B-2 Spirit Bombers and other aircraft wow the crowd at Cannon Range open house

Smoke rises from practice bombs dropped on targets the Missouri Air National Guard's Cannon Range during an open house demonstration.
(Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)

By Matthew J. Wilson
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

LAQUEY, Mo. - More than 1,000 people got a chance to see the magnitude of military aircraft Saturday during an open house for the Missouri Air National Guard's Cannon Range.

F-16 Fighting Falcons, A-10 Thunderbolts and B-2 Spirit Bombers roared across the sky, fired their guns and dropped practice bombs for spectators at the 4,800-acre, class-A, air-to-ground range located in the southwest corner of Fort Leonard Wood.

"I think it went real well - I'm pleased," said Maj. Michael Sadler, commander of Detachment 1, 131st Bomb Wing, which runs the range. "Everyone who was here seemed to really enjoy it and thanked us for what we do as Guardsmen."

The purpose of the event is to expose the range's neighbors to the mission of the Missouri Air Guard and the functions of the range.

"This is not an air show," Sadler said. "It's meant to show the local community what we do. This range is kind of unique in that it is a hazardous activity and there is a lot of loud noise. A good relationship with the community is critical."

The range includes more than 300 ground targets, 14 of which can be used to score a pilot's precision with camera towers and an advanced computer system. The range is utilized by all branches and components of the military. Units come to train on the range from as far away as Texas.

Before the airplanes began their target practice, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was flown in by members of the Missouri Army Guard's Company C, 1st Battalion, 106th Assault Helicopter Battalion, of Fort Leonard Wood. The pilots and crew opened up the helicopter as a static display to the public during the open house.

Also at the event, the United Service Organization offered food and drinks for donations, the detachment's Family Readiness Group sold commemorative T-shirts and children could get their face painted by an Airman.

Cannon Range normally holds an open house once every two years, although until Saturday, it hadn't put one on since 2007.

Sadler, who flew an A-10 during the 2007 open house, said it was a relief finishing his first open house as a member of the detachment.

"I'm excited now to do another one," he said. "A lot of people came up and thanked me."

But Sadler deferred any credit to his staff.

"I have a lot of good people who work here with me that did a lot of this set-up," said Sadler, who lives in Laquey. "It was a leap of faith for me to say I'm going to trust them to get it done, and that's exactly what they did."

Senior Master Sgt. Randy Flores, the range superintendant, said it took about eight months to prepare for the open house.

"We really give them a look at what we do on a daily basis," said Flores, who lives in St. Robert. "This is one of our primary public outreaches to let them see what we do and how we train.
"The training is essential for these pilots to be able to do what they do. That way when they go to battle, they are mission capable."

Flores said the open house started as an outing just for the Families of the range staff, but began to grow from word of mouth, and has continued to grow over the years. During Flores' first open house at the range in 1994, there were about 500 people who showed up. In 2007, there were more than 2,300.

"Before this year, it had just kept getting bigger and bigger," Flores said.

Although Saturday was a prime time to see what goes on at the range, Flores said tours for the public can be done throughout the year.

"Anybody can come out here and view it - they just need to call before they come," Flores said. "We let people come out here and barbecue. We have school field trips and Boy Scouts come out here."

Pepper Messer, who lives in Osage Beach, was among the first to arrive at the event.

"I liked getting a chance to see the military aircraft - that's my draw," Messer said. "The fact that they do this for the public is awesome in my book."

Messer said he's been fascinated with the military since he enlisted with the Marines more than 20 years ago, but broke his back in a car accident a month later and was never able to serve.

"Being in the military has always been my dream," he said.

Messer brought his 8-year-old great nephew, Carter Moesch, to see the A-10s in action. The two became fans of the A-10s after seeing them in the movie Transformers and have seen them at a distance near their homes.

"Whenever we hear them flying overhead, we always run out on the porch and look at them as they fly over," Messer said.

Moesch said he liked the sound of the guns.

"Ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom," he said.

Ina Stubbs, who lives in Lebanon, said she enjoyed the entire presentation at the open house.

"I think this would be good for everybody to see," she said. "I had no idea how powerful these aircraft really are. Just to see how they actually perform is impressive. I think it would be good for a lot of the kids to see this - very educational."

Although this is the first open house they've been to at Cannon Range, Ina, and her husband, Ed, used to live in Lee's Summit and attended several air shows in the northwest portion of the state.

Ed said his favorite part was the B-2s.

"Just the size of it is impressive," Ed said. "When we are headed down highway 50 and we see them coming in to Knob Knoster to land, we always have to pull over and watch them as they come in. It's just exciting."

The F-16s that supported the open house were from the Oklahoma National Guard's 138th Fighter Wing, of Tulsa; while the A-10s were from the Army Reserves 442nd Fighter Wing, of Whiteman Air Force Base; and the B-2s were from the Missouri Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing and the active Air Force 509th Bomb Wing, both of Whiteman.

The detachment got additional support from the Missouri Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing, of St. Louis and Whiteman; the Air Force's Detachment 1, 364th Training Squadron, of Fort Leonard Wood; Morale, Welfare, Recreation Fort Leonard Wood; Splash Design, of St. Robert; the Laclede and Pulaski county sheriff's departments; the Pulaski County Ambulance District and the Missouri Highway Patrol. Fort Leonard Wood also provided tents for shelter and buses to help shuttle people to their vehicles at the limited parking areas on the range.

Anyone interested in going to the range should call 314-527-7297.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites:
www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard; www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG; www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard; www.myspace.com/missouri_ng; www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard

An F-16 Fighting Falcon drops practice bombs on a target at the Missouri Air National Guard's Cannon Range during an open house demonstration.
(Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)

An A-10 Thunderbolt fires its guns Saturday during the open house for the Missouri Air National Guard's Cannon Range.
(Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)

Two A-10 Thunderbolts group up Saturday to return to Whiteman Air Force Base following their portion of an open house for the Missouri Air National Guard's Cannon Range.
(Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)

A B-2 Spirit drops a practice bomb Saturday during the open house for the Missouri Air National Guard's Cannon Range.
(Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)

Spectators at the open house for the Missouri Air National Guard's Cannon Range check out a Missouri Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk.
(Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)