908th Carries Maxwell Air Show to Success

  • Published
  • By Bradley J. Clark
  • 908th Airlift Wing
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  The 908th Airlift Wing played a significant role in the Maxwell Air Show April 8 and 9 at Maxwell Air Force Base.

The 908th provided four C-130 Hercules aircraft for a demonstration on a four-ship air drop of containerized delivery system bundles, another aircraft was on static display, and a final aircraft was used as the jump platform for the U.S. Air Force Academy Parachute Team, the Wings of Blue.

The wing also assisted in other aspects needed to make the Air Show a success, including three key members of the Air Show Staff. Lt. Col. Terry O’Grady, Chief of Tactics for the 908th Operations Group served as the Heritage to Horizon Air Operations Officer. While, Capt. David Castillo and 1st Lt. James Gillie both with the 357th Airlift Squadron, served as the liaisons for the Air Force Thunderbirds and Patrouille de France demonstration teams.

O’Grady said that he was, “responsible for attracting and recruiting aerial performers, static civilian and military aircraft and coordination of all their requirements.” While Gillie was tasked with, “coordinating the logistics for hosting the 75 members of the Patrouille de France team.”

The planning for each of their roles took longer than some would think.

“I got the assignment back in July of last year,” Said Gillie. “I really started communicating with the team in November. It became my primary assignment starting in February.” While O’Grady’s was even longer. “I started researching and contacting performers in May 2016,” said O’Grady. “The majority of work began in December 2016 during ICAS (International Council of Air Shows) Conference I attended air show workshops and began networking with air show performers.”

To pull off the first Air Show in more than seven years, these gentlemen had to overcome some difficult tasks.

“The most difficult part of the role is the coordination required to ensure all attendees have their requirements supported,” explained O’Grady. “Fuels and oils, aircraft parking, arrival/departure times, vehicles, and lodging are just a few of the requirements each performer needs addressed and each performer is a little different. I had a tremendous team of coordinators (Thunderbirds, Patrouille de France, warbirds, civilian performers, military aircraft, US Army, and hospitality) that made sure all requirements were covered and the performers and static aircraft aircrews were pleased with their stay at Maxwell.”

While, Gillie didn’t have to deal with every performer, one could argue he had to overcome one of the most difficult obstacles.

“The hardest part was the language barrier,” laughed Gillie. “They also spoke a fair amount of English, and I took a few years of French in school, but really only enough to be conversational. When they were trying to explain technical requirements to me we used a combination of hand gestures, pictures, and Google Translate to get the point across.”

Gillie’s hard work paid off in the end.

“The most rewarding part was seeing the team put on a great show,” explained Gillie. “It was nice to have everything squared away for the team so they could put on a great performance with ease.”

O’Grady saw value in another aspect.

“Seeing the excitement on people's faces was, by far, the most rewarding part of being the Air Operations Officer,” said O’Grady. “Bringing all of these aircraft together to celebrate 100 years of aviation while demonstrating to the public our history and looking into the future of aviation certainly brought a tremendous amount of energy to Maxwell Air Force Base and the River Region.”

The 908th also provided three aircraft hangers for use by show performers and distinguished visitors and guests, office space for the Air Force Thunderbirds and Patrouille de France teams, and aircraft maintainers and security forces personnel.

“I truly enjoyed the people I worked with from the Air University, 42nd Airbase Wing and 908th Airlift Wing to help bring this event to the public,” said O’Grady. “The weather was outstanding and I can honestly say I haven't heard anything but positive responses from both our visitors and performers.”