Photo By Staff Sgt. Reece Lodder | A fiery wall engulfs the clear Hawaiian sky behind the U.S. Navy's Flight...... read more read more
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Military service extends beyond just winning wars and defending the nation overseas. A component of that military service is community support. This year, Marine Corps Base Hawaii is showing appreciation for Oahu’s resident community by hosting the 2022 Kaneohe Bay Air Show and Open House, “Blues on the Bay” on August 13th and 14th.
As the first air show on Oahu since 2015, a significant amount of planning is required to make the event happen. Several entities across the base work together to make the event as safe and enjoyable as possible.
Planning begins over a year ahead of the event’s date: “The POA&M (Plan of Action and Milestones- a document outlining required tasks and deadlines to be accomplished before the air show) is 16 months long, and the planning starts around two years in advance when the announcement is made at the annual International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) Convention in December of 2020,” according to Pete O’Hare, this year’s air show coordinator. “A DD2535 (Request for Military Aerial Support) was submitted July 1st last year, then the planning started to take effect.”
With records of over 100,000 spectators attending in previous years, safety and risk management are critical. Event security, aircraft mishaps, and the pyrotechnics display, also known as the “Wall of Fire,” are important aspects of the air show to consider during the planning process.
“We’ve helped out with risk management for the Wall of Fire, static displays, show as a whole, and constructed the layout of the event. Risk management is a continuous process that doesn’t stop until the event is over,” says Rob McCarthy, director of MCBH Base Safety.
Base Safety works alongside MCBH’s Provost Marshal Office, from which more than 100 officers will provide security at the event. Active shooter training, emergency response, and coordination with Honolulu PD, FBI, military and state EMS are just a few of PMO’s capabilities that support the air show.
“We are constantly training and preparing for potential threats that could arise on base, so our preparation for this event doesn’t feel any different than what we already train for,” explains 1stLt Daniel Kelly, Special Enforcement Section Officer in Charge from PMO. “We’re happy to work with our local and federal law enforcement partners on the island to make sure the show is as safe as possible.”
The Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) unit aboard MCAS Kaneohe Bay will also stand ready on game day in the event of an aircraft crash or mishap. CWO3 Barnes explains, “Specifically for the air show, we’ll have vehicles strategically placed on the air field ready to respond to a mishap anywhere; that means wearing full gear with the truck running and ready to go for all hours of the show. We’re given a mandatory response time of 60 seconds or less, so we’ve spent extra training hours making sure we’re familiar with the proper readiness posture to respond in less than a minute. Only a handful of us at ARFF have worked air shows in the past, but this is what we train for every day. Emergency aircraft response is our specialty.”
ARFF will spend a portion of those extra training hours conducting a “pre-burn” test of the burn site in preparation for the pyrotechnics display, the “Wall of Fire”. This will help train the team leading up to the event. The “Wall of Fire” will be part of the Joint Air-Ground Task Force Demonstration and will simulate the execution of close air support by fixed wing aircraft.
In addition to preparations by safety and first responders, MCBH Environmental personnel evaluate the flight line for endangered species and animals to ensure the area is clear before the pre-burn and actual “Wall of Fire” display take place. Outside of the flight line evaluation, they practice spill response exercises and constantly evaluate storm water outfall levels.
“Potential spills into the environment create the highest risk, so a lot of our effort goes toward keeping that under control,” according to Ed Zuelke from Base Environmental. “After our evaluation of the pre-burn, we request approval from the Hawaii Department of Health and, on the day of the event, have a spill coordinator and spill response team on standby to mitigate any potential hazards to the environment.” In the unlikely event that a spill actually takes place, Base Environmental, MCBH Water Front Operations, and the rest of the spill response team will be ready to respond at a moment’s notice.
After the pre-burn, several military EOD technicians from around the island help set up the pyrotechnics display, including Marines from Base EOD, CLB-3 and MWSS-174 aboard MCBH, and Soldiers from the Army’s 303rd Ordnance Battalion from Schofield Barracks.
GySgt Bocksnick with MCBH Explosive Ordnance Disposal has experience conducting this same “Wall of Fire” event at air shows in Miramar and Iwakuni: “It’s always a pretty exciting event- you can see, hear, and feel the heat from the burst of flames, all while being at a safe enough distance from the blast.”
That’s the goal of this year’s air show; we want it to be a blast for everyone attending while maintaining safety as our top priority. Pete O’Hare emphasizes how well the base has worked together to make all of this happen, “teamwork across the base has been fantastic. If anything, I’ve only had to ask people to do more work than what they’re already contributing.”
“The question of why we host an air show is easy,” continues O’Hare, “it’s a lot of work, but it all pays off on the day of the event. The long months of planning and effort across base come to fruition when you see the wonder and excitement in kids’ eyes after they watch the performers execute their specialty on game day.”
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| Date Taken: | 07.19.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2022 21:10 |
| Story ID: | 425354 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 381 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, All Hands on Deck: MCBH Prepares for the 2022 Kaneohe Bay Air Show, by 1LT Ethan Valk, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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