It comes and goes in waves, depending on training tempo, training schedules, material readiness, and fiscal quarterly budget constraints. I spent 9 yrs in the Navy, 4 1/2 in Naval Aviation, 4 1/2 in EOD, but was always stationed on an airbase of some sort after I left Nimitz. This is nothing out of the ordinary for those that have been involved with military aviation. It was highly eradic under Clinton. I went in the Navy in '95. Back then, there were whole weeks where whole squadrons didn't fly. And it was like that under W. until 9/11. Y'all should've seen the money & supply issues we had back then and what we were using to keep our equipment and planes operational. As long as the pilots and aircrew get at least 8 flt hrs/mth so they keep their flight status operational, it doesn't matter how many planes/helos are aloft.
Now, if we were to see whole squadrons of helos and aircraft on almost constant patrol or alert status, I would be concerned. However, this isn't the case, so it's nothing unusual. What IS unusual is the sudden "concern" certain high profile planefags have shown on the various social media outlets.
In my view, either they're relatively new, as in the last 2-3 yrs, and therefore don't really know what a normal military operating schedule looks like, they're being paid by some benefactor to generate this "news" and their "concern," or they're too wrapped up in their own bravado and need for constant positive attention to actually take a step back, review past trends, and think logically and critically. These same people will tell you things like, "I don't know, but to me it looks like...," while in the very next breath go into detail on all the reasons why you should believe what they say. Don't take their word for, don't even take my word for it, for that matter. Ask around. Research past trends. Follow the training op announcements and deployments of the squadrons. Focus on the 6 mths prior to squadron and Carrier deployments, too. It's all recorded. The info is out there. Ask around the older planefags. The one's that have been doing this for 20 yrs or more.
This is just another distraction. One we can't afford, either. They're mounting up on us and keeping info suppressed because too much effort is going into trying to decode what it means if there's only 65 planes up during the day or 16 up at night. None of that fucking matters.
Keep your heads in the game, people. The game of identify, research, disseminate, expose. That's our job. Besides, except for the odd happenstance like that ONE TIME a CPL yrs back a flock of Little Birds and Hawks were seen circling L.A. and dropping off/picking up a couple loads, you're not gonna even know what's happening until it's already done and over with.
It comes and goes in waves, depending on training tempo, training schedules, material readiness, and fiscal quarterly budget constraints. I spent 9 yrs in the Navy, 4 1/2 in Naval Aviation, 4 1/2 in EOD, but was always stationed on an airbase of some sort after I left Nimitz. This is nothing out of the ordinary for those that have been involved with military aviation. It was highly eradic under Clinton. I went in the Navy in '95. Back then, there were whole weeks where whole squadrons didn't fly. And it was like that under W. until 9/11. Y'all should've seen the money & supply issues we had back then and what we were using to keep our equipment and planes operational. As long as the pilots and aircrew get at least 8 flt hrs/mth so they keep their flight status operational, it doesn't matter how many planes/helos are aloft.
Now, if we were to see whole squadrons of helos and aircraft on almost constant patrol or alert status, I would be concerned. However, this isn't the case, so it's nothing unusual. What IS unusual is the sudden "concern" certain high profile planefags have shown on the various social media outlets.
In my view, either they're relatively new, as in the last 2-3 yrs, and therefore don't really know what a normal military operating schedule looks like, they're being paid by some benefactor to generate this "news" and their "concern," or they're too wrapped up in their own bravado and need for constant positive attention to actually take a step back, review past trends, and think logically and critically. These same people will tell you things like, "I don't know, but to me it looks like...," while in the very next breath go into detail on all the reasons why you should believe what they say. Don't take their word for, don't even take my word for it, for that matter. Ask around. Research past trends. Follow the training op announcements and deployments of the squadrons. Focus on the 6 mths prior to squadron and Carrier deployments, too. It's all recorded. The info is out there. Ask around the older planefags. The one's that have been doing this for 20 yrs or more.
This is just another distraction. One we can't afford, either. They're mounting up on us and keeping info suppressed because too much effort is going into trying to decode what it means if there's only 65 planes up during the day or 16 up at night. None of that fucking matters.
Keep your heads in the game, people. The game of identify, research, disseminate, expose. That's our job. Besides, except for the odd happenstance like that ONE TIME a CPL yrs back a flock of Little Birds and Hawks were seen circling L.A. and dropping off/picking up a couple loads, you're not gonna even know what's happening until it's already done and over with.