[MilCom] Blue Angels Ban Grounded Again

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Blue Angels Ban Grounded Again

Military.com  |  By Kelly Johnson  |  September 27, 2007


San Francisco's Supervisor Chris Daly is zero-for-three in his battle to spoil San
Francisco's Fleet Week. Daly's latest resolution to ban the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels from
performing at Fleet Week was rejected by the city's officials for the third time on
Sept. 25, reports the San Jose Mercury News.

Daly's first attempt at stopping the Blues was rejected in August when the city's
Government Audit and Oversight Committee tabled his measure in a 2-1 vote.

In his second effort, Daly amended his resolution to ban the Navy jets from flying over
heavily populated areas of San Francisco. Daly told the committee that a plane crash
would result in a significant loss of life and damage to property. The committee
disagreed and subsequently rejected the measure in early September.

Daly's most recent plea restated his safety concerns about the demonstration team and
included pictures of the Blue Angels crash in Beaufort, S.C. last summer where one of
the team's pilots was killed and eight people on the ground were injured.

Daly asked the committee, "What would happen if this happened over a heavily populated
area like San Francisco?"

Nathan Ballard, spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom, is among several of the city's
officials that support the Blue Angels participation in Fleet Week and told the San
Francisco Chronicle, "We think the FAA is better qualified to decide the Blue Angels'
flight path than Chris Daly is 
 Chris Daly is many things, but he's no air traffic
controller."

The Beaufort, S.C. incident was the first crash for the Blue Angels in eight years. The
team has had 26 fatalities over the last 60 years.

Blue Angels supporters say passage of this measure would be an insult to servicemembers
and veterans and another black mark against the Bay Area – a region increasingly viewed
by many Americans as woefully naïve in its bias toward liberal causes. For his part,
Mayor Newsom and other city council members want to keep Fleet Week (and the Blue
Angels) in San Francisco because of the positive economic impact it has on the city and
to show support for our nation's servicemembers.

Fleet Week is scheduled for Oct. 4-9.