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From: rcj@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (Robert C. Johnson)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Blackbird Reborn!
Keywords: Blackbird, SR-71
Message-ID: <26780@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Date: 16 Aug 89 06:14:38 GMT
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Organization: The Unix(R) Connection, Dallas, Texas
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From: rcj@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (Robert C. Johnson)

Found this in the August 7th issue of AW&ST:

"The house appropriations commitee breathed new life into the SR-71
reconnaissance program, directing that hte mission be transfered to the
Air National Guard.  The Air Force, which has sought repeatedly to retire the
Blackbirds, has been instructed to make changes in the program by March,
1990.  The committee added $200 million in Fiscal 1990 to acomplish
the restructuring and pay for personnel.  The increase is to be offset by an
unallocated reduction of the $100 million in the active Air Force budget. 
The committee intends that reduction to serve as an "incentive" to
the service to avoid even larger assesments in Fiscal 1991 by restructuring
the program in accordance with the committee's guidelines."

This quoted without permission from page 15.  All spelling mistakes are
mine (so I can't type!).

Anyways, I suppose that this means the SR-71's won't be retired on 
October 1st as has been rumored.  However, the line that says the
Air Force has 'repeatedly' tried to retire the Blackbirds says
that they are either damn confidant of their satelites, or they
have another plane already flying....Any comments?

-- 
|  Robert C. Johnson                |  "Minds are like parachutes.       |
|   rcj@attctc.dallas.tx.us         |   They only function when they are |
|   (214) 357-5306                  |   Open."  -Sir James Dewar         |