by Staff Sgt. Larry E. Reid Jr.
U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron Public Affairs
6/20/2011 - TURKU, Finland (AFNS) -- The Thunderbirds perform here June 17 during an air show. This was the first time the Thunderbirds have performed in Finland.
6/24/2011 9:47:14 AM ET I think the Thunderbirds are a huge recruiting tool for the AF and really help spark an interest in the military for young kids. I remember seeing both the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels when I was young and I was in complete awe of them. However I agree that they could cut back on the overseas trips these days. They're mainly providing entertainment for airshow crowds when they perform overseas. I don't see them influencing public opinion about the U.S. just through an air show performance and there's no recruiting benefit from it.
SB, WPAFB
6/23/2011 1:07:16 PM ET I find the responses to these sorts of articles interesting. Tops In Blue is a waste of money as is the Thunderbirds as is someone having fun during a deployment. Do you folks think our military should just live in a drab world devoid of anything interesting or entertaining, all in the name of saving a few bucks? We should probably stop letting terminally ill children play pilot for a day. It'll save money.
Greg, Utah
6/22/2011 5:14:17 PM ET @ Junior, while I think that this program should be scaled back in our time of fiscal belt-tightening, you should know that it is not a vacation. These folks do work very hard at what they do and their time is tightly budgeted.
Advocate, FL
6/22/2011 2:28:09 PM ET I remember when the Thunderchickens were restricted to the U.S. during the Carter years and flew T-38s. There were fuel shortages etc. and the team was reigned in to make them more affordable. I was too young to know of any backlash but enjoyed watching them in their T-38s.
Plane Fan, Louisiana
6/22/2011 12:18:03 PM ET Why are our Flying Recruiters performing overseas? Sounds like a fraud, waste and abuse case to me. The AF is paying for a vacation and tying up valuable tanker support dragging F-16's across the ocean.
Junior, Edwards
6/22/2011 11:39:58 AM ET I agree, Handler in a sandy place. The Thunderbirds, the recent air show in Paris, the other air shows, these Air Mobility rodeos, the various conferences abroad, Tops-in-Blues, and all of the other needless stuff needs to stop if cuts to pay and benefits are on the table. I will say it again, if we are facing cuts and our deficit in the U.S. is rising by the minute, these need to go. If and when the money is there to support these events then bring em' back. The same can be said for the wasteful end-of-year money that HAS TO BE spent. Everyone freaks out and buys useless crap just because. There are many more ways we should and could save money before touching individual benefits.
D2, RAF Lakenheath
6/22/2011 4:19:18 AM ET @ Handler. The only explanation that I can come up with is because simply they are THE Thunderbirds. The pride and joy of the Air Force that go around to places all over the world now to show how dedicated Airman are and to showcase our Air Force and air power. The Thunderbirds are very well financed because of those reasons alone.
Crew Chief, Nellis
6/21/2011 4:37:54 PM ET When the season started and people were posting comments against funding the Thunderbirds in light of the budget and personnel cuts, I disagreed. However now that I've had a chance to think about it, the logic makes sense. I think that anyone could, based strictly on the quantitative figures, build a case against funding the Thunderbirds. So that means there should be research done to determine the effects their performances have on issues like recruiting or public relations. I have my own opinions about those matters but I believe you'd find very few Airmen who would flat out say that they joined because of a Thunderbirds demonstration. I think that in times of the kind of belt tightening that we're doing, questions like these need to be answered.
Chris Kimball, Indiana
6/21/2011 2:15:56 AM ET Could someone please explain to me why the DoD is talking about cutting pay and benefits and yet we still have things like this eating millions of dollars from the budget.
