BINGO! Easier to make across the board slashing cuts to personnel than to do the hard work of determining where money can be saved if people just worked at it. Just like counties do across the nation, they tell citizens critical services will be the first to go--cops, firemen, etc. The goal is to spread fear and pain so they can keep their power and kingdoms instead of doing what needs to be done to save money.

Maybe now wings are finally getting the message that if you don't have to fly out the flying hour program than guess what???? Don't fly out the flying hour program! Who here among us hasn't felt the pressure to get the hours flown just to zero out the hours?!! Even when I confronted my group CC in my final year of service about the need to fly out the hours (I had a memo in hand from the Air Staff stating you're done flying when you say your training is done, circa '08) he replied, "You told me before the FY started you needed XXXX hours to accomplish your training. Therefore, your training is not complete until you fly those hours."

The unneeded TDYs, the unneeded HD flat screens, blowing money at the end of the year that you won't get back if you don't spend it....it all should be looked at. But the low hanging fruit are the DoD's civilian employees. Generals need to stand up to their bosses and tell them the hard work of determining where the wasted dollars are has yet to even begin.