Blue Angels And The Thunderbirds Are A Casualty Of The U.S. Federal Deficit

 

Budget Cuts Ground Blue Angels, Thunderbirds -- CNN 

(CNN) -- The nation's best military fliers have had their wings clipped, thanks to the forced spending cuts imposed on the federal government this year.

The U.S. Navy on Tuesday announced it was canceling all the air shows its Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron had scheduled for the rest of the year. The Navy action follows the Air Force's April 1 announcement that its Thunderbirds team would not perform again this year.

"Recognizing budget realities, current Defense policy states that outreach events can only be supported with local assets at no cost to the government," said a statement Tuesday from the office of the Commander Naval Air Forces in San Diego.

"This is one of many steps the Navy is taking to ensure resources are in place to support forces operating forward now and those training to relieve them."

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My Comment: With more cuts expected .... I will be not surprised if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds are cancelled next year.

Should The Pentagon Retire The Air Force's Thunderbirds And The Navy's Blue Angels?

Sequester: Pentagon Suspends Thunderbird, Blue Angel Air Shows -- Breitbart

In its continuing bid to make the automatic sequester cuts as painful to the public as possible, Obama's Pentagon has announced that it is suspending its aerial acrobatic flying teams, like the Air Force's Thunderbirds and the Navy's Blue Angels. With the decision, the Obama Administration is continuing the fiction that the last dollar government spends is on services most valued by the public.

Each branch of the military operates its own aerobatic team. The Navy and Marines have the Blue Angels. The Air Force has the Thunderbirds. The Army has a parachute team called the Golden Knights. These teams are publicly popular features of air shows across the country. After performances this past weekend, the Pentagon will suspend public appearances until at least after September 30th, the last day of the fiscal year subject to sequester cuts.

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My Comment: I have trouble believing that we are even having this debate .... but such is the state of the U.S. defense budget today.

Thunderbirds Up Close (Video)

Hat Tip: Theo Spark