BASE WILL PLAY HOST TO GUESTS; EAKER VISITOR DAY MIGHT BE THE LAST

EAKER AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. Operation Desert Storm aircraft plus the Air Force Academy's Honor Guard Rifle Drill Team and the Army's Golden Knights Parachute Team will highlight what may be the last Visitors' Day at Eaker Air Force Base.

The event begins at 11 a.m. Saturday and will conclude at 5 p.m. The public is invited.

The Strategic Air Command base, situated west of Blytheville, is scheduled to close in fiscal year 1993 as a result of cutbacks in the Defense Department's budget and relaxed tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Eaker is home to the Air Force's 97th Bombardment Wing, which has hosted Visitors' Day for 18 years. The 97th maintains a fleet of B-52G bombers and KC-10 and KC-135 jet aerial-refueling tankers in support of the SAC mission.

Base public-affairs spokesman, Tech. Sgt. Judy Brown, said the B-52G bombers now at Eaker are to be retired and gone by the end of this year.

"This may be our last Visitors' Day program, but it will certainly be one that everyone will remember," she said. "We're preparing for a crowd of over 40,000."

The annual event draws spectators from throughout Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and neighboring states.

Brown said the theme for Visitors' Day is "American Pride: A Homecoming Celebration."

She explained that over one-third, or about 1,500 of the 3,500 military personnel assigned to the 97th Bomb Wing, were deployed overseas during Operations Desert Shield and Storm.

Some airmen were sent to the SAC base at Fairford, England, while others went to the base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and other locations in Europe and the Persian Gulf to fly the B-52s and aerial-refueling tankers used in Iraqi bombing missions.

The operation was not without its price to base personnel from Arkansas; three Eaker airmen died when their B-52 went down over the Indian Ocean en route to Diego Garcia after completing a bombing mission.

"Most of our tanker fleet are still flying refueling missions in support of aircraft flying to and from the Persian Gulf," said Brown. "We only have two tankers on the base right now, so we will not be able to offer tours of the tankers this year."

But there will be lots of other aircraft and military equipment on display similar to those used in the Persian Gulf. They include the Patriot antimissile display from the Army's Redstone Army Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala. Patriot antimissiles were largely successful in preventing Iraqi Scud missiles from hitting Israel and allied installations in Saudi Arabia.

Eaker's B-52 Stratofortress and KC-135 Stratotankers, similar to the aircraft that played an important role in the success of Desert Storm, will fly by in formation, simulating an aerial-refueling rendezvous. The B-52s also will demonstrate a bombing run, including a ground burst to simulate exploding targets.

An Air Force F-16 and a Navy F-18 will perform aerial maneuvers similar to those of the Air Force's Thunderbirds aerial-demonstration team. Four F-16s will fly by in formation. On the ground, an Air Force E-3A AWAC (Airborne Warning and Control) aircraft will be on display. It was used as an airborne control center to guide allied fighters and bombers to their targets in Kuwait and southern Iraq.

Other aircraft on display during Visitors' Day include: an Army AH-1 Cobra gunship helicopter; a B-1 bomber; a Marine Corps C-9 (DC-9) medical air-evac jet; Air Force A-6, A-7, A-10, F-16, F-18 and F-111 jet planes; and a Navy P-3 Orion submarine chaser.

An Air Force U-2 spy plane and a civilian UC-78 "Bamboo Bomber" used in the Vietnam war also will be on display. "There will also be a lot of other aircraft on display," Brown said.

The Honor Guard Rifle Drill Team from the Air Force Academy will perform precision drill routines. The elite team serves as the academy's ceremonial representative at funerals and memorial services.

The Army's Golden Knights will jump from a C-31 at about 12,000 feet, free-falling for nearly a minute at speeds of more than 150 mph before their parachutes open. During their descent, the jumpers will perform several formations, including a baton-pass, cutaway, diamond track and diamond.

The base's security dog team and their handlers will put on demonstrations for visitors. "We didn't have them on the schedule because our dogs just arrived back in the states from Desert Storm assignment and had been in quarantine until now," Brown said.

The Base Community Council will serve a catfish dinner of pond-raised fish, cole slaw, hush puppies and bread for $3.50. The dinner is a tradition for Visitors' Day, Brown said. Over the past 18 years, BCC volunteers have served more than 75,000 meals.

Other food stands will be operated by base organizations, as will souvenir booths. Many of the 97th Bomb Wing organizations will have displays explaining their support mission.

Still and video cameras will be permitted.

To get to the base, which is about 90 miles south of Cape Girardeau, take Interstate 55 and watch for the Eaker Air Force Base exit.