The 2016 JBLM Airshow & Warrior Expo is on final approach and will touchdown at McChord Field on Aug. 27 and 28.

Everything from the weather and parking arrangements to the new food and entertainment sites are ready to go.

As to the aerial events - the mainstay of the Expo - the Army's Golden Knights Parachute Teams and the Air Force's Thunderbirds are ready to amaze.

The Golden Knights

Formally named the United States Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights is a demonstration and competition parachute team drawn from all branches of the Army. The team is based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

In 1959, under the leadership of Brig. Gen. Joseph Stillwell, Jr., 19 soldiers formed the Strategic Army Command Parachute Team. Its mission was to compete in the new sport of skydiving, which at that time during the Cold War was dominated by the Russians.

The team first performed in Danville, Virginia, and in 1961 became the United States Army Parachute Team.

Dubbed the "Golden Knights," the team has conducted more than 16,000 shows in 50 states and 48 countries. The Knights have earned the Army 2,148 gold, 1,117 silver and 693 bronze medals in national and international competition.

The Golden Knights is one of only three Department of Defense-sanctioned aerial demonstration teams, along with the Navy's Blue Angels and the Air Force's Thunderbirds.

The Fokker C-31A Troopship is the primary support aircraft for the Knights.  It has two large doors that are used for jump operations.

The team has accrued more than 27,000 hours of flight time on the C-31 since 1985. It travels more than 250 days a year and is watched by more than 100 million spectators.

"This is no small task," Lt. Col. Matthew Weinrich, the team's commander, said in a U.S. Army Accessions Support Brigade article dated April 2016. "These soldiers may often be the only soldier that many Americans ever meet."

The Thunderbirds

The United States Air Force's premier flying team was first labeled "The Star Dusters."

Created in 1953 and now based on Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, today's Thunderbirds are the third oldest formal flying aerobatic team in the world, after the Navy's Blue Angels (1946) and the French Air Force Patrouille de France (1931).

The "Star Dusters" name lasted less than 30 days. Lt. Gen. Robert Harper did not like the name, and he made it clear that he favored the name "Thunderbirds."

His was an inspired choice ... and an order.

From the southwestern Unites States through western Canada and into Alaska, there is a Native American legend that tells of a birdlike creature that creates thunder when it flaps its large wings and shoots lightning from its eyes. Some tribes endow the bird with the power to grant victory in battle; others depicted it with red, white and blue markings.

All tribes called this creature a "thunderbird," and it has inspired the Thunderbirds' markings.

When the six highly polished red, white and blue F-16C aircraft taxi to the end of McChord's runway, pause and then begin their takeoff, they will climb into the sky sounding like thunder.

Since the team's creation, more than 325 officers have worn the emblem of "America's Ambassadors in Blue."

"They are just amazing," said Emily Teeguarden, in a 2016 Press Enterprise article after watching the Thunderbirds fly at the March Air Reserve Base Fest in April. "We sat for over two hours in traffic, but their show made it worth the wait."

The Army's Golden Knights and the Air Force's Thunderbirds will make for a memorable 2016 JBLM Airshow & Warrior Expo.