Bronco Flyers Reunion
2026
Pensacola, Florida
We had an incredibly succesful Bronco Flyers Reunion! We set a new attendance record with 80 Flyers
in attendance. We had 125 guests join us for our Saturday evening dinner which included wives and even some additional family as guests.
We had a loud, boisterous and joyful “Purple Alert” Happy Hour Thursday night. Our old friends and newly located brothers were all there.
Friday was a full day with the Golf Scramble, a luncehon at MacGuires’ Pub that was attended by 56 Flyers and wives. That night we all reconvened at Flounder’s Chowder House for dinner and after dinner drinks and laughs at the Flounders Tiki Bar.
Stories were told, legends were burnished, old friendships were renewed and new ones forged.
Saturday, thanks to the lifting of the enhanced seciurity protocols at NAS Pensacola, we were able to make a visit to the National Naval Aviation Flight Museum which was, as usual, a huge part of our weekend.
And then we had the BIG event Saturday evening. There were more drinks and happy conversations. Otis outdid himself yet again. We had some opening remarks then the MacGuires’ Pipe Band performed and the Marine Color Guard posted the colors. We had games, a lot of laughs and then John “Bini” Gamboa as the Great and Wise Kahoona held his Kangaroo Court. Charges were made, reputations were damaged, scores were settled and fines were levied! The Kangaroo Court raised money to support the rebuilding of Tun Tavern. After we retired our generous brothers continued to empty their wallets bringing the total donations to over $3,000.
It was a truly unforgettable weekend! Thank you to everyone for taking the tine to join us!
The North American OV-10 “Bronco” was conceived and developed by two Marines, Colonel K.P. Rice and Major W.H. Beckett, in the 1960’s as a simple, heavily armed, easily maintained, rugged close air support aircraft deployed in forward combat areas. Click on Colonel Rice’s picture below to read about the development of the OV-10 and how Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara intervened directly to make the Bronco a reality.
The OV-10 was designed to fill the void left by the advent of jet powered, high flying and fast moving tactical aircraft. The Bronco was an aircraft that could effectively support troops on the ground with its varied complement of weapons, tremendous visibility and long loiter time. Since then the Bronco has seen service in Vietnam, the Caribbean, Afghanistan and Iraq with the United States Marine Corps.
After Desert Storm VMO-1 and VMO-2 were decommissioned in 1993 bringing to a close the more than thirty years of service for the Bronco and more than seven decades of honored service for the Marine Corps’ observation squadrons dating back to the birth of Naval Aviation.
Read more about our history on the “About Us” page and Colonel K.P. Rice on this page.
Semper fi!
“OV-10s Looking For Trouble” by R.G. Smith
Colonel K.P. Rice