Budget cuts leaving Marine Corps aircraft grounded

FoxNews ^ | 4/15/16 | Lucas Tomlinson, Jennifer Griffin

[Blood of Tyrants]

EXCLUSIVE: Since 1775, the U.S. Marine Corps has prided itself on being “The Few" and "The Proud." But while the Corps takes pride in doing more with less, senior Marine officers are warning that the Corps' aviation service is being stretched to the breaking point.

Today, the vast majority of Marine Corps aircraft can’t fly. The reasons behind the grounding of these aircraft include the toll of long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the fight against ISIS and budget cuts precluding the purchase of the parts needed to fix an aging fleet, according to dozens of Marines interviewed by Fox News at two air stations in the Carolinas this week.

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.

[luv2ndamend]

The F-35 is sucking the resources from other essential equipment

Follow the money. But, do not forget, nothing this administration does is opposed!!

[NTHockey]

I believe that it was the Marines who elevated cumshaw into an MOS. Because Marines are always at the end of the line for appropriations, every unit has a cumshaw specialist, a scrounger, whose job it is to get what is needed without getting caught.

Knew a few cumshaw artists and I studied under them.

[Grampa Dave]

Definition of cumshawpresent, gratuity; also: bribe, payoff Examples of cumshaw in a sentence: Did You Know? It was probably British Navy personnel who first picked up cumshaw in Chinese ports, during the First Opium War of 1839. Cumshaw is from a word that means "grateful thanks" in the dialect of Xiamen, a port in southeast China. Apparently, sailors heard it from the beggars who hung around the ports, and mistook it as the word for a handout. Since then, U.S. sailors have given cumshaw its own unique application, for something obtained through unofficial means (whether deviously or simply ingeniously). http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cumshaw However, your are correct about how good Marines made cumshaw a MOS due to low budgets and being at the end of the supply line. Thanks for your service!