Maureen Smith Keillor Livres

"The Blue Angels were established in 1946 by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to showcase the pride and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach. The Navy's Flight Demonstration Team, with its six gleaming blue-and-gold F/A-18 Hornets, never fails to thrill the crowds. Flying from heights of over 15,000 feet and dropping as low as 50 feet, the shows are nonstop, high-energy, heart-stopping excitement. The Blue Angels pilots and flight crew visit 50,000 people a year in schools, hospitals, and other community events, in addition to performing for those who attend their air shows."

The world's first naval aeronautical station, Naval Air Station Pensacola is a dynamic and active station today. A sign at the gate of Naval Air Station Pensacola (NASP) welcomes visitors to "The Cradle of Naval Aviation" - and, indeed it is. It came into being when the USS Mississippi (BB-23) arrived in Pensacola on January 20, 1914, with seven aircraft, nine officers, and 23 men. Today, NASP hosts several schools and several branches of the US military. It is also the home of the Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, as well as the renowned National Naval Aviation Museum (NNAM), which displays more than 100 years of naval aviation, from a replica Curtiss hydroplane to the F-14 Tomcat.