The Blue Angels fly over the San Francisco Bay during Fleet Week. Russel A. Daniels/AP File Photo
The Blue Angels Are Back in Action
Squadron of stunt pilots will be operating its full tour schedule this year, Navy announces.
The Navy announced that the Blue Angels, its touring squadron of stunt pilots, will be operating along its full tour schedule this year, after missing out on the 2013 season from federal budget cuts due to sequestration.
According to Rear Adm. John Kirby on the Navy's official blog, the reduction in funding in 2013 caused the Navy to cancel approximately 2,800 community outreach events. This year, he wrote:
We will be able to provide Americans around our nation with special events to explain and show what their Navy does. These events include full schedules for Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron (Blue Angels) and Parachute Teams (Leap Frogs); five Fleet Weeks; six Navy Weeks; Navy and regional band performances; and 10 port visits to U.S. cities.
Regarding the news that the team would be performing a full tour schedule, Cmdr. Thomas Frosch, the team's lead pilot, told the Pensacola News Journal that, "I think everybody was just excited to finally hear it. It's just been a long six months … It's a great feeling, that's all I can tell you." While grounded, the group performed other community outreach.