MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- Local media outlets received the opportunity to come aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, during MCAS Miramar Media Day, July 29.
The event gave local media an opportunity to delve deeper into the moving parts that make the air station and the Marine Corps work.
“This is the second time that I’ve gotten a really good behind the scenes look at MCAS Miramar,” said Bridget Naso, a military reporter with NBC 7 San Diego. “But this time we got to talk to real Marines on the ground from various [military occupational specialties] and find out all they do and how much they love their job and what they do here.”
The day consisted of a static display featuring nearly all variations of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing aircraft, a static display of Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 373 equipment and a look into the station’s residential Corporal’s Course.
“Just to get a peek into the Corporal’s Course was really interesting,” explained Naso. “It was something you don’t really get to see and it is a time-honored tradition, so to be able to step into that room as the Marines go through their leadership training and get to hear what they thought about, the whole thing was a really great opportunity.”
Although the event had a lot to offer, the star of the day was the F-35B Lightning II. According to Tony Guinn, assistant airfield operations officer with MCAS Miramar, it’s a big deal for the media to have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the F-35 and get a firsthand account of how it operates by interviewing its pilots.
“We are always interested in innovation and there are a lot of questions about the F-35,” said Naso. “The public has a lot of questions when they spend money on something. They want to know what it is doing and what it’s for, and when I interview the pilots, I think the public gets a good idea about what the capabilities of the aircraft are.”
According to Naso, the Marine Corps is such a critical part of the Sand Diego community and it is great that Miramar allows the media and the public to get a closer look into what really takes place behind the gates.