<p>Have you seen this? Air Force is doing flyovers at West Point!</p>
<p>Times Herald-Record
October 31, 2006
West Point Bomb doors will be closed and targeting sights off, but Air Force will still have the upper hand over West Point this week.</p>
<p>As Army and Air Force prepare to do gridiron battle Friday night, a historic football rivalry is materializing in the roar of aerial firepower.</p>
<p>"The intent is clearly to motivate and build esprit de corps in what, today, is definitely a joint force," said Maj. Joseph Hall, an Air Force graduate, B-2 pilot and tactical officer at the U.S. Military Academy. Hall has been helping to plan the daily flyovers since August.</p>
<p>"It's great that these cadets get to see these airplanes and be motivated by this," he said.</p>
<p>The week of airborne taunts commenced yesterday, with four F-15s from Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod swooping over The Plain just before noon. Air Force flights will continue today, with a C-5 cargo plane from Stewart Air National Guard Base scheduled to buzz the academy at 11:57 a.m., weather permitting.</p>
<p>A KC-135 refueling tanker is slated to fill the airspace tomorrow, followed by a vintage B-52 on Thursday, and two A-10s and a B-2 "stealth" bomber Friday.</p>
<p>From planes to mascot theft, spirit-minded stunts are nothing new to pre-football game festivities. Air Force Academy spokesman Lt. John Ross said there are a handful of West Point cadets stationed at the Colorado officer training school, but so far, no retaliatory pranks.</p>
<p>"We're never sure what we can expect out of our visiting cadets," Ross said. "Nothing yet, but it's only Monday."</p>
<p>Pranks aside, there's little question of Air Force's superiority over Army in the skies. As Lt. Ross put it wryly, pre-game flyovers are "a good chance for us to show that Air Force planes are better than Army planes."</p>
<p>Army will get its due. Hall said a fleet of UH60 Black Hawks is scheduled to skim the tree line during an afternoon parade Friday at West Point.</p>
<p>On the field, differences are less distinct. Both service academy football teams have three wins this season, and both are looking to end a string of recent losses.</p>
<p>Army beat Air Force in Colorado last year; Air Force has won four straight at Michie Stadium.</p>
<p>"Although there may be a rivalry on the football field, that rivalry certainly doesn't exist in combat," Hall said. "It's all one team."</p>
<p>Sure. But don't expect Hall to be sitting on his hands come Friday. As for which cheering section he'll be in, Hall said that's a no-brainer.</p>
<p>"Air Force, unequivocally," he said.</p>
<p>The Falcons of Air Force take on the Army's Black Knights at 8 p.m. Friday at West Point.</p>
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<p>Go Army, beat Air Force!!!!!!!!</p>