Blue Angels C.O. Relieved

Cmdr. Dave Koss , Commanding Officer of the Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron , has been relieved of his command following a lower-than-normal maneuver during the teams performance at the Lynchburg Regional Air Show on May 22, 2011.

 " With deep personal regret I shared with my command that I will be voluntarily leaving the greatest flight demonstration team. I performed a manuever that had an unacceptably low minimum altitude. This manuever , combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization it is , led to my decision to step down." Koss will be replaced by Capt. Greg McWherter , who was the previous Blue Angels's Commanding Officer , for the duration of the season. The move requires the cancellation of the Blue Angel's scheduled performances at the Rockford Airfest June 4 and 5 at at the Evensville Freedom Festival Air Show June 11 and 12. The Blue Angels will remain in Pensacola for additional training and air show demonstration practice.