SAN DIEGO, Calif. - "Prepare defenses!" yelled announcer Rob Reider during the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Assault Demonstration here Oct. 2.
The Miramar Air Show isn't just about planes flying in pretty patterns and parachutists jumping in formation. Pyrotechnics lit the flight line as fighter pilots in the air simulated an airstrike and armored tanks on the ground drove through the smoke during the mock attack. A rush of red and heat from the fire hit the audience. They loved it.
"We like the explosions," said Jennifer Way, a San Diego resident. "This is our favorite part. It's a real adrenaline rush."
While the blazing show on the flight line attracted audience members, recruiters from every branch of service, from the Coast Guard to the Air Force, attracted another audience.
Advanced improvised explosive device defusing robots, Navy SEAL displays and a massive Army simulated weapons range were just a few of the high tech gizmos set up to attract potential applicants for their services.
And after decades of ingenuity, the Marine Corps proudly presented (drum roll) ... the pull up bar.
Its simple appeal attracted hundreds of civilians of all ages, many including veterans and active duty members of other military branches.
"It shows me the interest is still there," said Sgt. Dino Trujillo, a recruiter with Recruiting Station San Diego. "Army and Air Force recruiters come up and say 'I was going to join the Marine Corps, but what happened was ... .' You can tell a lot are reminiscing about what could have been."
High school students, many from Junior Reserve Officer Training units of other services, also flocked to the bar.
While several of the services gave away souvenirs and prizes, the Marines at the pull-up bar made their audience work for theirs. Participants had to step up to the chin-up challenge and complete 10 chin-ups or hang for 30 seconds to earn a lanyard. They got a hat or water bottle for finishing 15 chin-ups or hanging for 45 seconds and earned a motivating T-shirt displaying the motto "Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body" for executing 20 chin-ups or hanging for 70 seconds.
"I tried it last year and I thought I was going to fall, but this year I really wanted to test my endurance," said 15-year-old Maria Alvarez, a sophomore at Fremont High School, Oakland, Calif., who said she doesn't know if she wants to join the military just yet or not. "I think the Marine Corps would be a good start for leadership [development]."
Those under the age of 14 or who didn't want to do the pull-up challenge also had the option to earn dog tags, stickers and posters by tossing a football through a target.
At the end of the three day event, Recruiting Station San Diego had almost 1,000 people take the chin-up challenge, but only a few walked with a T-shirt.