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Patrol Squadron 5 'Mad Foxes' Participate in Salvadoran Air Show

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS110207-08
2/7/2011

From U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs

ILOPANGO, El Salvador (NNS) -- Patrol Squadron (VP) 5 personnel detached to Cooperative Security Location (CSL) Comalapa, El Salvador, participated in an annual Salvadoran Air Show at Ilopango Air Base, Jan. 29-30.

The two-day national aviation event showcased civil, military and commercial aviation in El Salvador.

The proceeds from the air show benefited the intensive care unit at Benjamin Bloom National Children's Hospital in El Salvador. This year the show featured American aerobatic demonstrations by Matt Younkin, Patty Wagstaff and Greg Poe.

"We were swarmed as soon as we parked," said Lt. Sean McElhannon. "The level of interest in the crew, the aircraft and our mission by the show attendees was amazing. Parents kept handing their children over to us so they could take pictures of us and the aircraft."

The air show allowed VP 5 service members and CSL staff to provide technical knowledge, education and perform aerial maneuvers for Salvadorans.

"My face was hurting at the end of the day from laughing and smiling so much," said Naval Air Crewman (Avionics) 1st Class (NAC/AW) Carlos Muniz. "They were really excited and interested in talking with us. They treated us like rock stars."

One of the highlights for the VP 5 crew took place Jan. 30, when Wagstaff's crew asked them to "hold the ribbon" for the daily ribbon-cutting event. The crew members were positioned to hold two thirty-foot poles with a length of ribbon strung between them while Wagstaff flew an inverted pass, at about 35 feet above ground, to cut the ribbon with her vertical stabilizer.

"The air show was a great success thanks to the participation of the CSL," said Maj. Robin Baldwin, air attache to the U.S. Embassy. "We all worked as a team and the U.S. Navy came through and stood out as a star, providing the only large aircraft presence at the show. The aircrew engaged the Salvadoran people and solidified US-Salvadoran relations not only with partner nation officials, but with the citizens as well."

CSL Comalapa, located in El Salvador, is an executive agent on behalf of the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command to Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) South that provides security and logistic support for its assigned assets.

COMUSNAVSO is the naval component command for U.S. Southern Command and is responsible for all naval personnel and assets in the area of responsibility. COMUSNAVSO conducts a variety of missions in support of the U.S. Maritime Strategy, including Theater Security Cooperation, relationship building, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, community relations, and counter-illicit trafficking operations.