Air Force insults American workers

The United States/French Air Force should be ashamed of awarding the contract to Airbus to build the next generation tanker. Consider from a taxpayer’s point of view: Boeing’s proposal cost $35 million less per aircraft, they are able to operate out of existing bases without expensive modifications and Boeing’s tanker is built with the knowledge gained from a long history of building and maintaining tankers.

Presently, all major assemblies of the tanker platform (the Boeing 767) are built by Boeing workers. With the loss of this program, Boeing will phase out the 767 and these jobs will be lost. As we have seen with the 787, the manufacturing of the major assemblies will more than likely be performed by global partners resulting in a net loss of American jobs.

Even more appalling is the callous disregard shown to America and American workers in the flippant attitudes of Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Duncan J. McNabb in making the announcement. After delaying the announcement all week, the Air Force released the news late Friday and than ran to hide from the fallout. They noted that no consideration was given to the fact that the Boeing proposal meant the plane would be built by Americans, read taxpayers, which could indirectly help offset the costs. To add further insult, they went out of their way to imply that because it will be flown by Americans it was an American plane. What hogwash! When American-made aircraft are flown by a foreign air force the planes are always referred to as American. Who ever heard of an Egyptian F-4 or an Israeli F-16?

As Lenin said, “Sell them enough rope and capitalists will hang themselves.” Well, the generals are leading us to the gallows. Perhaps we should outsource the generals.

Mark Allen