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Here comes the airshow

  • Published
  • By Col. Gary Goldstone
  • 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  This Saturday and Sunday the Joint Total Force Scott community will open its gates to the public for the 2008 Airpower Over the Midwest Air Show.

Joint Total Force Scott has always maintained a close partnership with the surrounding communities. The 2008 Airpower Over the Midwest Air Show is our way to say thanks to these communities for their support throughout the years.

A special salute goes to the Scott Field Heritage Air Park Committee for their outstanding assistance in putting together a world-class event for the third year in a row. Their hard work and dedication over the last several months has been instrumental in providing funding, enabling us to assemble the ground displays and aerial demonstrations you will see throughout the weekend.

The 2008 Airpower Over the Midwest Air Show will feature the Air Force's premier demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Special Operations Command parachute demo team, an F-15 demo flown by West Plains, Mo., native Capt. Sam Joplin, and the Trojan Horsemen among a variety of other vintage and modern military aircraft.

Ground displays include a photo and text exhibit commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, a humanitarian air drop display, information booths hosted by military recruiters, and the United States Air Force Academy's fighting falcon.

As visitors come to the show this weekend, they will see the Joint Total Force Scott community coming together as one cohesive team. Personnel from the 375th Airlift Wing, the Reserves' 932nd Airlift Wing, the Air National Guard's 126th Air Refueling Wing, U.S. Transportation Command, Air Mobility Command, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, along with Scott's other partners will all have a hand in making the show a great success.

The Joint Total Force Scott team will also get assistance from its friends outside the gates through local law enforcement agencies, fire departments, emergency management resources, and medical responders. These civilian partners have our heartfelt appreciation for their support.

The 2008 Airpower Over the Midwest Air Show is truly a reflection of Scott Air Force Base as a fully integrated military-civilian community. Visitors from all over the greater St. Louis metropolitan region and beyond will visit Scott and witness the strong working relationships whether between host unit and associate or between the base and our community partners.

With the spotlight shining brightly on us this weekend, I encourage every member of the Joint Total Force Scott community to make our guests feel at home among their military professionals. Take every opportunity to share your story, your career specialty, service record, and deployment experience. This is the time to demonstrate our talents, our professionalism, and our military strength to the American public and our surrounding civilian neighbors.

Please remember to say thank you. The 2008 Airpower Over the Midwest Air Show would not be possible without the support of the military and civilian flying acts, static displays, and ground demonstrations. Thank them for their participation and time.

Most importantly, thank the public for their attendance. This show is for them, to educate them about their U.S. military and to recognize their support of our uniformed personnel and their families. Without their attendance and interest, the show would be meaningless.

The Joint Total Force Scott community is proud to welcome everyone to the 2008 Airpower Over the Midwest Air Show. Please have a safe and enjoyable visit.