How Obama's Budget Cuts Are Endangering Marines

Fox News reports that the Marine Corps Aviation has been severely suffering from budget cuts, and meeting deployment demands.

Out of 276 F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters in the Marine Corps inventory, only about 30% are ready to fly, according to statistics provided by the Corps. Similarly, only 42 of 147 heavy-lift CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters are airworthy.

Attrition is common in the military, where parts break regularly due to wear and tear, but these levels are unprecedently low, compromising national security. This is not the first time that attrition levels have been so high as to cause operational issues. Just last year, the US Navy was unable to sustain an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf for 2 months, relying on the French Aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle for air support.

Marines have always prized their fixed-air aviation due to their World War II experience. In Guadalcanal, the US Navy was pushed away, leaving Marines isolated on the island in the face of Japanese assaults. Although Marines emerged victorious, they desired fixed aviation from that point on. Time will tell if Obama's budget cuts will lead to the demise of Marine aviation and the end of

Marines have resorted to cannibalize current aircrafts to fix damaged ones. Marines have been operating the aging F/A-18 Hornet for several decades now, waiting for the F-35 to be operational. Obama's budget cuts have delayed upkeep of current aircrafts and procurement of new ones, putting our men and women in uniform at risk.

Source: AAN