Air Force Has Prime Opportunity To Show Smart Spending, Says Watchdog

Pete Sepp from the National Taxpayers Union argued Monday that the Common Vertical Lift Support Program (CVLSP), which would replace the Air Force’s aging helecoptors, would be an opportunity for the Air Force to make smart purchases. Sepp made his comments during a discussion on defense spending sponsored by the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. (0:26)

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TRNS Interviews: Diana Jean Schemo

TRNS Military Correspondent Cholene Espinoza interviews former New York Times reporter Diana Jean Schemo about her new book, SKIES TO CONQUER: A Year Inside the Air Force Academy. Schemo's book offers the first ever in-depth look at the experiences of cadets at the United States Air Force Academy, in their own voices.

The author, a veteran journalist and foreign bureau chief at the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times, who has covered poverty and child abuse, culture, religion, and education and has written from more than twenty-five countries and regions, followed the Fighting Bulldawgs of Squadron 13, through a year at America's youngest and most embattled service academy. (15:30)
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Kansas Republican Invokes "Cool Hand Luke" Over Air Force Tanker Contract

Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) says the issue involving the WTO, the EU, Airbus and the U.S. military was like the movie "Cool Hand Luke. Says Roberts, "what we have here is a failure to communicate." (0:38)
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Sen. Murray Blasts Airbus-European Union Alliance

Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) says "unfortunately, Airbus and the European Union have refused to allow fair competition. They use the aerospace industry as a jobs program and they use billions of dollars in illegal launch aid to fund it. They don't even require Airbus to repay the subsidies if the aircraft is unsuccessful. So it's no risk, all reward for the company."(0:43)
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"Eliminating risk" in the Air Force nuclear mission

Acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donely says that for the Air Force mission to maintain the U.S. nuclear arsenal risk must be eliminated not merely managed. The Air Force recently underwent a shakeup due to an incident were missile material was mistakenly sent to Taiwan. (0:42)
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Lt. General Schoomaker says Air Force bases provides for a fit and health force, during the House Armed Services Committee hearing on AMAP

At the House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Army’s Medical Action Plan and Other Services’ Support for Wounded Service Members, Army Surgeon General Lieutenant General Eric B. Schoomaker says it's important to understand that Air Force bases are "operational platforms" that support war fighting capabilities. He says this provides for a fit and healthy force, and that their emphasis on fitness and prevention has led to the lowest disease and non-battle injury rate in history. Forward stabilization followed by rapid air evacuation, he says, has proven to be the gold standard in saving lives. (:50)
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