Thank you very much , its good to know the backstory , often wondered about this one
Paul
JWS
17-Jun-2022 21:05
The story behind this patch: 1992-95 I was a CPO in this squadron. Squadron lore held that the Black Knight on our patches was "Otis”; no idea why or where from. F-14As in the mid-'90s were a LOT of work to keep flying and the Chiefs did anything they could to keep our Sailors motivated. Probably our best maint CPO (AEC H) used to say, “up jets (ready to fly jets) made Otis smile… so, let’s Keep Otis Smiling”. It became an unofficial saying during at-sea periods while on board USS Independence. The CPOs had a few patches made up to sell during the annual open-house and air show on board NAF Atsugi, outside of Tokyo, Japan, before CAG5 moved away. Now you know the rest of the story.
