No Blue Angels At This Year's Naval Academy Graduation

Naval Academy Graduation Has To Do Without The Blue Angels -- Baltimore Sun

Sequester cuts have grounded the flight team for 2013

He saw his first Blue Angels show in Detroit at age 6, and Thomas Frosch says the experience inspired him to want to become a pilot. He saw four more performances while attending the Naval Academy, including one the "Blues" put on before his graduation in 1992.

Now commander and flight leader of the Blue Angels, Frosch, a Navy lieutenant commander, was looking forward to returning to Annapolis this week, where he would have led his team through its traditional jaw-dropping show as part of the Academy's graduation week.

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My Comment: And no "Fleet Week" for lower Manhattan

Blue Angels And The Thunderbirds Are A Casualty Of The U.S. Federal Deficit

 

Budget Cuts Ground Blue Angels, Thunderbirds -- CNN 

(CNN) -- The nation's best military fliers have had their wings clipped, thanks to the forced spending cuts imposed on the federal government this year.

The U.S. Navy on Tuesday announced it was canceling all the air shows its Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron had scheduled for the rest of the year. The Navy action follows the Air Force's April 1 announcement that its Thunderbirds team would not perform again this year.

"Recognizing budget realities, current Defense policy states that outreach events can only be supported with local assets at no cost to the government," said a statement Tuesday from the office of the Commander Naval Air Forces in San Diego.

"This is one of many steps the Navy is taking to ensure resources are in place to support forces operating forward now and those training to relieve them."

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My Comment: With more cuts expected .... I will be not surprised if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds are cancelled next year.

Blue Angels 2013 Season Officially Canceled

 

Blue Angels 2013 Season Officially Canceled -- PNJ 

The cancellation of Blue Angels air shows extends past the federal fiscal year ending in September and means the November 1-2 Homecoming Show at Pensacola Naval Air Station has been scrapped, too. “It’s not just the fiscal year,” said Navy Lt. Aaron Kakiel, spokesman for the Naval Air Forces Command in San Diego.

So the Navy is also canceling the Blues' four air shows in October. More importantly for the November 2013 season finale in Pensacola, their practices in October are canceled as well.

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My Comment: Any bets that the 2014 season will be cancelled also?

Should The Pentagon Retire The Air Force's Thunderbirds And The Navy's Blue Angels?

Sequester: Pentagon Suspends Thunderbird, Blue Angel Air Shows -- Breitbart

In its continuing bid to make the automatic sequester cuts as painful to the public as possible, Obama's Pentagon has announced that it is suspending its aerial acrobatic flying teams, like the Air Force's Thunderbirds and the Navy's Blue Angels. With the decision, the Obama Administration is continuing the fiction that the last dollar government spends is on services most valued by the public.

Each branch of the military operates its own aerobatic team. The Navy and Marines have the Blue Angels. The Air Force has the Thunderbirds. The Army has a parachute team called the Golden Knights. These teams are publicly popular features of air shows across the country. After performances this past weekend, the Pentagon will suspend public appearances until at least after September 30th, the last day of the fiscal year subject to sequester cuts.

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My Comment: I have trouble believing that we are even having this debate .... but such is the state of the U.S. defense budget today.

Fly Along With The Blue Angels

Photo Gallery: Fly Along With The Blue Angels -- North Escambia

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly with the Blue Angels during their air show over Pensacola Beach?

Today, NorthEscambia.com takes you along for a ride during a Blue Angel practice. Fasten your seat belt, hang on, and then…

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WNU Editor: The photo gallery starts here.

Hat Tip: Theo Spark

Blue Angels Flight Practice With 50/50 Biofuel (Video)

Another Blue Angels Video: "Pump Up The Angels"

Blue Angels - Van Halen Dreams

Hat Tip: Theo Spark

U.S. Navy`s Blue Angels Commander Steps Down

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Blue Angels Commander Steps Down After Subpar Performance -- CNN

(CNN) -- The commander of the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels stepped down Friday in the wake of a subpar performance at a Virginia air show this week.

"I performed a maneuver that had an unacceptably low minimum altitude. This maneuver, combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is, led to my decision to step down," Cmdr. Dave Koss said in a statement, referring to the Lynchburg, Virginia, Regional Airshow.

He will be replaced by Capt. Greg McWherter, who was the flight demonstration team's previous commander.

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More News On The Commander Of The U.S. Navy`s Blue Angels Stepping Down

Blue Angels commander relieved of duties at his request -- MSNBC
Leader of Blue Angels quits -- UPI
Blue Angels commander resigns over air maneuver -- Seattle PI
Blue Angels CO resigns after leading low flyover -- Marine Times
Leader of Blue Angels Quits After Jets Flew Too Low at Recent Air Show -- FOX News
Blue Angels’ chief screws up, steps down -- Chicago Sun Times

Horsemen Pay Homage To The Blue Angels: Then And Now (Video)

My Comment: Awesome video.

Hat Tip: Theo Spark

Blue Angels No. 8 Is A Woman

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Amy Tomlinson. Navy

First Woman To Wear Blue Angels Number -- Sign On San Diego

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Amy Redditt Tomlinson, Blue Angels No. 8, grew up knowing how to pronounce Batiquitos Lagoon and where to find the best North County surf breaks.

She was a Carlsbad girl and a 1996 graduate of San Dieguito High School.

She’s also the first woman ever to wear a Blue Angels number, one of eight coveted positions on the Navy’s elite flying team.

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My Comment: I say that it is about time. Congrats to Navy Lt. Cmdr. Amy Redditt Tomlinson for her accomplishment.

The Blue Angels

Angelic Navy Personnel Enchant The Multitudes -- Examiner.com

As World War II drew to an end, Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, set into motion the plans which would later lead to the formation of the Blue Angels. His goal for the team was to keep alive the public’s interest in Naval Aviation. Their first demonstration took place less than a year later, in June 1946 at the Jacksonville, Florida Naval Air Station, their home base. They are now the oldest aerobatic team on the wing.

Lieutenant Commander Roy ‘Butch’ Voris led the first group of pilots which flew Grumman F6F Hellcats. Towards the end of the 1940s, the Blue Angels were in their first jet aircrafts, Grumman’s F9F-2 Panther. Using choreographic skills, which have been vastly refined over the years, the Blue Angels go though high-performance maneuvers at a fast pace with precision flying that wows the audience.

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My Comment: Their shows are always a must see.