SC

Shaw AFB Fighter Squadron To “Stand Down”

One of America’s oldest and most decorated fighter squadrons has been ordered to “stand down” by the Pentagon due to federal budget cuts – effectively immediately. The 77th Fighter Squadron – based at Shaw Air Force Base near Sumter, S.C. – is one of several combat air squadrons across the…

One of America’s oldest and most decorated fighter squadrons has been ordered to “stand down” by the Pentagon due to federal budget cuts – effectively immediately.

The 77th Fighter Squadron – based at Shaw Air Force Base near Sumter, S.C. – is one of several combat air squadrons across the country ro receive similar orders, according to The Air Force Times.

The squadrons will continue to be funded at “basic mission capable” status through the end of the 2013 fiscal year – i.e. the end of September (six months from now).

Twenty F-16s and more than 300 airmen from the 77th Squadron were deployed to Afghanistan in November. One pilot – Captain James Steel of Tampa, Florida – died last week when his plane crashed near Bagram Airfield following a support mission.

The 77th – which was formed way back in 1917 – has been based in South Carolina since 1994.

UPDATE: A retired Air Force general who leads South Carolina’s military base task force tells The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper that the decision to ground the 77th squadron is “drastic.”

***

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48 comments

jimlewisowb April 9, 2013 at 9:21 am

Will be interesting to see the response from Governor Bubble Head

Maybe she will go to some Republican gathering in South Dakota and raise some campaign funds
Maybe another trip to Paris to recruit new industry while eating caviar and sipping Ripple
Maybe another trip to Washington to tell Obama to kiss her tawny beige ass as she packs her suitcase with Washington cash
Maybe she will go down to Georgia and see if her buddy wants a decorated Air Force to defend his new expanded Port
Maybe she will just sit on her fat ass and do nothing

Maybe

Reply
shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 9:55 am

HAH! Absolutely right….. as Nikki told me this morning, “Oh, no, another real problem I have to deal with. How much more of this can I handle! Decisions – decisions – decisions! Why won’t they just leave me alone!”

Reply
shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 9:59 am

Actually, Jim, your last choice is the correct one.

Reply
Squishy123 April 9, 2013 at 11:03 am

What’s the purpose of putting pictures in everyone of your comments?

Reply
justwonderin April 9, 2013 at 1:52 pm

I have been wondering the same thing. This shifty guy surfs the website 24/7, makes inane comments, and posts moranic cartoons. henry,you need to get a grip.

T Cousins April 9, 2013 at 2:14 pm

What is moranic, moron?

shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 4:17 pm

i think he meant “morainic” – possibly a good choice……… but does he mean “lateral” or “terminal” or “ground”…….. hmmmmm

shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 4:15 pm

OUCH !!!

2big2fall April 9, 2013 at 2:13 pm

I like his pictures. What’s the point in you determining how he should communicate his thoughts (and good humor)?

shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 4:14 pm

THANKS !!!

shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 4:08 pm

OUCH !!!

2big2fall April 9, 2013 at 2:16 pm

Don’t let the anti-humor jihadist goons slow you down, Henry.

Reply
Bubbas Brother April 9, 2013 at 10:22 am

What would you have the governor do Jim? No one is being sent away, the Army just moved in 1,000 jobs in the form of the 3rd Army HQ.

All the Air Farce is doing is recognizing that the day of the manned fighter is nearly over (say 10-15 years from now) and that they can’t continue to feed the military industrial complex if they’re paying for fuel, maintenance and parts on aging fighters – no matter how badly we need them here in 2013.

Reply
CNSYD April 9, 2013 at 11:08 am

“the day of the manned fighter is nearly over” Really? Reminds me of the prediction decades ago that file cabinets will no longer exist because computers will store all files. That happened yet?

Reply
Bubbas Brother April 9, 2013 at 11:20 am

“…day of the fighter is over” is kind of “tongue in cheek” there bubblehead – and I do not have a file cabinet in my office but I do have a 2 terabyte external drive and a really fast scanner.

Reply
Sam April 9, 2013 at 11:21 am

Fat? That’s an understatement. OMG, how many pounds has she packed on with the taxpayer funded groceries? War on fat, my ass!

Reply
surfer, the web, that is April 9, 2013 at 11:57 am

So it’s kinda like the first family is on WIC?

Reply
jimlewisowb April 9, 2013 at 9:21 am

Will be interesting to see the response from Governor Bubble Head

Maybe she will go to some Republican gathering in South Dakota and raise some campaign funds
Maybe another trip to Paris to recruit new industry while eating caviar and sipping Ripple
Maybe another trip to Washington to tell Obama to kiss her tawny beige ass as she packs her suitcase with Washington cash
Maybe she will go down to Georgia and see if her buddy wants a decorated Air Force to defend his new expanded Port
Maybe she will just sit on her fat ass and do nothing

Maybe

Reply
shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 9:55 am

HAH! Absolutely right….. as Nikki told me this morning, “Oh, no, another real problem I have to deal with. How much more of this can I handle! Decisions – decisions – decisions! Why won’t they just leave me alone!”

Reply
shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 9:59 am

Actually, Jim, your last choice is the correct one.

Reply
Squishy123 April 9, 2013 at 11:03 am

What’s the purpose of putting pictures in everyone of your comments?

Reply
justwonderin April 9, 2013 at 1:52 pm

I have been wondering the same thing. This shifty guy surfs the website 24/7, makes inane comments, and posts moranic cartoons. henry,you need to get a grip.

T Cousins April 9, 2013 at 2:14 pm

What is moranic, moron?

shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 4:17 pm

i think he meant “morainic” – possibly a good choice……… but does he mean “lateral” or “terminal” or “ground”…….. hmmmmm

shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 4:15 pm

OUCH !!!

2big2fall April 9, 2013 at 2:13 pm

I like his pictures. What’s the point in you determining how he should communicate his thoughts (and good humor)?

shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 4:14 pm

THANKS !!!

shifty henry April 9, 2013 at 4:08 pm

OUCH !!!

2big2fall April 9, 2013 at 2:16 pm

Don’t let the anti-humor jihadist goons slow you down, Henry.

Reply
The Colonel (R) April 9, 2013 at 10:22 am

What would you have the governor do Jim? No one is being sent away, the Army just moved in 1,000 jobs in the form of the 3rd Army HQ.

All the Air Farce is doing is recognizing that the day of the manned fighter is nearly over (say 10-15 years from now) and that they can’t continue to feed the military industrial complex if they’re paying for fuel, maintenance and parts on aging fighters – no matter how badly we need them here in 2013.

Reply
CNSYD April 9, 2013 at 11:08 am

“the day of the manned fighter is nearly over” Really? Reminds me of the prediction decades ago that file cabinets will no longer exist because computers will store all files. That happened yet?

Reply
The Colonel (R) April 9, 2013 at 11:20 am

“…day of the fighter is over” is kind of “tongue in cheek” there bubblehead – and I do not have a file cabinet in my office but I do have a 2 terabyte external drive and a really fast scanner.

Reply
Sam April 9, 2013 at 11:21 am

Fat? That’s an understatement. OMG, how many pounds has she packed on with the taxpayer funded groceries? War on fat, my ass!

Reply
surfer, the web, that is April 9, 2013 at 11:57 am

So it’s kinda like the first family is on WIC?

Reply
Darth April 9, 2013 at 9:38 am

…and this quid pro quo to a red state is a suprise? even if in crackah Clyburn’s 6th these are jobs for white folk anyhow.

Reply
Darth April 9, 2013 at 9:38 am

…and this quid pro quo to a red state is a suprise? even if in crackah Clyburn’s 6th these are jobs for white folk anyhow.

Reply
nonameinsc April 9, 2013 at 10:06 am

Why dosent the Gov do shaw instead of boeing;which has already received an estimated $900 million in taxpayer-funded incentives – will receive at least $120 million in additional incentives associated with this Boeing project.

Reply
nonameinsc April 9, 2013 at 10:06 am

Why dosent the Gov do shaw instead of boeing;which has already received an estimated $900 million in taxpayer-funded incentives – will receive at least $120 million in additional incentives associated with this Boeing project.

Reply
ColumbiaNewsHound April 9, 2013 at 10:15 am

Who broke this story locally?

Reply
ColumbiaNewsHound April 9, 2013 at 10:15 am

Who broke this story locally?

Reply
Bubbas Brother April 9, 2013 at 11:02 am

Chill Will,

There is no news here. All the Air Farce has done is reduce the OpTempo of the wing. No jobs lost, no one moved. It has happened off an on for years. Sumter county will barely notice this except it will be a little quieter and more dads will be at little league games this spring.

If North Carolina were to attack us, the smurfs at Shaw could get it together before the Tarheel invaders got to Kershaw County.

Reply
The Colonel (R) April 9, 2013 at 11:02 am

Chill Will,

There is no news here. All the Air Farce has done is reduce the OpTempo of the wing. No jobs lost, no one moved. It has happened off an on for years. Sumter county will barely notice this except it will be a little quieter and more dads will be at little league games this spring.

If North Carolina were to attack us, the smurfs at Shaw could get it together before the Tarheel invaders got to Kershaw County.

Reply
This just in . . . April 9, 2013 at 12:59 pm

Right Not to Get Shot Faces Uphill Fight in Senate

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) — Senate Republicans today vowed to filibuster a controversial bill supporting the right not to get shot.

G.O.P. leaders lambasted the bill, arguing that the right to go to school, work, or one’s home without fear of being shot was not guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

“The Second Amendment makes it very clear,” said Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming). “The right to bear arms shall not be infringed by a tiny minority’s desire not to be shot.”

But according to the pollster Harland Dorrinson, of OpinionFact Polling, the right not to get shot, while controversial, is beginning to gain traction with the American electorate.

“Like gay marriage, not getting shot is an idea that has taken some getting used to, but people are starting to wrap their brains around it,” he said.

Poll numbers notwithstanding, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said today that he would join the effort to filibuster any not-getting-shot-related bill: “The only way we Republicans can protect our democracy is by preventing a vote.”

Reply
This just in . . . April 9, 2013 at 12:59 pm

Right Not to Get Shot Faces Uphill Fight in Senate

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) — Senate Republicans today vowed to filibuster a controversial bill supporting the right not to get shot.

G.O.P. leaders lambasted the bill, arguing that the right to go to school, work, or one’s home without fear of being shot was not guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

“The Second Amendment makes it very clear,” said Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming). “The right to bear arms shall not be infringed by a tiny minority’s desire not to be shot.”

But according to the pollster Harland Dorrinson, of OpinionFact Polling, the right not to get shot, while controversial, is beginning to gain traction with the American electorate.

“Like gay marriage, not getting shot is an idea that has taken some getting used to, but people are starting to wrap their brains around it,” he said.

Poll numbers notwithstanding, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said today that he would join the effort to filibuster any not-getting-shot-related bill: “The only way we Republicans can protect our democracy is by preventing a vote.”

Reply
BigT April 9, 2013 at 1:55 pm

Obama at his STERLING best…Any of you idiots who put this dumb@$$#$ back in, starting to get it yet?
Will FITS admit he F&*#ed up…???

Reply
BigT April 9, 2013 at 1:55 pm

Obama at his STERLING best…Any of you idiots who put this dumb@$$#$ back in, starting to get it yet?
Will FITS admit he F&*#ed up…???

Reply
mph April 9, 2013 at 2:02 pm

Wait, Mulvaney couldn’t save it? Shocker. I’m sure the voters in Sumter won’t hold it against him.

Reply
mph April 9, 2013 at 2:02 pm

Wait, Mulvaney couldn’t save it? Shocker. I’m sure the voters in Sumter won’t hold it against him.

Reply

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