Every 6 weeks, a class of between 8–12 newly winged Navy and Marine Corps pilots and Naval Flight Officers begins the 9-month training course in which they learn the basics of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, culminating in day/night carrier qualification and subsequent assignment to fleet Hornet squadrons.

There are approximately 1200 Navy and Marine Corps personnel, as well as foreign instructors and students (from countries such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Germany) assigned to VFA-106.

There is a permanent VFA-106 Detachment in Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, where the squadron often deploys for fighter training.

Typically two F/A-18s are sent to the show site, one being the demonstration aircraft and the other being a spare in case the demo jet suffered a mechanical problem.

On 20 and 21 September 2014, the F/A-18C and F/A-18F flew full tactical demonstrations both days of the NAS Oceana airshow marking the first time since 2012 that US Navy F/A-18s were displayed to the public.