VOA标准英语2013--US Air Force Facing Cuts in Manpower, Flying Hours

 

US Air Force Facing Cuts in Manpower, Flying Hours

Captain Frank Gilliard flies an air refueling tanker¹ - a KC-135. “The 135 can also be set up as a hospital,” he said.

He and all other Air Force pilots are facing an 18 percent cut in flying hours. That means less time in the air to refuel other planes out on missions. “Yes, readiness definitely could be affected,” Gilliard said.

All reserve civilians³ will be furloughed one day a week if the budget cuts go into effect. “It’s going to be tough. It's going to be tough,” Gilliard said.

That’s a 20 percent pay cut. 

"Whew. It can cut into a lot of things, just like I have my home, I have my basic utilities, day to day living,” Gilliard said.

Senior Airman Kevin Weedn maintains the KC-135 and also serves as a trainer. He already downgraded his cellphone plan, sold his second car and is rethinking his upcoming wedding.

“Our plans to pay for our own wedding is hard. I am putting aside money we have now. I am able to do it, but it’s just going to be a little tight,” Weedn said.

Weedn and Gilliard are among the 230 civilian² reservists with the KC-135s who face cuts at Andrews Air Force Base.

Their primary mission is twofold -- to refuel other planes in flight and to train pilots how to connect and refuel. But their plane is aging -- the KC-135s here were built in the late 1950s.

The plane still carries some relics⁴ of the past-- like this sextant port. The navigator would pop open the valve to gaze at the stars and plot his course.

A Boeing contract would replace these planes with newer models … but the military is waiting for Congress to approve that funding, too.

Colonel William Mason is the wing commander.

But his status does not protect his pay either -- Col. Mason is withdrawing a savings⁵ account to pay for his daughter's college education. He says the sequestration may actually cost the Air Force more.

"It costs more to let somebody not fly and try to get them retrained than to continue flying them throughout the month and maintain that readiness," Mason said.

Colonel Mason says if the cuts go through....it could take his wing up to a year to recover.

None of these cuts has been made here yet. But if lawmakers take no action to stop them…much of the needed funding will simply disappear. 

1 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。