Thunderbirds director of operations on flyovers to honor COVID-19 workers
Lt. Col. Kevin DiFalco on the importance of boosting morale during coronavirus pandemic.
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The Thunderbirds and Blue Angels are flying in tandem in recognition and support of health care heroes on the front lines of the battle against coronavirus, Thunderbirds Director of Operations and pilot Lt. Col. Kevin DiFalco said Saturday.
Appearing on "Cavuto LIVE" with host Neil Cavuto, DiFalco noted that while it is common for service members throughout the nation to be shown gratitude for their service, it's their turn to recognize the medical professionals fighting the spread of this deadly pandemic.
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"It's our turn to recognize those front line workers. And, on behalf of over one million service members, extend our gratitude and say 'thank you for your service' to those front line workers," he remarked. "And, what you're seeing is a combination of 12 extremely qualified and experienced combat veteran fighter pilots in close formation in two different six-ship formations that are providing us our salute from the skies."
The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels and the Air Force's Thunderbirds -- the US military's flight demonstration squadrons -- honored first responders Saturday by conducting formation flights over Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Atlanta.
The flight was the second joint flyover mission conducted. The first joint flight took place on Tuesday, April 28, across New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The joint operation is part of a series of multi-city flyovers being conducted over the next two weeks.
The Thunderbirds also flew over Las Vegas and Colorado in April to honor health care and essential workers.
STUNNING COCKPIT VIDEO SHOWS THUNDERBIRDS, NAVY BLUE ANGELS' NYC FLYOVER TO HONOR FIRST RESPONDERS
DiFalco explained that conducting the flyovers in such tight formations takes extensive training by the extremely experienced pilots. He told Cavuto that the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels had practiced for days in Pensacola, Florida to make sure they got it right.
"We practice quite a bit," he admitted. "And, this is really our best way to pass [on] our message of unity and strength and just bringing the whole country together."
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"We want to support everybody and let them know that we have their backs. We fly precise. We fly together. We fly as one," DiFalco added.
"And, bringing the Air Force and Navy together is a really special opportunity for us to pass that message of cohesiveness and that we're all in this together [on]. And, we will prevail. We have each other's backs. We're going to look out for each other," he concluded.
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