DENVER – Both of the U.S. military’s high-drama, high-dollar flying teams suffered crashes on the same day this week, but supporters say the Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy Blue Angels are worth the money and the risk because they’re vital to recruitment and help citizens feel good about their military.
“It’s our No. 1 recruiting tool,” said retired Air Force Col. Pete McCaffrey, a pilot with the Thunderbirds from 1992 to 1995.
Most people don’t get to see the military up close, but when they see the elite air squadrons perform, “it gives them a sense of pride in their military and their country, and I think now we need that more than ever,” McCaffrey said Friday.
A Blue Angels F/A-18 crashed Thursday near Nashville, Tennessee, while taking off for a practice session ahead of a weekend air show. The pilot, Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, a Durango native, was killed.
Also Thursday, a Thunderbirds F-16 crashed outside Colorado Springs, but that pilot, Maj. Alex Turner, ejected safely. The Thunderbirds had just performed over the open-air graduation ceremony at the nearby Air Force Academy, where President Barack Obama spoke.
The military hasn’t publicly discussed the cause of either crash. Both are under investigation.
The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds have had dozens of crashes in their long histories, and a total of at least nine pilots have been killed during performances or practices since 1985.
The teams are pricey, too. The Thunderbirds have an annual operating budget of $35 million, said Air Force Staff Sgt. Katie Maricle, a spokeswoman for the Air Combat Command. A Navy spokesman couldn’t immediately provide the Blue Angels’ budget.
But the military insists the teams are important to the services and the nation.
“The Thunderbirds are a huge part of U.S. Air Force history and they are such a vital element of connecting our nation to our Air Force,” Maricle said.
Michael Kennedy, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels help servicemen and servicewomen share their pride with the public.
Kennedy, who now flies in air shows, said the demonstration teams let the military say, “We’re here to defend you and we just want to show you. We want to demonstrate to you so you can appreciate what we’re doing for you.”
Kuss himself once said the Blue Angels were his inspiration to become a pilot.
Two months ago, when the squadron arrived at the Smoky Mountain Air Show in Alcoa, Tennessee, Kuss told a reporter from WATE-TV that he remembered looking up at the Blue Angels as a little boy. He said his goal was to inspire all the kids now looking up at him.
“We’re just pumped to be able to interact with the community and tell them a little bit about what we do,” he said. “But we really just try to invoke that fire in their belly to go out and do what they want to do that makes them happy and successful in life.”
Tom Meyvis, a professor of marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said the recruitment argument has merit, especially when potential servicemen and servicewomen see the teams at air shows.
“People who are interested in the Air Force are more likely to attend these events and witness these teams and be excited by them,” he said. “The idea of investing in the future brand of the Air Force or the military, that is a positive investment.”
But Meyvis cautioned he’s not a military expert and said he couldn’t evaluate whether the military’s investment pays off.
“Is it worth the money? I don’t know,” he said.
He also questioned the value of the flying teams in building goodwill with the public.
“I don’t know that the U.S. military necessarily needs to sell itself to the general population,” he said.
Associated Press writer Kristin M. Hall in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
Aerial demonstration team crashes throughout history
AIR FORCE ACADEMY – Two fighter jets from the military’s elite performance teams crashed within hours of each other Thursday. A U.S. Air Force Thunderbird jet crashed in Colorado Springs after the group’s traditional performance at the Air Force Academy commencement. Durango native Jeff Kuss, a Navy Blue Angels pilot, was killed when his F/A-18 fighter jet crashed near Nashville, Tennessee, where the team was practicing for a scheduled performance this weekend.
The aerial demonstration teams have crashed dozens of times in their long histories. Here is a look at some of the recent cases:
April 2007:
Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis, 32, of the Blue Angels, died when his jet went down during the final minutes of a performance at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in Beaufort, South Carolina. The Pittsfield, Massachusetts, native was in his first year flying in formation with the team.
August 2005:
No one was hurt when two Thunderbird jets made contact while flying in formation, and a missile rail was dislodged. No one was injured in that accident at Chicago Air and Water Show, but the carbon fiber object fell into Lake Michigan, roughly 2,500 feet from where spectators had gathered to watch the show.
September 2003:
Captain Chris Stricklin safely ejected with only minor injuries when his Thunderbird jet crashed at an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho as about 85,000 spectators watched.
October 1999:
Lt. Commander Kieron O’Connor, 35, and crewmate Lt. Kevin Colling, 32, were killed while practicing for air shows with five other Blue Angels jets at Moody Air Force Base in southern Georgia. There was no evidence of a mechanical problem on the F/A-18 Hornet. Investigators said O’Connor had a rib injury that might have given him trouble tensing his abdominal muscles to avoid blacking out during maneuvers that exert extreme gravitational forces on pilots.
April 1999:
Two Thunderbird F-16 jets bumped shortly after takeoff during a performance at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. They were able to safely land without injury.
July 1985:
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mike Gershon, 32, of Pensacola, Florida, died when two A-4 Skyhawk jets collided and plummeted to earth in a fiery crash witnessed by 22,000 spectators. Lt. Andy Caputi, 30, ejected from his plane and landed safely on the grounds of the Niagara Falls Air Force Base.
January 1982:
The “Diamond Crash” becomes the worst training crash in Thunderbird history. Maj. Norm Lowry, Capt. Willie Mays, Capt. Pete Peterson and Capt. Mark Melancon are killed while flying the famous diamond formation during training at Indian Springs, Nevada.
The Associated Press
