Storms, lightning send crowd bolting               Mike A. Glasch         Leader Staff

Mother Nature set off her own fireworks for Friday’s Torchlight Tattoo celebration at Hilton Field. The annual event was slated to begin with a concert by the 282nd U.S. Army “Victory” Band followed by a torchlight tattoo ceremony and topped off with fireworks. However, rain earlier in the day caused the concert to be canceled and then about an hour before the tattoo ceremony was scheduled to start, storm clouds began rolling above the field bringing lightning flashes across the sky forcing that portion of the celebration to be canceled as well. Spectators in the stands were sent to their vehicles so that Soldiers on the field could seek shelter in the stands.  “Our chief concern was for the welfare of the Soldiers, guests, vendors and those supporting the event,” said Chip Martin, U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute (the host unit for the event). “The plan to evacuate the patrons from the stands to their vehicles to allow Soldiers to get into the bleachers and out of the storm went well.” After the order for spectators to return to their vehicles, the storm knocked out the public address system. That left organizers unable to communicate that the fireworks portion of the event was still scheduled to take place. “Our main challenge was a lack of public address capability to provide updates to all regarding the status of the event as well as the plan to evacuate Soldiers back to their units,” Martin said. “The storm had knocked out the PA system and that complicated some things. Due to the great leadership on the ground from all parties, especially the members of the Training Support Battalion and the MPs, we were able to reduce the amount of time to load the buses and return the Soldiers to their units safely.” With rain pouring down, and lighting strikes illuminating the night sky, several thousand of those who came out decided to head home.  For those who did stay, like Steven Bretheim and his 4-year-old daughter Emily, their patience paid off once the lightning moved away from the area, allowing the fireworks display to begin. “It was a little disappointing not to be able to see the band and the ceremony, but you can’t control the weather,” he said. “At least we were able to enjoy the fireworks. Hopefully, next year the weather will cooperate.”