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ASSOCIATED PRESS
A formation of U.S. Navy Blue Angel fighter jets performed a flyover above graduating Midshipmen during the United States Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremonies in Annapolis, Md. on May 29, 2012. The commander of Naval air forces announced on today that the U.S. Navy has canceled the remainder of the elite Blue Angels demonstration team's 2013 season because of federal cuts.
PENSACOLA NAVAL AIR STATION, Fla. » The U.S. Air Force plans to ground about a third of its active-duty force of combat planes and the U.S. Navy cancelled the rest of the popular Blue Angels’ aerobatic team’s season because of automatic federal budget cuts.
The Air Force didn’t immediately release a list of the specific units and bases that would be affected today, but it said it would cover fighters, bombers and airborne warning and control aircraft in U.S., Europe and the Pacific.
A top Air Force leader said the branch would focus its budget and resources on units supporting major missions, like the war in Afghanistan, while other units stand down on a rotating basis.
"The current situation means we’re accepting the risk that combat airpower may not be ready to respond immediately to new contingencies as they occur," Gen. Mike Hostage, commander of Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, said in a statement.
As news trickled out that the Navy had cancelled the remainder of Blue Angels’ season, business owners and residents of the coastal enclave where the team is based expressed resignation and disappointment.
"I just think it’s sad that there are political games being played. I doubt the Blue Angels are even half of 1 percent of the entire Navy budget," said Lloyd Proctor, co-owner of Blue Angel Hot Tubs in Pensacola. Proctor and his wife named their business after the team 10 years ago.
"They have national name recognition and they are loved by people everywhere," Proctor said today.
Most held out hope that the grounding was temporary and that the season could somehow be salvaged.
Thousands of fans flocks to Pensacola Beach each July to watch the team fly over the white sand and turquoise surf. It is always the biggest tourism revenue weekend of the year, said W.A. Buck Lee, president of the Santa Rosa Island Authority. Lee said he had hoped that the six fighter jets would be allowed to continue practicing as a team and the Pensacola Beach show could be replaced by a routine practice over the beach.
Instead, the Navy announced today that the six elite pilots would maintain only minimum flight hours to remain qualified in their F/A 18 Hornets and that squadron practices would end for the remainder of the season.
"The economic impact of the show for us is more than $2 million," Lee said. "People are going to start cancelling their hotel rooms and will hurt businesses here."
A spokesman for the Navy said team members would be allowed to fly minimal hours to maintain flight proficiency in the F/A 18 fighter jets, but the six-jet squadron would discontinue group practices for the remainder of the season.
The Air Force says, on average, aircrews ‘lose currency’ to fly combat commissions within 90 to 120 days of not flying and that it generally takes 60 to 90 days to conduct the training needed to return aircrews to mission-ready status.
Returning grounded units to mission ready status will require additional funds beyond Air Combat Command’s normal budget, according to Air Force Officials.
"Even a six-month stand down of units will have significant long-term, multi-year impacts on our operational readiness," Air Combat Command spokesman Maj. Brandon Lingle said in an email to The Associated Press.
For affected units, the Air Force says it will shift its focus to ground training.
That includes the use of flight simulators and academic training to maintain basic skills and aircraft knowledge, Lingle said. Aircraft maintainers plan to clear up as much of a backlog of scheduled inspections and maintenance that budgets allow.
Vergakis reported from Norfolk, Va.
