oslo, Norway after having continued our mission of assurance and deterrence through partnership building with our NATO allies through the participation in Close Air Support (CAS) training missions, long-range Defensive Counter-Air (DCA), and Large Force Exercises with Danish and Norwegian forces. And as your BLACKLION Sailors always do we performed exceptionally well, earning shout-outs from the Admiral, Captain, and our Norwegian liaisons.

We have finished our third port-of-call and are planning our fourth. We would love to see you there! If you do plan on coming to meet your loved one we would highly recommend purchasing travel insurance as our schedule is always subject to change. While the planning continues, we wanted to advise accordingly as quickly as possible.

We are rapidly approaching the currently scheduled half-way mark of deployment. Anyone that has done this before knows that schedules can change so please don’t write an end date on your calendars just yet. Ports of call, mail, and Starlink link are expected to remain fairly routine, but could change based on the operational environment at the time, but know that your Sailor is thinking about you each and every day.

Your OMBUDSMAN, Mrs. Amy Mclane has done a phenomenal job and is here to support you in times of need, but she’s just one person. I highly encourage each and every one of you to look out for each other as only BLACKLION Families can do. We’re in this together and deployment is hard on everyone regardless of whether you’re at home or at sea. The support that you give your BLACKLION Sailor is critical to our success in all of our missions.

Thank you for your supporting us, your families and each other!



Very Respectfully,

The VFA-213 “FIGHTING LACKLIONS" Triad

Congratulations to LTJG Kyle McDaniel. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his outstanding s...
09/30/2025

Congratulations to LTJG Kyle McDaniel. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his outstanding service at VFA-213 as the Maintenance Material Control Officer and Quality Aasurance Officer.

Congratulations to our 4th Quarter Sailor Of the Quarter, Junior Sailor Of the Quarter, Petty Officer Of the Quarter, Pl...
09/30/2025

Congratulations to our 4th Quarter Sailor Of the Quarter, Junior Sailor Of the Quarter, Petty Officer Of the Quarter, Plane Captain of the Quarter, and Blue Jacket Of the Quarter!
SOQ: AM1 Galvez
JSOQ: AM2 Blanchard
POOQ: AO3 Mahoney
PCOQ: AD3 Wollweber
BJOQ: LSSN Casiano

Congratulations AMCS Mark Dykman, VFA-213's newest Senior Chief Petty Officer!
09/30/2025

Congratulations AMCS Mark Dykman, VFA-213's newest Senior Chief Petty Officer!

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879 Hornet Drive Suite 300
Virginia Beach, VA
23460

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