Photo By Lt.j.g. Drew Verbis | 210424-N-AS200-1031 El Centro, Calif. (Feb. 24, 2021) The U.S. Navy Flight...... read more read more
EL CENTRO, Calif. — The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, and the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, will conduct 2nd Annual Joint Training onboard Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, February 24- March 3, to trade best practices and lessons learned in preparation for the 2021 show season.
The last time the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds performed together at an air show was at the Joint Base Andrews Air and Space Expo. May 11-12, 2019. Upon cancellation of air shows in 2020, the two teams came together in a collaborative, multi-city flyover mission called “America Strong” saluting healthcare workers, first responders, military and other essential personnel serving on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
“We are thrilled to once again host the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds at our winter training facility for an invaluable information exchange” said Cmdr. Brian Kesselring, Blue Angels commanding officer and flight leader. “Each opportunity the teams have to work together, is an opportunity to share experiences and best practices between our two service branches."
Both teams are in the middle of their winter training cycles and will not conduct performances; however, training flights with similar profiles to the air show routine will be conducted in accordance with annual training objectives.
“The installation is working hard to create an event, while managing the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our installation and to our fleet squadrons who train and operate from here. Our inaugural Festival of Flight will be a virtual event with live Flight Demonstration team performances; however, it will not accommodate a public gathering aboard the base as it has in the past,” said Capt. William Perkins, commanding officer, NAF El Centro.
2021 will mark the 75th anniversary of The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels who are transitioning to the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets.
The Blue Angels are scheduled to perform 53 flight demonstrations at 28 locations across the United States and Canada.
This year, the Thunderbirds are slated to perform 49 demonstrations at 27 locations across the United States.
The mission of Naval Air Facility El Centro is to support the combat training and readiness of the Warfighter. This includes air operations support to operational fleet and training squadrons as well as squadrons from other services (USMC, USA, USAF) and Allies.
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.25.2021 04:50 |
| Story ID: | 389794 |
| Location: | EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 92 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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