Following winter training, the team will begin its 60th season at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif., March 11, 2006. The season will conclude Nov. 11 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.

The Blue Angels are scheduled to perform 70 demonstrations at 36 air show sites throughout the United States, Canada and the Netherlands during the 2006 season.

Demonstration sites are selected in support of the objectives of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Department of Defense. Performances greatly assist Navy and Marine Corps recruiting and retention goals, enhance esprit de corps among uniformed men and women, and demonstrate the professional skills and capabilities of the armed forces to the American public.

�The Blue Angels are fired up and ready for a safe and exhilarating 60th anniversary show season,� said Cmdr. Steve Foley, Blue Angels flight leader and commanding officer.

�While we wanted to perform at every air show site, we have a limited number of available performance dates each season,� Foley added. �Every venue that requested to host the Blue Angels received the Navy�s utmost consideration.�

Although the following dates have been approved, they are subject to change. For the most updated schedule information, log on to www.blueangels.navy.mil.
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History of the Blue Angels
At the end of World War II, Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, ordered the formation of a flight demonstration team to showcase naval aviation. The team performed its first flight demonstration less than a year later, June 1946. Flight Leader, Lt. Cmdr. Roy "Butch" Voris led the team flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat at Craig Field, Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Florida.

The Navy Flight Demonstration Team transitioned to the Grumman F8F Bearcat, August 25, two months after the first demonstration. In 1947 Flight Leader, Lt. Cmdr. Robert Clarke, introduced the famous diamond formation, now considered the Blue Angel trademark. At the end of the 1940s, the Blue Angel Team was flying its first jet aircraft, the Grumman F9F-2 Panther.

In 1950, the Korean Conflict put a great demand on naval aviation. The Navy responded by reassigning the Blue Angels to the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CV-37), where the Blue Angels became the nucleus of Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191), known as Satan's Kittens.

The Blues were reorganized in 1951 and reported to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas where the team began flying the F9F-5, the faster version of the Panther. The team remained in Corpus Christi until the winter of 1954. The beginning of 1955 brought the team to its present home, Sherman Field, NAS Pensacola, Florida where it transitioned to flying the swept-wing Grumman F9F-8 Cougar.

The ensuing 20 years saw the Blue Angels transition into two more aircraft. In 1957 the team began flying the Grumman F11F-1 Tiger. By 1969 the team was performing in its first dual-engine jet, the McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II.

In December 1974, the Blue Angel Team reorganized as the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron establishing Cmdr. Tony Less as the commanding officer. The squadron added support officers and redefined its mission to support Navy recruiting. The Blue Angel Squadron also donned a new aircraft in 1974, the McDonnell Douglas A-4F Skyhawk II.

On November 8, 1986, the Blue Angels completed their 40th anniversary. During the ceremony the squadron unveiled its present aircraft, the sleek McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet. The Hornet is the first dual-role fighter/attack aircraft serving on the nation's front lines of defense.

In 1992 the Blue Angel Squadron deployed for its first European tour in 19 years. Over one million people in Sweden, Finland, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain saw the Blue Angels perform during their 30-day tour. In November 1998, Cmdr. Patrick Driscoll landed the first "blue Jet" on a "haze gray and underway" aircraft carrier, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75).

Since its inception in 1946, the team has flown for more than 410 million fans, including more than 17 million spectaors during the 2005 show season. 2006 marks the 60th anniversary of the Blue Angels (www.blueangels.navy.mil).