JBLM announces Thunderbirds air show in August
After some initial hesitation, Joint Base Lewis-McChord announced on Tuesday that it is definitely hosting an air show this summer.
It’ll be the first time in four years that the Air Force’s Thunderbirds and the Army Golden Knights parachute team perform at JBLM.
“We’re extremely pleased to bring this magnificent event back to the South Sound,” JBLM Garrison Commander Col. Daniel S. Morgan said in a news release. “We’re thrilled to have the Thunderbirds and the Golden Knights here again, just as they were in 2012.”
The Air Force announced in December that it selected JBLM as a site for its 2016 air show circuit.
JBLM officials in late 2014 had requested a visit from the Thunderbirds aerial demonstration, but the base could not commit to the Aug. 27-28 event until this week.
In 2008, 375,000 people attended a Thunderbirds air show at JBLM. In 2012 — the last time the base hosted the show — 150,000 people visited the base.
The air show is free and open to the public. The Army will have special access policies that day to allow civilians on the base.
JBLM plans to make the air show an open house to show off many military units stationed there.
Adam Ashton: 253-597-8646, @TNTMilitary
This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 5:49 PM with the headline "JBLM announces Thunderbirds air show in August."