I know there are lots of consequences of the cuts that affect a lot of people deeply, and badly but this one made me sad beyond it’s actual scope. When I was little I loved the Thunderbirds. Me and dad would climb on a roof to watch them zoom, and hear the sound, every year When we lived in Cheyenne and they showed up, It was the only thing I liked about Frontier days(well the parade throwing candy was ok too). I would have been heartbroken as hell if they didn’t show up.
Here in AZ, they cancelled Luke Days, an open house at Luke AFB, with static displays, the T-birds, and other aerial shows. It was free, and thousands showed up, even though you had to park a mile or more away, sit on gravel, and the food was expensive and awful. There’s been an outpouring of people writing letters to the editor and the AFB saying they’d gladly pay–me too!!
We have a big Air and Water Show here in Chicago, and for days before, the Blue Angels/Thunderbirds would buzz downtown practicing and making all sorts of blitzkrieg noises. I would hear them and wince on my lunch hour, and then all afternoon on my radio at work, Roe Conn would blather on and on about how great they were, instead of making fun of contemporary events which was the reason I had his show on in the first place.
So, there’s a little Mr Burns inside of me, steepling my fingers, and saying softly, “Excellent.”
I don’t have a problem with it. Things like the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds aren’t really necessary to the core mission of the US military so if something has to be cut, it’s a fine place to start. They could also cut back on the tens of millions spent on military bands.
I’m just glad John Philip Sousa is no longer around to hear this.
Hmm, I wonder if that’s why the California Capital Air Show booked the Snowbirds this year.
I’m right there with you, TMC - I live in the flight path, and every year we get blasted by them for three days, bringing Seattle traffic to a halt during rehearsals and the shows and terrifying the animals. Our dog hides shivering in the bathtub for a half hour every single time. Hates 'em, we does. Glad the $28 mil is cut.
They’ll be back.
Believe me, they will figure out a way to cut some of the waste out of food stamps and let those kids starve and get their precious military stunt teams up and giving American the gladiatorial entertainment we want. 100 days of games!
Many of the military fly-overs at sporting events (as opposed to actual airshows) are really scheduled training sessions. There is no real extra taxpayer costs because the flights would occur anyway on the day. The difference is the flight plans are changed to accommodate the sporting event(s) often months in advance.
It’s my understanding (though no cite) that airshows are major recruiting tools & therefore are more than just PR events.
This is just a bullshit propaganda mechanism dreamed up by the military to try to get the public back on their side vis a vis spending.
SOooo true!!
Then they could eliminate hats. Do you have any idea how many hats each person in the military has?!? It’s INSANE! I’d be willing to let them keep hats for dress uniforms, but then again, why even have ‘dress’ uniforms?!? And they’re the most expensive uniforms!!
Or because the Snowbirds rock!!!
(my dad was on the team in the 70s so I may be a bit biased)
Exactly. A lot of young people are inspired to join up and fly after seeing the Blue Angels.
I bet they’ll be back. Maybe differ the cost by charging tickets? They’ll get funding somehow.
The military made the same claim about its NASCAR sponsorships, that they helped with recruiting. But when they actually looked at how many recruits they got, it didn’t actually help. I don’t know if that’s true for the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds.