From the Usual USAF Source...
The last couple o' few days the AFA's Daily Report has featured article after article after article about the doom and gloom associated with sequestration (e.g., selective mission curtailment, flying hours cut, training cut, modernization deferred, and potential early retirement of single-mission airframes [Goodbye, A-10], all for lack of money), with multiple "the sky is falling" quotes from the Chief of Staff and most of the MAJCOM commanders. And then we see a blatant PR stunt like the above, which was NOT inexpensive to pull off. What the Hell were they thinking?
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| Air Frame: Seven C-17 Globemaster IIIs, 11 KC-10 Extenders, and four C-5B Galaxies from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, Calif., prepare to launch in succession at Travis AFB, Calif., Sept. 11, 2013. The 22-aircraft "freedom launch" took place on the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, with the first C-17 taking off at 8:46 a.m., the same time that American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City 12 years earlier. (Air Force photo by Ken Wright) |
The last couple o' few days the AFA's Daily Report has featured article after article after article about the doom and gloom associated with sequestration (e.g., selective mission curtailment, flying hours cut, training cut, modernization deferred, and potential early retirement of single-mission airframes [Goodbye, A-10], all for lack of money), with multiple "the sky is falling" quotes from the Chief of Staff and most of the MAJCOM commanders. And then we see a blatant PR stunt like the above, which was NOT inexpensive to pull off. What the Hell were they thinking?
I sometimes wonder if PR folks breathe the same air as the rest of us.
ReplyDelete...and I am not sure at all they think about anything.
And gub'mint PR people are arguably worse than your standard issue types.
DeleteCan you imagine how many box lunches they had to make for this?
DeleteThat's just it Buck, they're not thinking. They have no clue, they have no honor and they have no courage. A bunch of empty-f**king suits, that's what passes for leadership these days.
ReplyDeletePissed? Me? Nah....
We're on the same page.
DeleteThose first two comments were dead on.
ReplyDeleteI'm a civilian, so I don't have a hat in the ring, but it seems to me that Congress has also failed (amongst other failures) to appoint qualified officers to lead the military. When bombers are flying around with nukes the crew doesn't even know are attached, and missile wings with their fingers on the button can't pass inspection, you have to know that the States are in the end game of independence from Britain.
ReplyDeleteGood points. To the USAF's credit... they are taking steps to remedy a lot of the operational shortcomings that have come out over the past couple o' years. That said, they still have a helluva long way to go and the Political Correctness thing is COMPLETELY out of hand.
DeleteYou have to remember who the C-in-C is. Just like all things that man does, this is a political move. The orders come from on high. The higher officers do not have a back bone, as they have seen anyone who goes against the wishes of Duh One will get canned.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Obama had anything to do with this particular event, Jim. I blame him for a lot of stuff, but not this.
DeleteNo offense, but in my times the air force, when stuck on stupid, was a lot stupider than the rest of us. What a waste of time, money, resources. I wonder how many TRANSCOM missions got pushed to the right by this grandstanding.
ReplyDeleteI'm not offended at all, Curtis. This stunt was incredibly stupid.
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