TO THE AIR FORCE, for extreme vanity. The Air Force is seeking a $59 million hike in advertising funds in 2009 — money that would buy two-thirds of an F-35A or one-third of an F-22 — not to boost recruiting, but to sell itself and its program to the public. The new “Above All” ad campaign aims to persuade Americans to support the Air Force, uber alles, in the perpetual competition for budgetary superiority. Despite a 2009 acquisition budget of $144 billion ($3 billion more than the Army’s request), Air Force leaders list another $18.75 billion in unfunded priorities (versus the Army’s $4 billion). Maybe the service’s new slogan should be “Above All, Spend More.”
Most Popular
Recent Posts
- 1930: In case you missed it August 09 2014
-
Book excerpt: “F.I.R.E.” April 29 2014
-
Two Cheers for the QDR April 06 2014
- 1973: Buy our drones! April 05 2014
-
Afghanistan or Talibanistan? April 02 2014
Popular Posts
Blood borders International borders are never completely just. But t...
Peters’ “Blood borders” map On Sept. 29, veteran foreign-affairs reporter Robin Wri...
A failure in generalship For the second time in a generation, the United States...
The danger of déjà vu During the past year, we have seen our U.S. national s...
Hybrid vs. compound war Over the past two years, the hybrid threat construct h...
Pipeline politics in Syria You can’t understand the conflict without talking about...
Recent Comments