The memo and an accompanying slide show, sent out by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert last week, show plans to cut all funding for the Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron and the country’s oldest flying aerobatic team.
Canceling the 30 shows scheduled for that time frame would produce a meager savings of $20 million, but it would also shut down one of its top recruiting tools. The Blue Angels website estimates that 11 million people attend their shows each year.
If Congress can’t reach a deal in the next few weeks, the Navy is prepared to stop deployments to the Caribbean and South American, limit European deployments to only those supporting ballistic missile defense missions, reduce the number of ships and aircraft deployed and reduce the number of days at sea and flying hours across the entire force, according to the memo.
In addition, the Navy would stop training, flying and other operations for the majority of ships and aircraft preparing to deploy, “unless funded by Fleet Commander’s proposed offsets.” Adm. Greenert said the Navy also would consider the possibility of civilian furloughs of up to 22 days