Earlier today I received a broadcast email from my wing commander that all cadet O-flights (both powered and glider) are cancelled until further notice because "the President hasn't signed the budget".
Anyone else get anything similar from their wing cc or ops director?
PS-
I would like for this thread to stay CAP-related rather than open a can-o-worms debate as to whether the President should sign the budget bill.
I have not been given any email to that effect at this point, I am in Florida Wing. This is not saying that I have not seen it at this point.
We still have cadet O-Flights going, but all ES training funds have been put on hold until budget approval. So, no SAREXs, no EVALs no proficieny flying...
Quote from: jimmydeanno on November 15, 2007, 08:12:06 PM
We still have cadet O-Flights going, but all ES training funds have been put on hold until budget approval. So, no SAREXs, no EVALs no proficieny flying...
I'm pretty sure MAWG is holding a SAREX this weekend, albeit a limited one due to funding.
TXWG has already postponed at least one SAREX until '08 due to lack of funding. Fortunately, TXWG/CC was able to pull together funding somehow for the videography training last weekend. Halting O-flights sucks, but I can see it being true if the money's not there.
What are we complaining about here? Come on......we will get the funding when we get the funding. As far as SAREX's go.....perhaps some wings went OVERBOARD on other training, and they ran out of money.
Heck.....I can't get O-rides now because of weather anyway. So for those that live in HOT states......you should consider yourself lucky that you get UNLIMITED flying weather.
Just got an AF mission # and approval today for O-Flights for this coming Sunday. Not sure about your situation, but we're flying.
Quote from: Pylon on November 15, 2007, 11:36:38 PM
Just got an AF mission # and approval today for O-Flights for this coming Sunday. Not sure about your situation, but we're flying.
Don't you have snow yet up there?
Quote from: mikeylikey on November 15, 2007, 10:30:01 PM
What are we complaining about here? Come on......we will get the funding when we get the funding. As far as SAREX's go.....perhaps some wings went OVERBOARD on other training, and they ran out of money.
Considering we are about 15 days into fiscal 2008, I serious doubt that is the reason.
FYI - I haven't heard this from anyone in the Midwest, and we are running a small funded exercise this weekend.
I know our wing hasn't received our training funds for more than a few months of this fiscal year so far, so somebody must be pinching pennies somewhere, but it seems to be varying by region.
Reason for all this is that Congress is not passing the Defense Dept budget in protest of the Iraq war. Democrats say that they will withhold all funding to all DoD until Bush puts forth a timetable to bring our folks back from the sandbox.
USA and USN activities will shut down on Feb 1 if this goes on long.
USAF has supposedly sent layoff-warning letters to 100,000+ contractors
It was on CSPAN today.
Several Democratic Presidential Candidates were interviewed. All were so smug I wanted to shoot my TV. McCain looked like he was gonna have a heart attack.
Quote from: SAR-EMT1 on November 18, 2007, 04:44:09 AM
Reason for all this is that Congress is not passing the Defense Dept budget in protest of the Iraq war. Democrats say that they will withhold all funding to all DoD until Bush puts forth a timetable to bring our folks back from the sandbox.
USA and USN activities will shut down on Feb 1 if this goes on long.
USAF has supposedly sent layoff-warning letters to 100,000+ contractors
It was on CSPAN today.
Several Democratic Presidential Candidates were interviewed. All were so smug I wanted to shoot my TV. McCain looked like he was gonna have a heart attack.
Are we sure that is the reason for all of this yet? Considering that it sounds like SAREXs and O-Flights were getting put on hold well before this announcement, it would sound to me like effects happening before the cause.
Hell, according to my squadron commander we even had an email not to long ago from someone on our wing staff that we had just acquired some new funds for o-flights, and that now was the time to start using them. Doesn't sound to me like something that would be happening if we were already experiencing the effects of what is going on in Congress.
I'm not question whether the stuff in Congress is happening, just whether it is connected to what some wings are already experiencing.
Not all wings depend enitrely on the AF for funding. Some get funding from states or donations. It is very likely they received state funded and decided to put it toward o-flights.
As for cutting AF funding early, there are some politacally astute AF personnel who may have told CAP that if funding is delayed by Congress, the existing CAP funding may be 'borrowed' to support higher priority missions.
Just ran o-flights yesterday and have 4 more schedule for 2 weeks from today? Not real sure what the issues could be.
It has now come to light that my wing has even shut down self-funded cadet flight training. These are corporate flights (C16 missions) where USAF funding is not involved at all and the cadet pays for everything. ???
It sounds like you've got a whole other problem going on in your wing.
Quote from: arajca on November 18, 2007, 09:42:23 PM
Not all wings depend enitrely on the AF for funding. Some get funding from states or donations. It is very likely they received state funded and decided to put it toward o-flights.
As for cutting AF funding early, there are some politacally astute AF personnel who may have told CAP that if funding is delayed by Congress, the existing CAP funding may be 'borrowed' to support higher priority missions.
I know it is possible some astute AF personnel did that, but do we have any evidence before we all run off half-cocked complaining to our congressmen that we are already feeling the crunch from their action? I guess what I am trying to say is, do we have any evidence, or is this just more of the CAPTalk speculation I have come to know and love (I seem to remember similar speculation about how the Navy was "about to pick CAP up", and here we are still with the AF)?
It's all well and good for our members to keep up with current events, it is something else for them to make connections between those events and what they are experiencing with no evidence to back up said connection.
As others have pointed out, it sounds like something else may be going on, since apparently some wings are cutting even self-funded o-flights. If I had to "speculate" (therefore I am not announcing this as "this is what is happening"), I would guess that it was either more of a safety issue being brought up for some reason, or worry that funding will drop so far as to not even cover maintenance, or something.
Do we have any
evidence that Congress hold on funding
is directly responsible for some wings lack of o-flights and SAREXs, or is this more CAPTalk speculation?
Quote from: RiverAux on November 19, 2007, 12:55:43 AM
It sounds like you've got a whole other problem going on in your wing.
Agree 100%. But it's being blamed on the Federal budget crisis.
No crisis. Business as usual.
But just because funding has not been signed why do we have to hold O-flights? If I decide topay for it myself couldnt I still conduct them?
Quote from: flyguy06 on November 19, 2007, 04:42:32 PM
But just because funding has not been signed why do we have to hold O-flights? If I decide topay for it myself couldnt I still conduct them?
You want to pay for some of them my way as well? I guess if Wings have money, couldn't they just Corporate the O-Flight mission?
That's precisely my point. We're being told "NO" for corporate (user-paid) cadet training flights as well as the regular USAF-funded cadet O-flights. Right now we're looking at commercial alternatives to continue cadet flight training. Cost factor increases by at least a factor of 5, and the cadets may have to travel out-of-state to get the desired facilities and aircraft. They are very far along with their training and lack only 5 or 6 flights to finish up for their FAA license. Too much momentum will be lost if they stop now.
Quote from: mikeylikey on November 19, 2007, 06:06:49 PM
Quote from: flyguy06 on November 19, 2007, 04:42:32 PM
But just because funding has not been signed why do we have to hold O-flights? If I decide topay for it myself couldnt I still conduct them?
You want to pay for some of them my way as well? I guess if Wings have money, couldn't they just Corporate the O-Flight mission?
I can get sponsors fromlocal churches or community organizations to fund O-flights.