The Air Force will celebrate its 60th anniversary over the next week on O'ahu with a slew of free shows and public events, culminating in the first Thunderbirds performance over Waikiki in a decade.

Honolulu is one of six cities across the country chosen to host Air Force Week, designed to show off air and military assets, attract recruits and give back to the community.

Organizers expect a 45-minute Thunderbirds stunt show over Waikiki next Saturday to be the main attraction of the week. The Thunderbirds — F-16 fighter jets — will also perform a recruiting show over Waikiki waters Thursday morning and a practice session later in the day.

On Thursday around 2:30 p.m., during the practice session, the Thunderbirds are scheduled to fly low over the Arizona Memorial — a one-time event that required special permission from the Federal Aviation Administration. During all shows, commercial and other aircraft will be rerouted to steer clear of the Thunderbirds as they fly.

Officials have not yet said how many people they expect to attend the Saturday event, but they are taking security precautions to make sure no one gets hurt. During the shows, a swath of water 6,000 feet wide and 2,700 feet long off Waikiki — over which the Thunderbirds will perform — will be cleared of swimmers, boaters and surfers, and buoys will prevent access.

The Coast Guard and state Department of Land and Natural Resources will patrol the area, while police on shore will do crowd control.

The last Thunderbirds appearance in Waikiki was in 1997.

They also performed in 2003 at Hickam Air Force Base.

The Air Force also plans to put on a free concert at the Waikiki Shell on Wednesday, plus expos and art exhibits in Waikiki and Kahala throughout the week, and plenty of free entertainment Saturday.

The Air Force — and its Thunderbird pilots — will also make educational and recruiting presentations at several public schools and other sites.

This is the first year of Air Force Week — which has already been held in Phoenix, Sacramento, St. Louis, Boston and Atlanta — but officials plan to make the celebrations an annual event in different sites.

"It's a great way to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Air Force, and also say thank you to the community," said Capt. Kristy Miller, a spokeswoman with Pacific Air Forces at Hickam.

There are about 5,000 Air Force members and 6,000 of their dependents stationed in Hawai'i. The Air Force Reserve also has thousands more members.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann kicked off Air Force Week yesterday at Honolulu Hale, signing a proclamation to recognize local members of the Air Force.

Also yesterday, Hickam showed off its newest heavy aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster. The base got eight of the aircraft in 2006, and has used the planes for cargo drops, relief missions and moving personnel around the world.

Members of the media were allowed to tag along aboard two C-17s yesterday as the planes undertook a training mission to Kaua'i and then to O'ahu's North Shore, where crew members simulated a cargo drop. In addition to the simulation, the airplanes performed fast, side-to-side maneuvers designed to lose an enemy aircraft or change course quickly.

Capt. Jake Wilcox, who piloted yesterday's flight and is an instructor pilot for the C-17s, said the airplanes have performed numerous humanitarian missions in the Pacific and Asia, from flying burn victims in Guam to Honolulu to bringing supplies to Indonesia after the 2006 tsunami.

The aircraft measures 174 feet long, with a wingspan of 170 feet. It can carry some 170,900 pounds, and land on a much shorter runway than other planes. "The C-17 is so maneuverable," said Wilcox, who joined the Air Force in 2000, following a lifelong dream to become a pilot.

"We can go into an austere airfield, where you just have compacted dirt, carrying hundreds of thousands of pounds of cargo," he said.

Capt. Chelsea Lamping, the co-pilot yesterday, joined in 2003 and said flying humanitarian missions gives her a sense of purpose and pride.

Lamping was one of dozens of Air Force members stationed in Hawai'i who airlifted medical and other supplies to Indonesia after the December 2006 tsunami.

"I always knew I wanted to fly," she said. "But being able to be right there is great."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.