Military Strained by Obama Trip.

[Uvin A. Clough JR., TSGT, USAF, RET.]

The Royal Entourage 500 of The Marxist Imam Obama's and his Czarina's G-20 Grand Tour of Europe takes precedence over Our Troops fighting the War in Afghanistan.Must be their "Love" of the Military? ? ?Thursday, April 2, 2009Military strained by Obama tripBill Gertz INSIDE THE RING (Contact)Air ObamaPresident Obama's European visit this week has strained Air Force heavy-airlift capabilities and obliged the military to hire more foreign contractors to help resupply U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, according to military sources.The large delegation traveling with the president in Europe required moving several transports, including jumbo C-5s and C-17s, from sorties ferrying supplies to Afghanistan to European bases for the presidential visit, said two military officials familiar with the issue. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid any misunderstanding with White House officials.The Air Mobility Command, part of the U.S. Transportation Command, was ordered to provide airlift for the president's entourage of nearly 500 people, including senior officials, staff, support personnel, news reporters and some 200 Secret Service agents for the European visit, which began Tuesday in London.Airlift for the traveling entourage also was used to move the president's new heavy-armored limousine and several presidential helicopters used for short transits.To make up for the shortfall, the Air Force had to increase the number of Eastern European air transport contractors hired to fly Il-76 and An-124 transport jets into Afghanistan loaded with troop supplies, the two officials said.The airlift crunch comes at a particularly difficult time, as the military is stepping up deliveries of supplies in advance of a surge of 21,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.Source (Complete Article):http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/02/inside-the-ring-89874599/print/