What Obama Has Done to the US Marines Is Beyond Belief

NATO - International Security Assistance ForceFox News ran an exclusive report Thursday about the impact budget cuts over the past few years have had on the U.S. Marine Corp, forcing commanders and soldiers to do more with less.

Fox News reported that some soldiers are being asked to work 21 hours a day just to keep the aircraft operational. Because normal supply chains are limited, cannibalization of other plane parts has occurred. Marines have begun stripping old equipment from other aircraft in order to service new ones.

“Imagine taking a 1995 Cadillac and trying to make it a Ferrari,” Sgt. Argentry Uebelhoer said days before embarking on his third deployment. “You’re trying to make it faster, more efficient, but it’s still an old airframe.”

Replacement parts for some planes can take up to 18 months to obtain, the report said, because production of new models of the planes stopped 15 years ago.

The reduced number of highly trained mechanics whose job it is to fix the backlog of aircraft have become frustrated. Some are starting to look for jobs in the private sector.

Because of the aircraft shortage, there is less time for pilot training. The norm for aerial exercises 10 years ago was between 25-30 hours per month. Now the average flight time is just four hours per month. A pilot who asked to remain anonymous told Fox News that Chinese and Russian pilots fly more training hours each month. (Read more from “What Obama Has Done to the US Marines Is Beyond Belief” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.