VT-404

VT-404 “Missing Junk” is Carrier Air Wing Zero's training squadron, the place every pilot passes through before they're trusted anywhere near the rest of the wing. The 404 designation is a deliberate nod to the classic “File Not Found” error, because new arrivals are expected to be lost in the sauce — new aircraft, new procedures, carrier operations, formation flying, weapons employment, radios, and the particular chaos of CVW-0 culture can make even an experienced pilot feel like someone deleted the instruction manual. That's exactly why VT-404 exists. Nobody walks in expected to be an expert; instructors take pilots from wherever they're starting and build them, step by step, from basic aircraft familiarization through carrier qualifications, tactical employment, and full-scale combat operations. Mistakes, stupid questions, blown radio calls, and missed tankers aren't just tolerated here — they're the point, because that's how lessons become experience and experience becomes instinct. Pilots might arrive as 404: Pilot Not Found. They don't stay that way for long.