Stingy Aid
This is a phrase that really irks me. Considering all that the United States does for people around the world, to be called 'stingy' is more than an insult. Let's look at some of our 'stingy' money already being spent in theatre shall we?
All those nice SeaHawk SH-60 helicopters ferrying aid around (48 currently in theatre, bumping to 90 sometime this weekend). The nice helicopters that Mr. 'Stingy' Egeland claims are "worth their weight in gold". They must be free right? Wrong.
According to the nice people at Sikorsky International, the per hour operating cost of an S-70A (which is the base model of the BlackHawk, KnightHawk, SeaHawk, ad nauseum) is $1,285.82. Per bird, per hour. Let's see 48 birds x (let's be generous) 8 hours x 1285.85 = $493,754.88. Now take that number and multiply it by seven days (rough number of days they've been in theatre ferrying supplies) and you get $3,456,284.16. Roughly a third of what oil rich Saudi Arabia has "promised" to pay. We've already spent a third of their entire donation on real, hard, life saving helicopter missions. Notice this doesn't include the cost of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and her battle group, nor the U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard and her battle group, nor the C-130's...
Damn, we sure are stingy.
p.s. 48 SH-60B's would weigh around 1,056,000 lbs (22,000 lbs max take off weight) which would be approximately $7,087,872,000 in gold. (at $419.50 an ounce). Just thought we should cover that ;)
-X9
All those nice SeaHawk SH-60 helicopters ferrying aid around (48 currently in theatre, bumping to 90 sometime this weekend). The nice helicopters that Mr. 'Stingy' Egeland claims are "worth their weight in gold". They must be free right? Wrong.
According to the nice people at Sikorsky International, the per hour operating cost of an S-70A (which is the base model of the BlackHawk, KnightHawk, SeaHawk, ad nauseum) is $1,285.82. Per bird, per hour. Let's see 48 birds x (let's be generous) 8 hours x 1285.85 = $493,754.88. Now take that number and multiply it by seven days (rough number of days they've been in theatre ferrying supplies) and you get $3,456,284.16. Roughly a third of what oil rich Saudi Arabia has "promised" to pay. We've already spent a third of their entire donation on real, hard, life saving helicopter missions. Notice this doesn't include the cost of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and her battle group, nor the U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard and her battle group, nor the C-130's...
Damn, we sure are stingy.
p.s. 48 SH-60B's would weigh around 1,056,000 lbs (22,000 lbs max take off weight) which would be approximately $7,087,872,000 in gold. (at $419.50 an ounce). Just thought we should cover that ;)
-X9
