Cites Government Shutdown As The Reason For The Move

People planning to attend the admittedly scaled-back Miramar Air Show at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar this weekend will be disappointed. The base announced Thursday that the show has been canceled due to the government shutdown.

"We are disappointed to announce that the air show has been canceled. We will release more information shortly via a release and press conference," Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said on Twitter.

In a news conference announcing the cancellation, Col. John P. Farnam, Commanding Officer, MCAS Miramar said that "for the past few months, we have been planning to host the show within the restrictions of sequestration, guidance from the Department of Defense and now the government shutdown. At each step we worked hard to ensure we were within those guidelines while still providing the San Diego community an opportunity to interact with our Marines and Sailors.

"This morning we received guidance from the Deputy Secretary of Defense that mandates non-excepted activities, including outreach events, are not authorized under the current shutdown guidelines, and the air show is now one of those.

"We want to thank the San Diego community for their tremendous support over the past few months. When conditions change, we look forward to hosting our neighbors and friends again on Miramar.

U-T San Diego reports that among the attractions at the show was to have been a static display of the new F-35B STOVL airplane, which would have been one of the first public displays of the aircraft.

The event had been scaled back but going forward after the Defense Department said that there could be no military flying displays at air shows this year.

Grandstands and tents had already been put in place on the tarmac at Miramar. They will go unused this weekend.

(Col. Farnam pictured in capture from Marine Corps video)

FMI: www.miramar.usmc.mil