Posted on 12/25/2015 1:37:09 AM PST by WhiskeyX
When a veteran or member of the armed forces dies, he or she is entitled to a ceremony that includes the presentation of a U.S. flag to a family member and a bugler blowing Taps. Most of the time, there is a three-volley rifle salute if requested by family members. But now, if the deceased served in the Air Force, the three-volley salute is not an option because the Air Force can no longer support riflemen for funeral services for veteran retirees.
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“To me, without the 21-gun salute, it just does not make it complete a proper military burial,†veteran Wayne Wakeman told Honolulu’s KHON 2 News. “I think because of sequestration or the lack of funds or whatever excuse they’re giving, that they had to hit the veterans.â€
Wakeman is correct in supposing the cut is due to sequestration, the 2013 automatic federal spending cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“As a former USAF Honor Guard member I think this is absolutely a disgrace.”
While we’re at it with the criticism, the latest uniforms are a bad joke. They’re not fit to be caught....
“What about the fly overs? Those cost much more.”
Pilots are required to log a minimum number of flight hours in a given aircraft type to maintain proficiency, and the existing budget for those flight hours is necessary whether or not they are used for these funeral ceremonies.
Thank you. We had my Mom over for the morning to be with us and exchange gifts. It was a blessing to have her here. God is good!
We are all headed over to my in-laws (he’s a Marine vet) for dinner in a short while. The wonderful thing is all 3 homes are side by side by side. Our kids have experienced a great childhood with plenty of grandparent influence.
Merry Christmas to you!
I’m sure that local veterans and their associations will be more than happy to fill in. I now feel about our Government like a moonshiner must have felt about some “revenuer” back in the day. Darn!
First the bugle, now this. And that’s not the right way to do it anyway.
It should be fired in the sequence of one, seven, seven and six.
Different pools of money, but biofuels at $50+ a gallon and “green” energy mandates to the services don’t help either...it’s not just about airplanes, whether you agree with them or not.
Many, if not all of the USAF Honor Guard are volunteers...they get paid TDY money and their travel is paid for, other than that, I can’t see how there’s a large expense here. I suspect it’s something else...
There are severe manning shortages in the AF and by all appearances, it’s only going to get worse, they’ve gone over the edge PC and folks are leaving in droves.
While the rifle volley is out for funerals, the DOD will, however, provide families with a complimentary Muslim call-to-prayer...right after the Maya Angelou reading.
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