CRANSTON, RI —
The Rhode Island National Guard announced today that due to anticipated deployments in the coming year, the 2019 Open House Air Show will not take place. Hundreds of key national guard members will be called to federal duty overseas in support of the RING’s primary mission of national defense. The Open House Air Show is anticipated to resume in 2020.
This is the first time in the Open House Air Show’s 25-year history that this level of deployment has impacted the event. With nearly 7,000 individual deployments since 9/11, the RING is one of the most-deployed state national guards per capita. Next year will be no exception, as the Guard is planning to support the federal mobilization overseas of more than 500 of their Soldiers and Airmen throughout 2019.
Service member safety and operational security protocols preclude releasing any additional details about the forthcoming deployments. As always, the RING will share news of deployments and homecomings of service members when appropriate.
Major General Christopher Callahan released the following statement regarding the decision:
“Since the 1991 inception of the RING Open House Air Show, opening our doors to the public has been an annual highlight for our organization and its members. With this anticipated federal mobilization commitment in 2019, we have been presented with a difficult decision regarding our ability to safely and effectively conduct this public event. The volume, timing, and the particular trained skill sets of the more than 500 Soldiers and Airmen who will be away during the traditional timeframe of the Open House Air Show presents a unique challenge. Ultimately, we could neither compromise the training and support of those being deployed, nor the planning and conducting of our Open House Air Show. As such, we regrettably must forego the event in 2019. The RING is grateful for the tremendous support we continuously receive from Rhode Islanders, our friends, and neighbors. We thank you for your continued support of our Rhode Island Soldiers and Airmen during this next wave of mobilizations, and we look forward to opening our doors to the public once again for the 2020 RING Open House Air Show.”