Vern Evans
In a nod to one of the Navy’s most celebrated squadrons, the Navy Midshipmen will don special-edition jerseys for Saturday’s Army-Navy game, sporting pirate-themed skull and crossbones.
The threads pay homage to the Jolly Rogers squadron, whose tagline “Fear the Bones” represents what the Navy calls the most lethal squadron in all of naval aviation history.
The game, which marks the 125th time the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy have met on the gridiron, will take place at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, with kickoff at 3 p.m. ET, broadcast on CBS.
A hype video shared with a Nov. 20 release toggles between football players flexing in their new uniforms and roaring at the heavens, footage of the Jolly Rogers skull-and-bones insignia and pilots rocketing through the air in fighter jets.
The new uniforms, made in collaboration with the athletic apparel company Under Armour, are the second ones to honor the Jolly Rogers squadron, with the Navy rolling out the first in 1962.
The uniforms mimic the dark Navy blue and gold colors of the Jolly Rogers aircraft, with a white foundation, and the Jolly Rogers traditional angled stripe can be found on the sleeves. The helmet’s bumper reads “Fear the Bones,” and either side is marked with chevrons, or v-shaped stripes, to honor the nine different aircraft the Jolly Rogers have flown. The pants feature small text spelling out the six Jolly Rogers squadrons as well.
The gloves’ palms are also designed so that they form the Jolly Rogers skull-and-bones logo when players hold up their hands and overlap them.
“The Skull and Crossbones first flew in January 1943 on the F4U Corsairs assigned to VF-17, the most lethal Navy fighter squadron of World War II,” a Navy press release said. “By the end of the war, the original Jolly Rogers had racked up over 150 kills in the skies over the Pacific.”
The squadron has flown nine different fighter aircraft since then and has played an integral part in numerous overseas operations, providing support for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve. For the latter, the squadron employed more precision-guided munitions — 490 pieces of ordnance — than any other squadron in Naval history.
“The Jolly Rogers of VFA-103 continue to exemplify the Naval Aviation traditions of excellence and professionalism,” the release said. “With the Jolly Rogers emblem proudly emblazoned on the tails of the most lethal and history-rich fighter squadron in all of Naval Aviation, the legacy of “The Bones” promises to endure for many years to come.”
The Army Black Knights will also be sporting special-edition jerseys honoring the 101st Airborne Division’s “Screaming Eagles.” The black uniform with speckles of white “reflects the canopy of fog and snow giving way to the shadows beneath of the snow-covered pine forests in the Ardennes,” according to the Army.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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