‘Blue Angels’ doc shows how incredible iconic aviation team, U.S. Navy are amid recruitment woes
"The Blue Angels" documentary was made so that America and the world can see the team’s "exceptionalism" and maybe even inspire people to join the U.S. Navy, filmmaker Paul Crowder and retired Navy Capt. Greg Wooldridge said.
"The Blue Angels," the new documentary on the iconic aviation stunt team, was made so that America and the world can see the team’s "exceptionalism" and maybe even inspire people to join the U.S. Navy, filmmaker Paul Crowder and retired Navy Capt. Greg Wooldridge said.
The men spoke to Fox News Digital in a recent interview about the greatness of the team and the film’s ability to make viewers feel like they’re flying in the iconic blue and gold F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets.
They also acknowledged that low recruitment and declining enthusiasm in the U.S. Navy among young people is a challenge and described how the film tries to address that by bringing people close to the excitement of being part of the elite squadron.
"So that was the part, the stuff that was really important to be able to get the audience, America, and the rest of the world to see what an incredible organization this is and how important it is for morale in every way," Crowder told Fox News Digital.
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Retired Navy Cpt. Greg Wooldridge and "The Blue Angels" director Paul Crowder talked to Fox News Digital about the importance of making a film about the men and women of the elite naval aviation team. (Screenshot/Grace Hill Media)
"The Blue Angels," which hit IMAX theaters on Thursday and is available to stream on Amazon Prime, is an intimate look at the men and women who make up the U.S. military’s most famous flight demonstration squadron.
The film shows audiences how the highly efficient and tightly bonded team of men and women select new members and train for each season of dizzying air show displays that millions of Americans enjoy each year.
In addition to depicting how the pilots and crew strategize, train and push to improve their already sky-high standards, "The Blue Angels" straps viewers right in the cockpits of these planes as they perform their classic stunts.
"To be able to take them in the cockpit… put them in the cockpit, get that view — what an uplifting experience," said Wooldridge, who was "boss" – or flight leader – of the Blue Angels a record three times throughout his naval career.
"And seeing struggles and how you overcome them amongst the people that make it happen — the pilots, the maintenance folks, all the people in the squadron — it was a delight to do that," Wooldridge told Fox News Digital.
"You watch them do what they do with the Blue Angels, to fly these 22-ton jets 12 inches apart at 400 miles an hour, to have the trust in each other within the entire team — the whole team," Crowder said. "That's something we really wanted to get across to the audience."
"And then to understand that these guys are then going to go from here and go and protect our shores on their next tour of duty," he continued. "That’s very comforting to know that you’ve got people of this caliber out there protecting us."
Staffed by top-class men and women willing to put their lives on the line for the mission and their country, the Navy has recently struggled to recruit new members.
In advance of Fleet Week demonstrations, the Navy's Blue Angels fly over the San Francisco Bay, Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
The Navy failed to meet its goal of enlisting 37,700 new recruits last year, bringing in less than 32,000, the Associated Press reported. Despite missing this mark, Vice Adm. Rick Cheeseman said in January that the Navy is looking to fill even more spots so that it adds 40,600 recruits in 2024 for a total end strength of 337,800 by the end of the year.
To achieve that goal, the Navy has lowered certain standards in a bid to fight its continued recruiting woes, coming just over a year after it allowed for a higher percentage of recruits who scored low on the Armed Services Qualification Test. The new plan will allow recruits who don't have an education credential to enlist as long as they score at least 50 out of 99 on the qualification test, according to the report, marking the first time the Navy has allowed such recruits since 2000.
Fox News Digital asked Wooldridge and Crowder about these recruitment woes and whether a film like "The Blue Angels" was made in part to address them.
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"It's a huge challenge trying to draw people into our environment," Wooldridge said. "That's what we did with this movie, was to show the interaction of diverse groups of people — young men and women — how they got together and how they work together, and how they appreciated each other, and the love that developed there the chance to do that was a big part of making the movie."
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform a ‘Super Hornet’ flight formation, which included F-16 Fighting Falcons and F/A-18s. (U.S. Navy/SWNS)
"We're trying to bring up that impression of what the military life is like by showing it in real terms and, you know, the challenges and things you've got to overcome," Wooldridge continued. "But once you get there and the people around you, that teamwork, that team building that goes on, the people you learn to trust, it's great."
Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report.
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