What's wrong with this picture?

Well, nothing is intrinsically wrong with this picture except that I believe those are, um, Air Force planes.

And what, you ask, is wrong with Air Force planes? Well, again, nothing except that this is San Diego. There are, like, probably six Air Force people in San Diego, forlornly manning the recruiting office, drinking coffee and telling flying stories to each other while they watch the lines at the Marine and Navy recruiting offices. There are about six zillion sailors and Marines here.

The Air Force Thunderbirds are performing at the Miramar Air Show. That’s the Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar Air Show. Not the Blue Angels, who have been performing at that show ever since their planes had propellers, the Thunderbirds. And the sun is going to rise in the West any day now, followed by San Diego Bay becoming ice-bound.

The Blue Angels purpose is to make people think about the Navy, they said, and San Diego already thinks about the Navy quite a lot so they felt that their energies could be of more value elsewhere. Somewhere, for instance, that didn’t have twenty or so Navy and Marine bases. That actually makes pretty good sense, if you think about it. Does the Navy really need publicity in the city where it has it’s largest base in the world?

I’ve seen both teams perform and I can’t say which is better. I really don’t think either one is. As a Navy veteran and living in San Diego, I’d like to claim the Blue Angels outfly the Thunderbirds, but… There is no question that the crowds at Miramar are loving those white jets.