Japan-based Carrier Air Wing 5 Begins Training Ahead of Next Patrol

Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, assigned to aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73), began 10 days of field carrier landing practice drills Thursday on Iwo Jima, Japan, the first stage of preparations for the carrier’s next patrol. CVW-5 will conduct FCLP on Iwo Jima through May 17, according to a Japan Ministry of Defense news release. FCLP is a required flight training for fixed-wing pilot qualifications that precedes Carrier Qualification (CQ) training to certify pilots for an underway on a carrier. The training on Iwo Jima will include all of CVW-5’s carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft – F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18E and