In 1950, the squadron adopted the insignia of a traditional heraldry lion under Naval Aviation wings of gold and the motto "Deus et Patria" that has endured with only slight modernization through today.

Fritz Wolf, a former member of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) or Flying Tigers, was assigned as the first VBF-3 commanding officer.

During the heavy action on that day, the squadron shot down 24 Japanese aircraft, earning the Presidential Unit Citation.

From October 1950 to January 1951, under the command of Richard L. Cevoli, VF-32 hit Korean targets including Wonsan Harbor, Puckchong, Chonjin, and Chosin Reservoir.

On 4 December 1950, the aircraft of Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American aviator to complete the Navy's basic flight training program, was hit by flak while supporting embattled Marines at Chosin.

Thomas J. Hudner Jr., could see that Brown survived the forced landing, but appeared to be trapped in the cockpit with smoke coming from the engine compartment.

[citation needed] While deployed aboard USS Saratoga as a unit of Carrier Air Group THREE, VF-32 participated in the 1958 Lebanon crisis.

[2] In June 1966, VF-32 embarked aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt as a component of Carrier Air Group ONE and sailed for Yankee Station in Southeast Asia.

[citation needed] In 1983–84, the squadron completed the Navy's first combat deployment since the Vietnam era with CVW-6 aboard Independence.

VF-32 also flew missions in support of Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada providing pre- and post-battle damage assessment using photography from the TARPS pod.

This cruise saw the squadron's Class "A" safety record extended another year, but also included the first night F-14 barricade landing.

On 4 January 1989, while flying from John F. Kennedy during a routine patrol over the Gulf of Sidra, two VF-32 F-14s intercepted two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers,[2] which had originated from the Al Bumbai airfield in Tobruk.

When Kuwait was invaded by Iraqi forces in August 1990, VF-32 joined Carrier Air Wing 3, was put on emergency recall from Nellis AFB and returned to NAS Oceana to prepare to sortie with Kennedy.

Kennedy immediately proceeded to the Red Sea to participate in Operation Desert Shield alongside USS Saratoga.

VF-32 TARPS aircrews flew daily missions throughout Iraq including supersonic runs over highly defended Al Qa'im.

Later that year, the squadron won the 1991 AIRLANT Grand Slam missile firing competition with 17 of 17 scored kills.

[2] The squadron conducted a great deal of air-to-ground operations in the Adriatic Sea while on cruise in support of Operation Provide Promise, marking the beginning of the Tomcat strike/fighter mission[2] and provided significant carrier air patrol support for C-130 food drop missions in the former Yugoslavia.

This four-week deployment marked the first extensive at-sea period where women worked alongside men on a fleet aircraft carrier.

[citation needed] In September, a small detachment provided TARPS photography and air support for Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.

With Iraq’s failure to cooperate with United Nations inspections of known weapon sites, Operation Desert Fox was launched on 16 December 1998.

VF-32 was involved in the worst friendly fire incident of the war when on 6 April 2003 a squadron F-14 crew was cleared to attack an Iraqi tank near Dibakan, 30 miles (48 km) south east of Mosul.

An investigation following the war found that the pilot had been cleared to drop without the benefit of target coordinates provided by the Forward Air Controller, who was "operating under great stress" at the time.

[citation needed] The squadron delivered multiple precision guided munitions on insurgent hideouts using the LANTIRN pod in the urban Close Air Support environment.

[citation needed] In November 2007, VFA-32 embarked on USS Harry S. Truman for their first F/A-18F Super Hornet cruise, deploying to the Persian Gulf.

At some point in this deployment, which ended on July 14, 2024, a woman in VFA-32 became the first American female pilot to engage and kill an air-to-air contact.