Returning fire two days after Army announced their 101st Airborne at Bastogne uniform, Navy Football dropped their uniform for the 2024 Army-Navy Game. On December 14, the Navy Midshipmen will raise the Skull and Crossbones and take the field honoring the Jolly Rogers. Fittingly, the squadron’s callsign is Victory and their tagline is “Fear the Bones.”
The Skull and Crossbones has been used by different squadrons on different aircraft over the decades. Established in 1943, VF-17 was the first squadron to bear the insignia on their F4U Corsair fighter planes during WWII. Over the course of the war, the original Jolly Rogers scored over 150 kills in aerial combat over the Pacific. In 1946, the squadron was redesignated VF-5B. Two years later, they became VF-61 and the Jolly Rogers transferred the Skull and Crossbones from the F4U to the F8F Bearcat. The Jolly Rogers later traded in their Bearcats for the Navy’s first jet fighter, the F9F Panther. Before VF-61 was disestablished in March 1959, the squadron also flew the F9F Cougar (a swept-wing development of the Panther), FJ-2/3 Fury, and F3H Demon jet fighters.
The commanding officer of VF-84 Vagabonds, a former Jolly Roger of VF-61, formally requested that his squadron assume the name and insignia of the Jolly Rogers. This was approved on April 1, 1960, and the Skull and Crossbones returned to the skies with F-8 Crusader jet fighters of VF-84 Jolly Rogers. The squadron continued to build the legacy of the Jolly Rogers, deploying aboard the USS Independence (CVA-62) during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. In 1964, VF-84 transitioned to the F-4 Phantom II fighter jet and deployed to Vietnam the next year. Flying from the Independence in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Jolly Rogers flew 1,507 combat sorties and 2,200 flight hours. The Jolly Rogers transitioned to the F-14 Tomcat in 1975.
After another two decades of service, VF-84 was disestablished in 1995. On October 1, the Sluggers of VF-103 retired their Club and Cloverleaf insignia and adopted the Skull and Crossbones as the new Jolly Rogers. VF-103 flew the Skull and Crossbones during operations over Kosovo and the Persian Gulf in 1998. In 2002, VF-103 flew combat missions over Afghanistan and Iraq during Operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch, respectively. Two years later, the Jolly Rogers made their last deployment with the F-14, providing close air support during the Second Battle of Fallujah. In 2005, the squadron transitioned to the F/A-18 Super Hornet and was redesignated VFA-103.
The Jolly Rogers continued to serve with distinction in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom through the 2000s and Operation Inherent Resolve in the 2010s. In 2016, while flying from the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), VFA-103 employed 490 pieces of ordnance, more precision-guided munitions than any single squadron in U.S. Navy history. While deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) for 295 days, the Jolly Rogers set a record for the longest post-Cold War carrier deployment.
The color scheme of the Navy Football uniform matches that of VFA-103’s Super Hornets. On the cowl, the dark navy color and Skull and Crossbones reflects the twin tails of the Jolly Rogers’ F/A-18s, along with the collar striping which matches the stripe on the aircraft’s tail fin. The uniform numbers model the aircraft side number on the fuselage and the trailing edge flap of the wings, and the Navy marking on the front of the uniform is inspired by the Navy marking on the side of the Super Hornet.
On the sleeves is the classic Jolly Rogers stripe with nine total triangles (between the jersey and pants) symbolizing the nine types of aircraft that have carried the Skull and Crossbones (the F9F Panther and F9F Cougar counting as one). The helmet features the VF-84 design with a stripe and “FEAR THE BONES” on the back. When overlapped, the palms of the gloves form the iconic Skull and Crossbones while the backs are accented with bold yellow striping. Text on the sides of the pants list the six Jolly Rogers squadrons from 1943 to the present.
This is actually the second time that Navy Football has honored the Jolly Rogers. The 1962 team, including Heisman Trophy-winner Roger Staubach, wore gold helmets with a Skull and Crossbones and defeated the Army Cadets 34-14. For their 125th matchup, the Navy Midshipmen in their Jolly Rogers uniforms will take on the Army Black Knights in their 101st Airborne uniforms during the 2024 Army-Navy Game presented by USAA on December 14, 2024 at Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD.