The Miami Air and Sea Show is part of the National Salute to America’s
Heroes. It’s an initiative to commemorate Memorial Day with a unique
combination of events. There’s a patriotic concert, fireworks, an Action
Zone showcasing freestyle motorcycles, lumberjack competitions and
a Display Village. But front and center is an all military air show. Many
of the aircraft for the show were kept at USCG Air Station Miami for the
duration of the event. The Air Station also hosted a media day where
many new recruits were sworn in to various branches of the military.
There were parachute demonstrations from the US Army Golden
Knights, US Army Special Operations Command Black Daggers and the
US Navy Leap Frogs. Four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the 442nd Fighter
Wing in Whiteman AFB flew an aggressive “Brrrrrrt” demo. The United
States Coast Guard was on hand with elements from Air Station Miami
and marine units from Fort Lauderdale and Sector Miami. They used
the HC-144 “Ocean Sentry” aircraft to drop and recover materials to a
USCG small boat. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter dropped and recovered
a rescue swimmer. The United States Customs and Border Protection
division of the Department of Homeland Security also proved very ca-
pable in the sea bringing two 41-foot SAFE boats to bear on a simulated
interdiction of a suspect vessel. They were supported in the air by a
CBP Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk and a Super King Air 350ER twin engine
aircraft.This year also saw a F-15 from the “Bayou Militia” the 159th Fighter
Wing from New Orleans. The South was well represented as a B-52H
from the 307th Operations Group in Barksdale, LA made several passes
demonstrating the amazing longevity of the “BUFF”. And the Commem-
orative Air Force brought a P-51C Mustang in a Red Tail Squadron livery
“Tuskegee Airman”. Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson took the F-35A Light-
ning II out for it’s fifth demo of the season.