A special appearance will be made at the Texas Tech v. Arizona State game on Saturday. Four F-16 fighter jets will do a flyover the Jones AT&T Stadium right after the national anthem and before kickoff at 7 p.m.
The pilots spent the afternoon practicing on Friday after flying in from San Antonio. This team only does special flyovers like this two or three times a year. Their goal is to energize Tech fans before the big game.
“It’s really special when you’re in the stands, when you see the Air Force or any military do a flyover, it’s inspirational,” said Colonel Raul Rosario.
For two of the pilots, including Rosario, there’s a special connection to Tech football. Rosario’s son started as a Tech freshman. And for Colonel Larry Warmoth, who serves as the 149th Med Group Commander, being a raider goes back generations.
“I went to medical school here, my daughter went to medical school here, my son is in medical school here. Our youngest son is working on his Masters,” he said. “Tech is in our blood, we’re all Red Raiders.”
Texas Tech ROTC cadets were also there and helped radio in the F-16 pilots over the stadium and into Lubbock Aero.
“We were on the roof of the stadium, radioing in the fighters so we can help practice coordinating for them to fly over when the national anthem happens,” said Air Force ROTC cadet, Douglas Guberman.
Guberman said this was invaluable experience and helped him and others imagine their future careers in the military.
“It’s mind blowing and super amazing,” Guberman said. “They’re just blown away by the amazing things the Air Force does. This is such a small aspect of what they do and just to see the glow in their eyes, it’s really rewarding.
The fighter jets are expected to fly over the stadium at approximately 6:56 p.m.
