Better East Texas: Is America's military battle-ready? - KLTV.com - Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |ETX News

We don’t know when the next war will take place or where in the world it will be but we do know that America will most likely be called on in some front to intercede or lead the charge.

History shows that to be a good probability. What we do know is that the current state of our fleet of military aircraft is not in battle-ready condition. We have struggled as a country to take care of those that served in the past and have lived through problems with the Veteran’s Administration – and now we have a problem for those that are currently serving as their equipment, in many cases, is sub-par.

While this problem did not just come to light, it has been known and discussed for years, it has entered a critical stage to the point that something must be done. The problem is two-fold.

First is the age of the majority of the fleet that serves our military. Many of these aircraft are 30, 40 or even 50 years old – some even older. So we must have a retirement plan that replaces these assets with newer more modern designs.

Next is the state of disrepair of many of our front-line military aircraft.  One report stated that two-thirds of the Navy strike fighter jets are grounded because of a lack of money for maintenance and spare parts. President Donald Trump has pledged to rebuild the military but it is a tall order and will take decades to deliver on but we must have a plan to address this.

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