Guard jets will roar overhead to salute our health care workers
Just as the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds have done, Wisconsin Air National Guard pilots in F-16s will fly over cities to salute health care workers and first responders on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pilots from the 115th Fighter Wing, based in Madison, will participate in Operation American Resolve, a national campaign to show appreciation to folks battling COVID-19 and everyone supporting them.
Flight demonstration teams from the Navy and Air Force — the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds — have performed flyovers to thank health care workers throughout the U.S. The Blue Angels are scheduled to fly over Chicago on Tuesday.
The flyover is part of the 115th’s regular training so air crews can practice arriving at a location at a precise time. Some of the 115th Fighter Wing pilots flying on Tuesday are married to people working in health care.
Residents and workers are reminded to maintain social distancing while viewing the flyover. Viewers are encouraged to tag @115thFighterWing on Facebook or use the hashtags #AirForceSalutes or #AFFFlyover.
The 115th Fighter Wing has been based at Truax Field in Madison on one side of the Dane County Regional Airport since shortly after World War II. The unit, which flies 18 F-16 Fighting Falcons, learned last month it has been chosen to swap out its planes for the military’s newest jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Here’s Tuesday’s schedule — depending on weather conditions — for four F-16s from the Wisconsin Air National Guard 115th Fighter Wing, with the 10-minute time frame:
Kenosha, 5:48-5:58 p.m.
Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital Jets will come from the west
Racine, 5:50-6 p.m.
Ascension All Saints Hospital
Jets will come from the southwest Milwaukee, 5:54-6:04 p.m.
VA Medical Center, Froedtert Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Jets will come from the southwest Sheboygan, 6:02-6:12 p.m.
Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center and St. Nicholas Hospital Jets will come from the south Green Bay, 6:10-6:20 p.m.
Aurora Baycare Medical Center and St. Mary’s Medical Center
Jets will come from the southeast Appleton, 6:15-6:25 p.m.
St. Elizabeth Hospital
Jets will come from the northeast Menasha, 6:16-6:26 p.m.
Fox Valley Children’s Hospital Jets will come from the northeast Oshkosh, 6:18-6:28 p.m.
Aurora Medical Center and Ascension Northeast Wisconsin Mercy Hospital
Jets will come from the northeast Waupaca, 6:23-6:33 p.m. Wisconsin Veteran’s Home at King Jets will come from the southeast
Wausau, 6:31-6:41 p.m.
Aspirus Wausau Hospital
Jets will come from the east. Marshfield, 6:35-6:45 p.m. Marshfield Medical Center
Jets will come from the northeast Eau Claire, 6:49-6:59 p.m.
Sacred Heart Hospital
Jets will come from the north
La Crosse, 6:59-7:09 p.m. Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center Jets will come from the north Tomah, 7:10-7:20 p.m.
Tomah VA Medical Center
Jets will come from the north Reedsburg, 7:16-7:26 p.m. Reedsburg Area Medical Center Jets will come from the northwest Baraboo, 7:18-7:28 p.m.
St. Clare Hospital
Jets will come from the northwest Madison, 7:23-7:33 p.m. Middleton VA Medical Center, American Family Children’s Hospital, UW Hospital, Meriter Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital
Jets will come from the northwest.