Democrats don't know dick about the Military!!!!
Nor do they want to know!
To Dems, the Services are a cash cow to be raped, pillaged and plunged into Government Set Asides as with Clinton.
A social experiment that demeans those in uniform to nothing more than waiters at fund raising soirees and "Armed Social Workers" in faraway lands. Stretched far too wide and thin in countries (Haiti, Bosnia) we have no business being involved with.
But let a Republican take the White House and start spending serious $$$ that could go to keep several dozen Dem Voting Blocs (Americorp, AARP) happy and the Dems start screaming like the Anvil Chorus.
The F-4 and F-105 were modified to death under LBJ. Both performed splendidly until they hit the end of their ropes.
Nixon okayed preliminary development of the F-14, 15 and 16. Which were unveiled under Carter, along with the A-10 (Which was slated to be a Forest Service Water Bomber before Desert Storm!)and were put into Active units at a snail's pace. Until Reagan took office and opened up the flood gates.
My Reserve Unit kept two C-141s as a "Hangar Queen" and "Cann Bird" to keep the other eight 141s flying under Clinton. If this was the norm for a Reserve Unit, I'd hate to think what life was like for Maintenance in an Active Fighter or Bomber Unit.
Jack.