VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — At Naval Air Station Oceana this week, the Navy's Blue Angles are preparing for the annual air show in Virginia Beach.
And a few faces familiar to Hampton Roads are among them.
13News Now spoke with LCDR Philippe Warren, US Navy Blue Angels Flight Surgeon, who is a Williamsburg native.
"The very first Blue Angels Air show that I ever saw was here in Oceana when I was seven-years-old," Warren said. "And so to be able to come back here and perform one last time, for me, in a place that means so much, is just such a really cool experience."
LS1 Masha Burger, with the US Navy Blue Angels Logistics Crew, is from Virginia Beach and went to Cox High School.
"I love it here. It's my hometown. I went to Frank W. Cox High school, so go Falcons!" Burger said. "For the Blue Angels, the first time I ever heard about it was on Virginia Beach Boulevard when I saw them flying over my head."
And even the US Navy Blue Angels Commanding Officer, Captain Alex Armatas, has called Hampton Roads home in the past. He's been stationed at NAS Oceana several times, as many members of the Blue Angels have.
"This show is certainly special. This is one we all mark on our calendar," he said. "We've got a significant portion of this team, myself included, that have done tours here that have lived here, have lived in this area, have lived in Virginia Beach, Norfolk and the Hampton Roads area, and being here, to be a part of this, for a lot of us, it feels like coming home."
The Blue Angels have a crew of 160 people, who are tasked with representing over 800,000 members of the active duty, reserve and civilian Navy Marine Corps.
"Our job is to represent the Navy Marine Corps," Armatas said. "If folks see that, our hope is to inspire folks, whether or not they join the Navy or the Marine Corps, that's not up to us. We just want to show them what their Navy Marine Corps does and realize that that's happening all over the world and that kind of teamwork exists all over the fleet."