House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) told defense reporters in Washington yesterday he’s been “quite concerned” about the readiness of the US military for more than a year. Under the readiness banner, Skelton includes equipment, training, personnel, leadership, and education. “Readiness gives one the ability to deter or wage a present conflict, or fight future conflicts, hopefully successfully,” he said. He went on: “I think we’re slipping. We’re stretched and strained—[in] Iraq to a great extent, Afghanistan to some extent. We’re stretching ourselves almost beyond recognition in Iraq.” He cited a lack of training in the US, a lack of equipment, scheduling problems, multiple deployments, and the high operational tempo as the major causes of the “serious, serious readiness problem.” In his view, “It’s very alarming.” And, Skelton asked rhetorically, “What if we had another contingency?”
The Thunderbirds will kick off their 2021 season on April 17, debuting an overhauled aerial performance routine following a 2020 air show season largely canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team will debut the new routine at the Cocoa Beach Air Show in Florida April…