News>Photo Essay: Thunderbirds head to New Hampshire
Photos
An Air Force Thunderbird pilot maneuvers his F-16 Fighting Falcon towards the boom of a KC-135R Stratotanker Aug. 11, 2011, during a refueling mission over the Midwest United States while en route to an air show in Portsmouth, N.H. The tanker and its crew are from the New Hampshire Air National Guard’s 157th Air Refueling Wing at Pease Air National Guard Base. The Thunderbirds are the U.S. Air Force's Air Demonstration Squadron and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Curtis J. Lenz)
8/17/2011 - Over Midwest U.S. -- The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, on their way to an air show in New Hampshire Aug. 11, take time to refuel over the Midwest U.S.
8/22/2011 1:48:33 PM ET Well the T-Birds are never going away. The worse choke-hold they have ever been under is the T-38s they flew during the Carter years. The Air Force will always take personnel enticed or not. Even if they have to turn folks away. I do not care for the thunderchickens. I think their act is old and used up. I don't think they have any new moves and have been doing the same since I was a child. I too have seen the logisitcs required for their demo team and the arrogance accompanying said team members--maintenance included. The Blue Angels etc. will never be a thing of the past. They do what they are intended to do: recruit. Have fun in New Hampshire thunderchickens.
Unfortunate, Louisiana
8/22/2011 11:40:24 AM ET Oh those Thunderbirds. I thought the article may have been referring to the real Thunderbirds--the 34BS which is currently deployed in support of OEF...
Jeff Robinson, Langley AFB
8/19/2011 3:57:15 PM ET I believe it's time for this program to go away. We're preparing to host the Thunderbirds and the amount of cumulative manhours spent across nearly every organization on base is astronomical. People wonder how the defense budget became so bloated and it's the waste, dollar for dollar, manhour for manhour. The mission feels cosmetic at best. We don't need to project an image of airpower and capability -- the 10-year war has done that at home and abroad. We don't need the recruitment tool -- we're turning away qualified, would-be Airmen everyday. And besides, who do you really want in your Air Force, the Airman who enlisted under their own volition or the one who was enticed by an advertisement?
Broke Taxpayer, ID
8/19/2011 12:54:24 PM ET Couldn't agree more. Changes to the retirement system should have been last on the list to cut. First; Thunderbirds, Blue Angels, Black Knights, etc.; second, the end-of-year shopping spree every unit in the military goes on; third, all the rest of the waste-of-money programs; last, retirement.
MSgt Ijoined4the401K, Nellis AFB
8/18/2011 6:13:12 AM ET Sadly another program that either needs to be severly scaled back or cancelled. The USAF just no longer has the money to sustain the feel good stuff. I realize they do help project the USAF in a positive light but I can't imagine what the cost is. Maybe combine them and the Blue Angles, as both of these programs have to cost a fortune.
