FILE - In a Tuesday, May 29, 2012 file photo, a formation of U.S. Navy Blue Angel fighter jets perform a flyover above graduating Midshipmen during the United States Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremonies in Annapolis, Md. The commander of Naval air forces announced on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 that the U.S. Navy has canceled the remainder of the elite Blue Angels demonstration team's 2013 season because of federal cuts. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - In a Tuesday, May 29, 2012 file photo, a formation of U.S. Navy Blue Angel fighter jets perform a flyover above graduating Midshipmen during the United States Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremonies in Annapolis, Md. The commander of Naval air forces announced on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 that the U.S. Navy has canceled the remainder of the elite Blue Angels demonstration team's 2013 season because of federal cuts. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels perform their precision aerobatics over the Florida Keys during the Southernmost Air Spectacular at Naval Air Station Key West Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Key West, Fla. The weekend air show concludes Sunday, March 24, and may mark the the last Blue Angels performance through the end of September 2013 due to sequester budget cuts. (AP Photo/Florida Keys News Bureau, Rob O'Neal)
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) ? The U.S. Air Force plans to ground about a third of its active-duty force of combat planes and a top general warned Tuesday that the branch might not be able to respond immediately to every event when needed.
The Air Force didn't immediately release a list of the specific units and bases that would be affected on Tuesday, but it said it would cover some fighters, bombers and airborne warning and control aircraft in the U.S., Europe and the Pacific.
Gen. Mike Hostage, commander of Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, said the branch would focus its budget and resources on units supporting major missions, like the war in Afghanistan, while other units stand down on a rotating basis.
"The current situation means we're accepting the risk that combat airpower may not be ready to respond immediately to new contingencies as they occur," Hostage said in a statement.
The Air Force says, on average, aircrews 'lose currency' to fly combat commissions within 90 to 120 days of not flying and that it generally takes 60 to 90 days to conduct the training needed to return aircrews to mission-ready status.
Returning grounded units to mission ready status will require additional funds beyond Air Combat Command's normal budget, according to Air Force Officials.
"Even a six-month stand down of units will have significant long-term, multi-year impacts on our operational readiness," Air Combat Command spokesman Maj. Brandon Lingle wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
For affected units, the Air Force says it will shift its focus to ground training. That includes the use of flight simulators and academic training to maintain basic skills and aircraft knowledge, Lingle said. Aircraft maintainers plan to clear up as much of a backlog of scheduled inspections and maintenance that budgets allow.
On the same day, the U.S. Navy confirmed that the Blue Angels aerobatic team would be cancelling the rest of its season.
Tom Frosch, the Blue Angels lead pilot and team commander, announced the news late Tuesday at the team's Pensacola Naval Air Station headquarters standing in front of the one of the iconic blue-and-gold jets. Frosch said the news marks the first time since the Korean War that the team would not make the air show rounds.
"The Navy held off as long as possible with the hope of salvaging some of the season," Frosch said. "We hope we'll be turned back on for 2014."
As the news trickled out, business owners and residents of the coastal enclave where the team is based were disappointed.
"I just think it's sad that there are political games being played. I doubt the Blue Angels are even half of 1 percent of the entire Navy budget," said Lloyd Proctor, co-owner of Blue Angel Hot Tubs in Pensacola. Proctor and his wife named their business after the team 10 years ago.
"They have national name recognition and they are loved by people everywhere," Proctor said Tuesday.
Most held out hope that the grounding was temporary and that the season could somehow be salvaged.
Thousands of fans flocks to Pensacola Beach each July to watch the team fly over the white sand and turquoise surf. It is always the biggest tourism revenue weekend of the year, said W.A. Buck Lee, president of the Santa Rosa Island Authority. Lee said he had hoped that the six fighter jets would be allowed to continue practicing as a team and the Pensacola Beach show could be replaced by a routine practice over the beach.
Instead, the Navy announced Tuesday that the six elite pilots would maintain only minimum flight hours to remain qualified in their F/A 18 Hornets and that squadron practices would end for the remainder of the season.
"The economic impact of the show for us is more than $2 million," Lee said. "People are going to start cancelling their hotel rooms and will hurt businesses here."
A spokesman for the Navy said team members would be allowed to fly minimal hours to maintain flight proficiency in the F/A 18 fighter jets, but the six-jet squadron would discontinue group practices for the remainder of the season. The elite pilots selected to serve a two-year rotation with the team are among the top Navy's top fighter pilots. Many are graduates of the Navy's famous Top Gun fighter tactics school.
Forsch said the team will continue its focus on community outreach and on Navy and Marine recruiting.
"To be a part of this team in any way is an honor and there is an obligation to continue that legacy of the Blue Angels that inspired me and others to fly and to join the Navy and the Marines," he said.
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Nelson reported from Pensacola, Fla.
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