Montgomery Advertiser, AL
05-18-06
Air show awes Maxwell visitors
By Topher Sanders
Montgomery Advertiser
Civilians at the 53rd National Security Forum at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base
got a chance to see their tax dollars in action during an aerial demonstration
Wednesday.
Flybys of bombers, the B-1 and B-52, and maneuver demonstrations by an F-15
and an A-10 highlighted the event.
"It was amazing," said Steffen Schmidt of Iowa, a professor of political
science at Iowa State University. "I think most of us civilians don't know how
much intelligence goes into our military."
More than 100 civilians from across the country and about 250 students at
Maxwell-Gunter's Air War College have been invited to participate in a weeklong
exchange of ideas meant to strengthen the relationship between the military and
civilians.
Civilians at this week's forum were nominated by Air Force wing commanders,
previous National Security Forum attendants or Air War College students.
Schmidt was recommended by Col. Evelio Otero, a student at the Air War
College and a former student of Schmidt's.
"This forum allows us to have a give-and-take with the community," Otero said.
"And with that we are perpetuating the wonderful system of checks and balances
of civilian control of the military, and that's what makes this country so great."
Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne will address forum participants
Friday.
Maxwell-Gunter's most senior officer, Lt. Gen. Stephen Lorenz, commander of
Air University, said the understanding gained from the forum is instrumental in
keeping the American military strong.
"We have a military that serves a democracy, and the American public needs to
know what we are doing," Lorenz said. "This aerial demonstration allows the
taxpayers, the individuals attending the forum, to learn about how their money is
spent and how it supports the U.S. Air Force."