From: J. L. (milveh@dslextreme.com)
Date: Mon Oct 17 2005 - 10:06:25 PDT
After Action Summary (ONE GUYS UNOFFICIAL OPINION):
NorCal, Sat.- Sun: About 250,000+ visitors attended, weather was generally
clear, but gusty winds at night sent our light gear flying into the next
county. The MVCC fielded around 25 vehicles and trailers. WWII vehicles and
up, and I should emphasize mostly up, WWII was a minority. Which begs the
question why were we were booked in at the base "B-O-Q" as "WWII Vehicles",
hmmm? Shows a bit of prejudice by our leaders who own those WWII vehicles!
lol
Things that were good for the MVCC:
1. Vehicles with owners present to interact with the public- GOOD!!!
Public....this means mostly kids under 10 who want to sit in the drivers
seat. Being present was also good for keeping your vehicle relatively
unscathed. Adults and kids really love to touch and be a part of the
display, so when possible its a great idea to do this!
2. Props folks could hold for photo ops or at least touchable, again mostly
loved by kids under 10 and the grateful parents who appreciated the break
from baby sitting- GOOD! This part received the most accolades from the
public I think. My prop was a resin cast M60, a helmet, gas mask and an old
LAWS rocket, man the kids lined up to hold these toys and many, many pics
were taken with kids some as young as 3 (some adults too) holding up the
M60! It was a riot for everyone.
3. Rare, restored vehicles, done very correct with mucho dollars and time
invested, were carefully tagged with "Do not touch" signs - OK to GOOD. The
signs were well respected and the vehicles admired for a good 6 seconds
before the crowd hustled off to the not so wunnerful military vehicles where
the kids could sit in and hold cheap plastic weapons and get their pictures
taken! (Air soft has such toys - something to consider)
4. Seemed like later issue MV's were actually more popular than the rarer
WWII MV's since 70% of the folks that could related to WWII era were dead or
too old to come out. But, those, M38's, M151's, M35A2's, etc., were met
with mucho enthusiasm! (Hey, just kiddin with ya on #3, 4 n 5, had to get
back at the WWII guys for the BOQ lodging thing...that and I own a "not so
perfect" M151 and no WWII vehicles)
5. Period uniforms were a plus. Any period, it all looked great, especially
if you were with your vehicle and talking to the crowds..now the 3 guys
hiding in the back of the deuce that said "Do not look under canvas" who
lept out at anyone who peaked, dressed in full camo, face paint and fake
rubber bayonets had to be curtailed after the first couple of faintings!
Actually, we only had a couple of folks dressing the part, but this is
definitely something to consider at any public event. OK, nooooo we really
didn't jump out of the truck with fake rubber knives that would have been a
little over the top even for us, actually we just grabbed em by the ankles
and pulled them under the truck kicking and screaming, then rubber knifed
em.
6. Radio gear, very limited, but well received by those who knew what they
were looking at.
Things that could have been better for the MVCC members:
1. Shuttle service..NONE! And everything was a long, long ways apart, we
musta walked 25 miles a day! We needed a shuttle, Gad did we need a
shuttle! I would have seen so much more at the event if I wasn't so
exhausted from walking everywhere to setup and use toilet! Speaking
of...ever hear of the book "40 yards to the outhouse!" By Willy Makett?
Some of us older guys can relate to that one! lol
The biggest single thing we could have done for ourselves was to provide an
MVCC "crew" shuttle, if not b the USAF then by one of us. I'm sure
something could have been arranged with a golf cart, etc., they were buzzing
around everywhere run by teenagers. If had thought about it I could have
brought something.
2. Should disconnect horns in vehicles open to the public...after about
3000 horn honks it gets a little tedious.
3. Remove, lable or cover anything you don't want touched in open to the
public vehicles.
____________________
Bottom line: Travis was a big deal, a very big deal. It was two full days
long, with lots of aerobatics, events, tents, planes, gadgets, flight sims
and all sorts of displays, Thunderbirds were outstanding, lots of great Air
Force hospitality (except for no shuttle), good MVCC comradery, so overall
it was a super event and probably the most public attention the MVCC has had
all year!
(Side note) This event (IMHO) should have been better attended by the MVCC
members. Don't get me wrong, I like our events like TOWER PARK because we
have so many venders adn that draws our MVCC flea market types (includes me)
and that's great, but this was the big PUBLIC show and we should have had
more of the MVCC there. We presented a good show and were obviously
appreciated, but we could have done better. This was one of our biggest
opportunities to interact with the public and provide our very best for the
promotion of the club and preservation of our military history.
_____________END___________
_
Jack
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