August 31, 2009

Ira Schoffel, Osceola
Warchant.com Staff

One of the perks of Chuck Morris' job as Florida State's assistant athletics director for operations and events management is being the point man on military flyovers for Seminole football games.

After retiring as a colonel following 27 years in the U.S. Army and working the past 13 years in FSU's athletics department, Morris understands as well as anyone why these missions are so important.

For the military, they offer a chance to display to citizens - and prospective recruits - the grace and power of the aircraft and the deft skill of the pilots. For the fans at the games, the flyovers provide a rush of excitement and patriotism just before kickoff.

But no flyover Morris ever coordinates will be more special than the one scheduled to take place before the Seminoles' Sept. 7 season opener against Miami.

In honor of FSU graduate and Navy pilot Scott Speicher, who was shot down over Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, members of Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 81 will perform a "missing man" formation during the Labor Day pregame ceremony.

According to Morris, four F/A-18 Hornets will approach Doak Campbell Stadium just as the Marching Chiefs conclude their pregame show with the playing of the national anthem. Then just as the jets fly over the crowd, one of them will leave the formation and soar up toward the sky.

"This flyover will be certainly different than all of the others," said Morris, who has numerous photographs of previous flyovers in his Moore Athletics Center office. "With the others, there's the excitement of seeing the aircraft as they come across the stadium, whether it's CH-47 (Chinook) helicopters out of Fort Rucker or fast movers, F-15s and F-16s, or part of our strategic bomber fleet. In this case, it's closure in one respect. It's a solemn tribute to a Naval aviator who gave his life for the country.

"I hope that [the fans] understand that. I think they need to keep that first and foremost. This is a different flyover this time. I spent 27 years on active duty, and I've never seen a 'missing man' formation. And I'm going to say thankfully."

Seeing such a display at a football game is even more rare. Morris said the university had to seek special approval from the Pentagon before even contacting Speicher's fighter squadron to see if they would perform the mission.

"It's reserved for funerals and events of that nature -- not football stadium flyovers," Morris said. "But I think the special relationship between the family and Scott Speicher and the university I think is what allowed the Department of the Navy to approve this."

FSU originally was scheduled to have a different flyover for the Miami game. But when Speicher's remains were found in Iraq earlier this summer, university officials began the process of requesting the special event.

At the time of his mission, Speicher's unit was based at Cecil Air Field in Jacksonville. But Strike Fighter Squadron 81, also known as VFA-81, has since moved to Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach.

That added distance didn't deter the unit from jumping at the chance to perform the mission. Morris said the squadron actually will be sending six F/A-18 Hornets to Tallahassee for the event in case a replacement plane is needed, and squadron Commander John E. Capizzi is even making the trip.

Capizzi, his pilots and a maintenance crew are scheduled to arrive one day before the game, and they likely will perform a test flight that day. Though the flyovers actually are paid for by the military services, Morris said FSU will treat the crews to southern hospitality.

"The president [T.K. Wetherell] has been very pro-flyover," Morris said, noting that FSU used to schedule only one flyover a year but now plans several. "And he has been very supportive from a resources aspect, and has been in my opinion absolutely wonderful to the flight crews when they come in -- as far as hotel accommodations and giving something back, given the fact that we don't pay for the airplanes. We don't pay for the fuel. That is absorbed by the respective services."

And while many of the fans in attendance likely will be in awe of the fighter jets' speed and agility, Morris said this flyover should be more solemn than most.

"As a former member of our armed forces ... we have to keep in mind what that formation is for, the 'missing man' formation," Morris said. "The fact that there's been a Naval aviator who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave his life for his country. It does, in this case signify, as the aircraft does that straight climb into the skies, it's representing this tragic loss. Even just talking about it [gives you chills].

"You don't ever want to read about the loss of one of America's sons or daughters. And the reality is every day when I get the newspaper or turn on the news, whether it's four soldiers or Marines or sailors or airmen that have been lost, it's painful for our country - the mothers, the fathers, the spouses, the children."

Though ESPN's cameras won't start rolling live until both teams enter the field, Morris said he is certain they will record the tribute and play it back during the game. The only people in attendance who won't see the ceremony will be the Seminoles' and Hurricanes' players and coaches.

They still will be in their respective locker rooms, receiving last-minute instructions.

"I wish I could see it," said FSU coach Bobby Bowden, a military buff in his own right. "But I'm glad we're doing it."

Talk about it on the Football Message Board or on the Tribal Council