What a great meeting RCSE had this past Friday with many members and guests in attendance! President Mark Sprosty announced the August Service Project, the August Social, and promoted Conni Reynolds from Red to Blue Badge! After many Happy dollars were given, Kim Campbell introduced our speaker for the day, Col. Steven "Tracker" Thomas, who spoke to us about the Air Dominance Center located at the Savannah Airport.
The Air Dominance Center is one of four Air National Guard training facilities in the United States. What makes the one in Savannah so unique is our airspace which Col. Thomas equated to Disney World for fighter pilots! Due to our landscape and the surrounding water, fighter pilots are able to simulate exercises as if they were fighting in places around the world. It is easier to do real life simulations with more airspace which is provided here. There is a constant flow of people training at the facility and it has a real impact on the Savannah economy. In addition to training and providing exercises for fighter pilots, the William Tell competition (the largest fighter pilot competition in the world) was hosted in Savannah in 2023 and will return again in September 2025.