Planning was ‘tremendous logistics exercise’ Published Sept. 24, 2009 By Senior Airman Andrew Davis 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- In January the Sept. 19-20 airshow was just a date on a calendar. But to a dedicated group of individuals it meant time to start working. Meeting weekly the 43 members of the airshow committee have planned, rechecked their plans and planned some more, for what culminated as the Scott 2009 Airpower over the Midwest Airshow. "We started nine months ago planning this huge event, devoting the last three months almost exclusively to the show," said Lt. Col. Michael Kayser, airshow director. "This tremendous logistics exercise couldn't have been possible without the hundreds of volunteers and local community support." Starting with the tiniest details the committee worked their way up. "We started with the smallest things we could," said Capt. Michael Lee airshow ground boss. "Things like how many people fit on a bus, latrine services, water and cooling stations. Basically things people take for granted, entry ways and smoke pits to name a few. "Planning is the key in every military operation but for the airshow it's huge. We plan to host up to 120,000 people on base, without months of planning moving all those people form point 'a' to point 'b' or evacuating all of them off the base in case something goes wrong could never happen," he added. Not only was logistics a major hurdle for the committee, but training of personnel to work the airshow was an issue. "This was a huge muscle move for the entire base," said Captain Lee. "In addition to the logistic pieces we had 110 security force augmentees to train." This was the first time on base for many people, and the first time for many augmentees at the gate and in the parking lots. "So we trained each one of the augmentees to not only act politely and courteous to them, but to also act in the appropriate manner in case a situation may arise," Captain Lee said. Not only were Team Scott members involved in the planning and execution, but there were also 300 emergency workers from surrounding communities at the show. "We had St. Clair County emergency medical services, seven local fire departments, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, as well as cops from all over the local area." Despite the many hurdles the airshow committee faced throughout the last nine months they produced an event that showcased the Air Force's capabilities. "We still have 20 to 30 percent of Team Scott deployed, we have had exercises the week of and the week after, and the show went off without a hitch. That just showcases how we project our air power," said Captain Lee.