Calif ANG Flies... Wait, What? Part 2

So we all know about the Government Tit-for-tat sequester last Summer that not only ruined my airshow season but put the US's National Air Defense on its tail for a while as well. But, the story that didn't make the news was how the Great American Southwest has been left practically undefended by it.

You see, in the middle of that sequester, the California Air National Guard was in the middle of training up its pilots on their new F-15 Eagles. They had been flying F-16 Vipers, but those jets were retired and replaced with recently upgraded F-15C Eagles from the Montana Air National Guard.

So they didn't get to fly them. Or train in them. OR anything.

Now there's something you need to understand about fighter pilots: they're a determined, aggressive, forward-looking bunch. They are there, they are the best, and they're up there because they WANT to be the best. Sometimes to a point of ruthlessness or ice-bloodedness. And they don't want to eventually climb to the top of a ladder, they want to be the best NOW.

And here they were, their sexy, fast and deadly Vipers taken away and exchanged for, sexier, faster, deadlier Eagles. And then they were told, "But due to a government squabble, you can't fly them."

And that was probably a pretty luke-warm slap in the face. Tell a fighter pilot he can't fly, and you know what? He'll go fly somewhere else. Which they did. From what I've read, about half the CANG left to go fly elsewhere.

There were no more than 8 pilots left to fly their 14 F-15s for a while. Wow. The government scrambled to keep them happy on the ground by offering them $250,000 to stay put. And you know what? They turned it down. Evidently, sit still money doesn't calm the urge for the air.

So, they went out and recruited a bunch of new pilots. But they weren't even Eagle babies yet. To help the slack, they just flew the CANG jets up to Kingsley Field and began training them there.

So in about 4-6 months the squadron might stand up at full strength. But until then, Thank you Washington D.C., for showing that you, and you alone, were strong and brave enough to bring down over half a squadron of F-15s.