Video: Lt. Col. Stephen Clutter discusses his role as Air Force liaison to Hollywood

The Air Force is soaring with the Hollywood set.

From the current smash hit "Transformers" to comic book portrayals of Air Force types to video games that simulate the cockpit of the most high-tech jets, the entertainment industry is in love with the pilots, para-rescue specialists, medics and heroes from history who've worn the aviator wings.

It's a love affair that began during silent pictures and shows no signs of ebbing in the 21st century, the man who helps bring the Air Force and Tinseltown together told a group of commanders Monday in Riverside.

Lt. Col. Stephen Clutter said that getting Air Force personnel and planes on the silver screen is more than an ego stroke. It's an important tool in the global war on terror.

"We think it's important for the American people to see their Air Force," Clutter, director of the Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office, told a group of 350 officers and enlisted men from the 4th Air Force, which has its headquarters at March Air Reserve Base. "We've got the best people and the most sophisticated technology in the world."

In an age where more and more people get their world views from the entertainment industry, Clutter said the Air Force is taking unprecedented steps to get Hollywood to tell its story.

Those include pitching the stories of heroes like Academy Award-winning actor-turned bomber pilot James Stewart, who won combat medals in World War II, and collaborating with the artists who crank out Green Lantern comics.

The service scored a big coup with the release of the movie "Transformers."

The Air Force made available Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico for two months, turning one building into an operations center for the Steven Spielberg-produced box office hit.

The movie, the story of how the Air Force and its comrades-in-arms repel a robotic invasion of Earth, echoes many military themes, Clutter said. Those include "integrity, selflessness and excellence," he said. The film also stars several Air Force planes: the A-10 Warthog, the F-22 Raptor and the F-16 Fighting Falcon, among others.

Clutter's office recently took HBO to Dover Air Force Base, where Americans killed in Iraq come home. The visit helped tell the story of "Taking Chance," which depicts an officer escorting the body of a Marine killed in 2004.

Air Force liaisons are also working with actors Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman on the upcoming movie, "Last Full Measure," the story of Airman 1st Class William Pitsenbarger, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam.

The Air Force worked on the movie "Walk the Line" to make sure the Johnny Cash character, who served in the Air Force in the 1950s, had the proper-era stripes on his uniform.

Ongoing efforts include a possible series on Fox in 2009 that tells the story of Air Force medical specialists who travel the world treating seriously injured military personnel and civilians, Clutter said.

The Discovery Channel has expressed interest in a show about search-and-rescue specialists, he said.

Maj. Gen. Robert Duignan, commander of the 4th Air Force, praised the moviemaking outreach, which he said helps tell the story of the men and women fighting every day to protect the country in an increasingly unpopular war.

"The American public doesn't believe this country is at war," Duignan said. "We've got to get out and tell our story."

Reach Joe Vargo at 951-567-2407 or jvargo@PE.com