Blue Angels and Thunderbirds stand down for the year

[MillCreek]

As a result of budget cuts, the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds have cancelled their schedules for the remainder of the year.  So when something like this happens, are the pilots and crew just rotated back to the fleet until such time as the schedule resumes?  Or is the team kept together regardless?

[Regolith]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument_Syndrome

[Gewehr98]

Pilots and airframes (regardless of paint schemes for the latter), are combat assets, yes.

I've been talking to my old homies at the 55th Wing.  They (and all other flying units in Air Combat Command) are reviewing the 45,000 training hours sequestered out of the FY13 budget.  

I doubt the pretty demonstration fighters will see that much wear and tear vs. their gray counterparts, but the line aircraft will also see less flying hours.

If a shootin' war was to start up, other programs would get cut to fund those operations deemed necessary.  

[Jocassee]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument_Syndrome

I've been to DC 4 or 5 times and I think the Monument may have been open once. So, *expletive deleted*ck em. They can keep their monuments. I want my government back

[lee n. field]

I agree.  Shut 'em down.  Maybe I'm just feeling bitter and alienated right now. 

[HankB]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument_Syndrome

Good link, good definition.

We're seeing the same thing now in the budget process regarding benefits - the only thing they're addressing as an "entitlement" to curtail are a person's earned Social Security retirement benefits, although SS today is not part of the deficit today.  It's a visible and popular program that promises to deliver some benefit to every working person who survives long enough to retire. And proposals to curtail SS serve to draw people's attention away from all the irrelevant, unnecessary, and sometimes downright harmful other cr@p that tax money is being wasted on.

But you notice, nobody on either side of the aisle is talking about curtailing handouts (I refuse to call them "entitlements") - by which I mean all the various welfare programs that pay UNEARNED benefits to tens of millions of slackers to the tune of over one trillion dollars per year . . . a figure eerily close to the annual deficit. (And nobody is talking about how "immigration reform" and "a path to citizenship" will swell the ranks of those eligible for these handouts.)

As for the military . . . while flight time & readiness are being sacrificed, you can bet that procurement from companies in select congressional districts will not be affected, even if it's for mohair, spats, and replacement parts for Willys Jeeps.

[brimic]

I've been to DC 4 or 5 times and I think the Monument may have been open once. So, *expletive deleted* em. They can keep their monuments. I want my government back

If you want to see the MLK monument, it will be open- it would be racist to close it.