"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:SULij.35366$Ux2.369@attbi_s22...

Because the draw-down of our Air Force since the end of the Cold War has
been steep and continuous. Some are even suggesting that it be
re-combined with the army, since it has become prohibitively expensive to
maintain it as a separate force at its current size.

This type of precipitous disarmament happened after World War I, and as a
result we were woefully unprepared for what followed. Guys like Curtis
Lemay made sure that the same thing did not happen after World War II --
but all the visionaries of that generation are dead, leaving a new
generation -- apparently ignorant of history -- to repeat the mistakes of
the past.

Sure, it's a different time, you might say, and we've got satellites to
keep an eye on things, now -- but IMHO maintaining a modern Air Force is
cheap insurance, and one of the few things that our Federal Government is
actually *supposed* to be doing with our tax dollars.

Oh, I think it the Air Force *is* modern. I just think the mission has
changed Jay. The money is still there for the most part but is going to
other things. Yes, satellites are one area but others like the UAV/UCAV and
Airborne Laser are more targeted to what's expected in the future. I think
they are attempting to be more efficient. What I've been reading about the
F-22 tells me that one airframe can do the work of what normally took 4 or
5. Heck, it can even act as a mini AWACS for other last generation jets. The
F-22 and the F-35 are quite capable.

Take alook at some of these article Jay, you might feel better about our
situation. http://www.codeonemagazine.com/archives/index.html
Keep in mind the info they write about is not even classified so you can
imagine what they can really do.

Marco