Congress will be forced to “whittle our ‘big stick’ down to a twig” if sequestration and budget cuts continue, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said in a speech on Tuesday. “Through smart planning, rearrangement of capital and resources, targeted cuts, and reduction of some bureaucracy, we’ve been able to shield our military from a crippling blow” this budget cycle, McKeon said, speaking at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. “This is the last year we’ll be able to triage the pain,” he added. “Military power is the fundamental, irreplaceable component of diplomacy,” McKeon stressed. He said that it is “no accident” Russian and Chinese aggression and expansionism are rearing their ugly heads “at the exact moment when we are dismantling our military and retreating from the world.” McKeon said that even discussing military cuts when old threats are re-emerging and new threats are popping up around the globe is the “height of stupidity.” Under President Barack Obama, McKeon said that “instead of striking a balance where government is discreet at home while projecting great strength abroad, government is intrusive at home and weak overseas.”
Air Force leaders expect all six KC-135 Stratotankers that were damaged but not destroyed as part of Operation Epic Fury will eventually be repaired and returned to service. Some of those damaged KC-135s are already flying again, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, said, but the most heavily…