As the excitement builds in the minutes before the Super Bowl kickoff, four Air National Guard F-15 Eagle fighter jets will scream over Miamis Sun Life Stadium in a dramatic show of military support for the big game.
The F-15s, from the Florida Air National Guards 125th Fighter Wing, will time their flyover to begin just as country music superstar Carrie Underwood belts out the last note of the national anthem, reported Air Force Lt. Col. Richard Bittner, the 125th Wings public affairs officer.
Air Force Lt. Col. John Black, who goes by the call sign Homer, will lead the formation, followed by Wing Commander Col. Bob Squirt Branyon. Lt. Col. Mike Speedo Rouse, the 159th Fighter Squadron commander, will be in position three, with Col. Bill Bair, commander of the 125th Fighter Wings operations group, holding up the rear.
After the pilots land at nearby Homestead Air Reserve Base, a Miami-Dade police helicopter will whisk them back to the stadium, where theyll be introduced to the crowd, Bittner said.
The Super Bowl flyover is a first for the Air National Guard. The wing has done flyovers for other National Football League events, most frequently over Jaguars games near its Jacksonville International Airport base. But Bittner said theres a special panache that comes with flying over the big daddy of football games.
Its a huge honor, he said, calling it a recognition of the wings impressive operational readiness posture, and its 24/7 mission of being ready to scramble at a moments notice to protect U.S. air space.
http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=57894
/Salute
re: The F-15s, from the Florida Air National Guards 125th Fighter Wing
Cool, thanks for the post.
Kick off