OSAN AIR BASE -- Soldiers with the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade were a big hit with their visitors at the Ansan Air Show, April 29--May 5. Ansan is near Incheon, about two hours from Osan.

"We're going to be on many people's Facebook pages," said Pfc. Mireydo Rodriguez, a Soldier with the 35th ADA who helped visitors at the Eighth Army Personal Combat Equipment Booth try on helmets, body armor and other U.S. military gear. "We had lots of people stop by to take pictures with us," Rodriguez said. "The Korean children visiting the booth got pretty excited about this."

Hosted by the Gyeonggi Province and the city of Ansan, the air show featured airplanes, helicopters, toy displays and eateries for visitors. This is the fifth year for the air show, said Lim Chea-yun, the assistant manager for the event. The display of equipment gives civilians a chance to try on the gear for themselves and see what kind of pieces the modern U.S. Army uses, said Rodriguez.

"The people come and try [the equipment] on and are surprised at how heavy some things are," said Cpl. Jin Woo-jung, a Korean Augmentation to the United States Army Soldier with 35th. There were approximately 200 to 300 visitors on the first day, said Jin. "There's been a lot of interest in the display," said Rodriguez. "Some people came back more than once to look or have photos taken."