Instead of jets flying through the skies this year for the Thunder Over Columbus airshow, Columbus Air Force Base is planning a Fourth of July event in tandem with the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Col. James Blech, commander for the 14th Flying Training Wing, said at Wednesday’s Base Community Council luncheon that there were difficulties getting the typical performers this year for the show, including the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. So, the base is pivoting to a new event.
“We made a decision a few weeks ago to put all the resources that we were going to put into this air show into the America250 celebration,” Blech said. “… We’re going to partner with the (Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau) to put on a big event here.”
Blech told The Dispatch CAFB leadership has discussed potential plans and offerings for the event to include a fireworks show, live bands and maybe a flyover.
Also on the Fourth of July, Blech said CAFB plans to open up a time capsule that was buried in 1976 on the base, Blech said. Later that same day, airmen will bury another time capsule to be opened in 2076.
“We plan on opening that thing up to see what goodies they left us in there,” Blech said.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 90 community members, airmen and base leadership, Blech highlighted the base’s economic impact in 2025, developments in pilot training and the impact of CAFB’s new STARBASE, a STEM center built to give hands-on experience to local fifth-graders.
Last year the base contributed about $600 million in economic impact through its employment of nearly 3,000 airmen and workers that spend money in the city annually, he said.
Since the STARBASE center was completed in August, Blech said 386 fifth-graders have taken courses designed to give students a better understanding of what they can accomplish in STEM career fields.
“(It’s) an amazing program, really geared towards the fifth-graders and the local community to bring them out to the base, (and be taught) a stem focused program to just train and educate kids in STEM activities,” Blech said.
CAFB, over the last year, developed a new flight training method for its airmen, who will now receive a private pilots license from flight schools in Georgia and Florida before arriving on the base.
The shift took what used to be a year of training down to about five months, Blech told The Dispatch.
“The driving force behind it was that … we weren’t creating enough pilots for the Air Force,” Blech said. “… We weren’t producing enough pilots now so that we could fill the ranks as necessary down the road.”
Over the last year the base has also built up mental health support programs for the more than 600 pilots in training.
Through programs like the Warrior’s Edge Mindset Training and the construction of a MindGym, a cube that uses mirror and technology to track performance and stress levels, the airbase has made student pilots’ mental health a top priority, Blech said.
“(The Air Force can) have this old cowboy kind of approach to training, which is, ‘Hey, I’m going to make it difficult, and if you get through you’re going to demonstrate that you’ve got the grit to make it through,’ but now we understand that we can actually get students to learn better,” Blech told The Dispatch.
Kevin Stafford, Base Community Council president, said events like the luncheon are important for not only showcasing the base to the community but also showcasing local businesses or areas of support that airmen may need in the city.
“People, because they can’t come on base, tend to not know a lot about it,” Stafford said. “This is that opportunity to get on base. See what they’re doing. Learn what changes. Who they are. These people come and go, sometimes annually or at least every two years. So they’re always a revolving door. The flip side of that coin is we are that constant when they get here.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
