NAS JRB Fort Worth Hosts Armed Forces Day Celebration

FORT WORTH, Texas (NNS) -- Worth, Texas, in appreciation to the local community, hosted its first Armed Forces Day Celebration with a free concert featuring Trace Adkins and demonstration of military air power at the installation, May 15 and 16.

The event is the first time the base has been opened to the public in three years, offering interested parties, be they country music fans or air-show enthusiasts, an opportunity to join service members in saluting America's heroes during the Armed Forces Day weekend.

"I've been all over the Metroplex talking about the strategic importance of NAS JRB Fort Worth," said installation Commanding Officer Navy Capt. T.D. Smyers, "but because Fort Worth is a town that supports military power, and each individual warrior, in our community, we thought it best to show the community with an event like this."

Kicking off the festivities was country music's big guy, Grammy-nominated, Trace Adkins.

Rising country-music star and local favorite, Emily West opened the night's show with an advantage that appealed to the military crowd – her brother, Matt Nemmers, is a Navy chief petty officer recently transferred from the installation.

Modern military aviation dominated the event, hence the noticeable removal of the term air show, with the replacement of the favored name, Air Power Demonstration.

"We're demonstrating U.S. military air power –- unrivaled [throughout the] world, and supported here by Fort Worth's spirit of community and teamwork. It is a celebration of our past, present and future – across all services," said Smyers.

Powerhouses of the day included the Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet tactical demonstration, Air Force B-52 Stratofortess bomber fly over, as well as a both the Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcon (Viper) aerial performance and the Air Force Air Combat Command West Coast Viper Demonstration Team combat capability demonstration of the F-16.

The JRB-based flying squadrons also showcased their static-display aircraft, including the Marine F/A-18 Hornet and KC-130 Hercules, Navy C-9 Skytrain, Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon, Army C-12 Huron and the Texas Air National Guard C-130 Hercules. Local pilots and crewmembers provided tours of their aircraft and answered questions from air-show and aviation enthusiasts visiting that day.

For more news from Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, visit www.navy.mil/local/nasjrbfw/.