Thursday, March 12, 2009
AFA Members, Congressional staffers, Civic Leaders, and DOCA members, I remain concerned about the overall level of government spending … and about the amount given to Defense. Last week a Senator released some very interesting numbers on the growth of budgets from 2008 to 2009. He cited the numbers based on the sub-committee which was responsible for the appropriation. We have put his numbers on a slide on our website. You can find it here: http://www.afa.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/IssueBriefs/budgetstats.pdf
The major point to take away from this slide is that most appropriations have grown by an average of 80 percent. So … how much is Defense spending expected to grow. The article at this link [as well as others] (http://www.afa.org/EdOp/2009/edop_3-10-09.asp) says it will increase by only 4%. This, when the economy needs help … and production lines of aircraft are preparing to shut down - which will eliminate key, high-paying manufacturing jobs. It is obvious to most that having been in constant combat for over 18 years … and with the average age of the fleet approaching one-quarter of a century, the Air Force … much like the Navy … needs to recapitalize. It will need funds and our support to do it.
For your consideration.
Mike
Michael M. Dunn, Lt Gen (Ret)
President/CEO
Friday, March 13, 2009
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2 comments:
We re-posted your letter over at Always Vigilant. Thanks for keeping your eyes open.
This is a true story. Years ago, my father visited Hawaii. He wanted to see the Pearl Harbor historical museum and the memorial, so he called up the base. He introduced himself as "O'Daniel" and the person at the other end of the line became excited. "Yes sir, Mr. O'Daniel. We will send a car to pick you up at 8:00 tomorrow to spend the day with us." The car promptly arrived and my parents received a VIP tour with a lunch with the base commander's aide. The next morning, my Dad picked up a newspaper and read the headline, "General Iron Mike of WW II fame visits Pearl Harbor." Dad never served in the military so he just smiled and kept his mouth shut.
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