Tagged: Scott Air Force Base

About 5,100 civilian workers at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois are being forced to take-off 11 unpaid days, as are civilian employees at military installations throughout the Department of Defense.  The furloughs begin July 8 and are a result of the automatic federal spending cuts known as sequestration.

The so-called sequester is going to take some military pomp out of summer events across the country.

Budget cuts have forced the Golden Knights, the Army’s signature parachute team, to cancel several of its performances.

The same goes for the The Navy’s Blue Angels.

Military bands aren’t immune from the cuts, either; travel restrictions have forced them to cancel shows from coast to coast.

But in a twist, we’re going to be seeing the local Air Force band a whole lot more than we normally would.  

Working on local relationships

The U.S. Department of Defense says one of four Air Force members killed in a weekend plane crash in Afghanistan was a pilot who had been stationed at Scott Air Force Base in southwestern Illinois.

The department says 28-year-old Capt. Brandon Cyr of Woodbridge, Va., died in Saturday's crash of an Air Force MC-12 aircraft.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. The Pentagon says there were no reports of enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash.