Obama to spend $20 BILLION on helicopter program to replace his private fleet of 23 choppers

The London Daily Mail ^ | May 9, 2014 | David Martosko, US Political Editor

[2ndDivisionVet]

Were the B-52s built in 1987?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_One

[Jacquerie]

<>Show me where someone has seriously stood up to him<>

Time is running out to use the peaceful means our Framers gave us. http://conventionofstates.com/

[Dundee]

I agree with you on this. In addition to all of the requirements you listed I would imagine that small arms/SAM survivability would also feature as mandatory.

One thing that people overlook when a military project of $XX billion is announced is that the figure (at least here in Australia) covers not only R&D and build costs but infrastructure, personnel, maintenance and operating costs over the life of the platform. Spread over (at a guess) 25 years it isn’t too outrageous.

[rodguy911]

It could have been 17 billion or 27 billion. Bottom line these people know how to play the race card. And actually, we are the dummies.
We keep acknowledging and genuflecting every time they play it instead of just ignoring it.The press will always come after us on race and a variety of other made up issues. Why not ignore it.
When we learn to ignore it all this nonsense will stop.
Just treat him like the low life he is and race-carding will go away.
It's only good if we acknowledge it. Their side will always complain,if no one listens.....

[rodguy911]

Can the Congress block this?.

Probably. But not without having the race card being played. "Oh you just don't want to spend the money because our potus is black" I can hear it now.

Its all bs and all we have to do is ignore it and we don't have the guts to do it or to fight back.

[Smokin' Joe]

Let's get one thing straight. It isn't "his private" fleet, it is the property of the United States of America, and thus OUR fleet of helicopters, reserved for use at the discretion of The Office of the President of the United States of America.

Obama doesn't own the soot on the exhausts, much less the fleet.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I think that Mrs. Obama would beg to differ.

[Smokin' Joe]

Hey, it’s only money. It’s not like it is being tossed out the window for enhanced security for our overseas diplomats or something...

[Soul of the South]

“Were the B-52s built in 1987?”

The last B-52 built came out of the factory over 50 years ago.

http://www.dodbuzz.com/2012/04/04/the-air-forces-newest-b-52-turns-50/

[2ndDivisionVet]

That was my point. These current helicopters are much newer than any model of Boeing B-52. I’d watch already old B-52s head to Vietnam from various Air Force bases where we would shop for groceries (my late father was a retired Marine) as a child. I’m now 54 years old.

[Soul of the South]

I understood the point, just answering the question.

There may or may not be a need to replace Marine One helicopters by 2022, when the current ones will be 35 years old. The problem seems to be the government’s inability to properly balance risk, cost and mission in procurement. Therefore it drives the costs to the point where things become unaffordable. This is the case with military hardware as well as social programs (i.e. ACA).

In a business management determines the target cost per unit and cost drives the design. Someone in the organization prioritizes the features and the project manager is charged with getting as many features included as possible for the target budget. It seems the government determines what it wants and then lets the cost be what it is going to be. We cannot afford to continue designing programs this way, whether they be military hardware or social programs but no one in Congress, the bureaucracy, or the executive branch will do their jobs and bring reality into the spending equation.

[rodguy911]

If it was up to me I would spend the money on the VA long before new choppers for the potus.

[Yo-Yo]

'Your helicopter is now going to cost as much as Air Force One,' McCain said.

Wait until they bid the replacement for Air Force One. Then the helicopters will look cheap.

The Navy tried to replace the VIP helicopters once back in 2005, but the low bid was from the Italian company AgustaWestland, and then the Navy kept adding more and more crap to the helicopter (ability to operate in a nuclear fallout environment, ability to operate in a chemical weapon environment, full satellite command and control communications suite, etc.) that the helicopter go so heavy and overpriced that Zero eventually canceled it.

This time around, all that crap was included in the initial bid request, and the price tag reflects that. The bid specs were so outrageous that only Sikorsky bid this time around.

What the Navy needs to do is to not give in to Secret Service demands that Marine One become a flying nuclear-proof Looking Glass command post, and just build a nice VIP interior helicopter with some Kevlar bullet proofing and basic NBC protection, add a few MANPADS defense lasers, and call it a day.

[Covenantor]

$20,000,000,000 for Imperial Air Taxi Fleet

US Navy pushed through a contract for new presidential helicopter fleet at a cost of $20,000,000,000.

Damn!

What does that buy now days.

Well for starters, how about 1000 A-10 Warthogs, which cost a bit less than $20,000,000 each. That's 2014 dealer price with the latest upgrades. But the US Air Force wants to kill the A-10's, the best damn close air support for ground troops on the planet.

Flight of five A-10's - current cost $100,000,000

It's long past time to pull the plug on the imperial trappings of the presidency. And especially the helicopter taxi fleet. Used primarily for golf outings, shuttle service to Camp David and Andrews AFB for AF One flights, and to nearby fund raisers. Little known is that senior WH staff also use the helos. I'm in one of the flight paths of the Camp David trips and I see them frequently when the president is not even in town.

Time to provide exactly the same aircraft that the troops use adding only the special comms. No luxurious seats, no bar or food service, just plain vanilla. A memento mori every time the president flies. Same risks as the ordinary grunt.

Doesn't matter which man or woman fills the job it's a temporary position and that needs to be made obvious to the employee every damn day.

Me, I opt for 1000 more A-10's before this Marie Anoinette expenditure.

P.S. Submit to the president the monthly bill, like a car loan payment, the total cost, acquisition and operating costs and make them sign for it to authorize payment. And maybe a taxi meter with big bold flashing numbers showing trip cost.

[bigdaddy45]

I’ve heard the paranoid rantings of those who thought Clinton wouldn’t leave after 8 years.... who thought Bush wouldn’t leave after 8 years....

Obama will be gone after January 20, 2017. Bank on it.

[bigdaddy45]

It’s not HIS. Read the article. He’ll be long gone by the time the helicopters are delivered.

[Smokin' Joe]

I'd love for us to keep the A-10s and even buy a few hundred new ones. Beautiful plane, in terms of grace, efficiency, and outright nimble flight--at least the ones I observed in NV when I worked down there were.

No, they are not the sleek, sharklike forms of an F-16, but the guys flying those could practically dance in the sky with them. That said, I wouldn't want to be the target...

But, unfortunately, the more we treat our servants like royalty, the less they are in touch with the ordinary American, not to mention those in our country's armed forces, and sooner or later, they begin to believe they are royalty. While I would want them to comport themselves with the grace and dignity becoming any head of State, they should be able to drive themselves to Andrews in a mid-size car when there is no one around to impress.

[Pride in the USA]

I guess Obama had to spend the record breaking income tax dollars collected by the IRS on something.

[subterfuge]

HAIL TO THE THIEF!!