Clearing the Fog of War

Fort Sam's Fiesta 'ready, resilient'

The budget sequester took the fireworks out of Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston's Fiesta celebration Sunday night, but that did nothing to dampen the event's festive spirit.

Hundreds of soldiers, families and friends converged on the post's historic Quadrangle late in the afternoon, many of them civilians wearing rows of shiny Fiesta medals.

The 323rd Army Band performed patriotic tunes as Fort Sam made the best of its most strained fiscal year in memory, and the crowd was treated to the U.S. Army Soldier Show, a troupe of 22 GIs who put on a musical called “Ready and Resilient” — a fitting theme for Fiesta 2013.

“We didn't have the carnival, we weren't going to have the fireworks, we weren't going to have a large extravaganza of food and drink, but it was all about being together,” said Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV, commander of U.S. Army North.

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines will contribute to Fiesta celebrations throughout the week, despite the spending cutbacks imposed on federal activities thanks to sequestration.

Larry Benson Sr., Rey Feo LXV, mingled with a crowd that drifted toward Caldwell, Gen. Edward Rice Jr., head of the Air Force's training command, and many other troops .

“To tell you we've noticed it, not really, except for a couple of things, obviously, the fireworks and the flyovers at Randolph,” Benson, 67, of Shavano Park said.

Joint Base San Antonio, which oversees Fort Sam and two other installations here, opted to scratch the fireworks show and carnival because of overtime costs for civil service workers.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/military/article/Fort-Sam-s-Fiesta-Ready-Resilient-4451973.php#ixzz2SZJtBmg4

Sequester kills San Antonio air show

The budget sequester has claimed another casualty — this year's San Antonio air show.

Joint Base San Antonio cited the Air Force's decision to cancel the Thunderbirds' 2013 season, which starts April 1, in making the announcement Tuesday. It noted the Air Force's participation in such public events as air shows and flyovers at military funerals already had been dropped.

“We knew that, we knew it was coming,” said Richard Perez, president and CEO of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, which has spearheaded Celebrate America's Military Week for 43 years. “It was disappointing. It was such a fantastic event for families in particular, but we will move on.”

The Air Force Thunderbirds or Navy Blue Angels often are the highlight of the annual show, which usually takes place in the fall and draws more than 100,000 spectators.

Previous budget cuts grounded last year's air show, and officials here had planned to hold the event every other year starting in 2013. But the Air Force training command doesn't know if there will be a local air show in 2015.

The show had been in limbo since $46 billion in across-the-board cuts mandated by the budget sequester took effect Friday. Those cuts will affect services ranging from border protection to air traffic control, and will trigger 22 furlough days for civilian Defense Department employees.

The furloughs begin next month and will affect 20,127 civilian employees at Joint Base San Antonio. The first furlough letters go out March 21, and employees will start four-day work weeks April 25.

With the air show gone, U.S. Army North and other commands were reviewing options on how they'd support San Antonio's annual Fiesta, now six weeks out.

Joint Base San Antonio spokesman Brent Boller said he'd heard no official word about the matter. Army North's Col. Wayne Shanks said the services were talking about what they could and couldn't do this year.

“Those that don't cost a lot of resources we'll try to support as best we can,” he said. “It doesn't cost much for a band to march in a parade.”

San Antonio bases brace for impact as sequester starts

As an Air Force fire truck drove toward a plume of smoke, a long-planned exercise began as planned Friday despite the looming budget sequester.

Late Friday marked the start of the federal budget cuts that set the stage for months of civilian furloughs and $46 billion in across-the-board reductions in the military — and the possible cancellation of an air show this fall in San Antonio.

The exercise simulated the crash of an F-16D with two casualties at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. The base's 82 civilian firefighters, including eight who responded Friday, won't be spared from furloughs due to start April 25.

The sequester cuts include 22 furlough days for 20,127 civilian employees at Joint Base San Antonio.

When asked how he could be sure there would be enough firefighters to handle a real crash, something that last happened nearly 30 years ago, Col. John Kane declined to comment.

“I won't be able to answer that,” said Kane, commander of the Texas Air National Guard's 149th Fighter Wing.

The commander of Joint Base San Antonio, Brig. Gen. Theresa Carter, told firefighters and others at the exercise not to discuss the sequester with media. The impact is coming soon, with 58,435 civilian Defense Department employees affected at all Texas bases.

The Air Force, meanwhile, said it had cancelled the season for the Thunderbirds demonstration team and would reduce all flying hours by nearly one-fifth. All active-duty, guard and reserve air units were ordered to stop supporting air shows and flyovers, including military funerals.

The Thunderbirds were to fly at this year's San Antonio air show, but the Air Force's training command has not said if it would scratch the event.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/military/article/SA-bases-brace-for-impact-as-sequester-starts-4321103.php#ixzz2ML9xv9N5

Sequester's cuts in military affect San Antonio

Days before the budget sequester takes effect, military and community leaders around the state are girding themselves for cuts that could cost Texas 91,000 jobs.

From Texarkana, Killeen and Del Rio to San Antonio, Corpus Christi and El Paso, leaders spent the weekend trying to gauge how $46 billion in defense reductions will affect their cities come Friday.

They have few clues, other than Pentagon plans to furlough 800,000 civilians for 22 days between April 25 and Sept. 30, putting them on a four-day workweek. At Army installations alone, 29,958 Texas civilians will be furloughed, prompting fears of an economic slowdown.

“I think it's madness,” Richard Dayoub, president and CEO of El Paso's chamber of commerce, said of the sequester, adding, “I've heard members of Congress say that to me.”

A Pew Charitable Trust study said only Virginia and California would be bigger losers than Texas in the sequester. It also found that 91,600 people in the state would be out of work if it takes effect. Texas would lose $6.48 billion in defense contractor revenue and 12,000 civil service jobs.

“The mood is very negative and very fearful about what this is actually going to turn into long term for the country and, of course, the local economy,” said Richard Perez, president and CEO of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/military/article/Sequester-madness-casts-shadow-on-Texas-bases-4304946.php#ixzz2ML5nXkxl