Julian Bond: “I enthusiastically support Senator Biden's colloquy. As a cochair of the Senate Guard Caucus, I find it alarming that of…”

“I enthusiastically support Senator Biden's colloquy. As a cochair of the Senate Guard Caucus, I find it alarming that of the 1,885 Army National Guard helicopters nationwide, over a 1,000 were recently reported as grounded because of a lack of spare parts. As recently as May it was reported that only 40 percent of the fleet of Army National Guard helicopters were flying. Our skyrocketing maintenance costs require ever increasing resources just to maintain our aging fleet. Consequently our modernization accounts remain insufficient to replace aging aircraft, creating a viscious cycle. Senator Biden's effort today draws needed attention to the alarming trends that we have seen in Army aviation within the past few years.”