The congress goes on vacation, Washington focus's on national healthcare, Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed as the nation's newest Supreme Court justice, the U.S. Air Force stands up a new strategic command--and, nobody's talking about the budget or the 5,000 Long Beach jobs hanging in the balance. Undaunted, Boeing makes ready for another C-17 delivery tomorrow.

On Tuesday, 8/11/09, Boeing will deliver the first C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the Qatar Emiri Air Force during a ceremony at the company's final assembly facility in Long Beach. Qatar became the first Middle East nation to order the C-17 when it signed an agreement with Boeing on July 21, 2008, for the purchase of two advanced airlifters and associated equipment and services. Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al-Malki, of the Qatar Emiri Air Force and Qatar Airlift Selection Committee will be in attendance at the Long Beach ceremony.

Both houses of congress are now on their summer break, so nothing definitive is happening on the 2010 defense budget bills until the conference committee starts work after the break. The prize in this match up is 3 additional C-17s. The house bill includes them and the senate bill does not.

While they continue to stress that some items are veto targets, the Obama Administration maintains their silence on whether or not the controversial budget for more C-17s is veto material. Although the primary subjects on the collective Washington mind last week were the healthcare bill and the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor, there was at least one significant reference to the 2010 defense budget.

That reference came during a briefing by Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell on Wednesday, August 05, 2009. In response to questions about some other relatively minor defense budget items, Morrell mentioned once again the items which they have already identified as veto , or "red line" items. And, once again, the 3 C-17s did not make the list, and once again, they indicated there were other "red line" items which are being kept secret. Morrell said "His {Secretary of Defense , Robert M. Gates} attention has been mostly focused on the items that he believes are red lines. The F-22 --
you know additional F-22s are clearly a red line for the secretary. An alternative F-35 engine is a red line for the secretary. The VH-71 program is a red line for the secretary." In response to questions about which additional items might also draw a veto, Morrell said "I've communicated those to you {the press}, or at least some of them." The last phrase of this response clearly suggests there might be more veto items, but they are not being identified at this time. There was no mention at any time during the briefing of the 3 disputed C-17s.

Two days later, Secretary of the Air Force, Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz held a briefing to announce the standing up of a fourth B-52 squadron and the activation of a new Air Force command, dubbed the Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Donley said "This week, we will achieve a major milestone in the activation of Air Force Global Strike Command. This command will bring together our strategic nuclear forces, our ICBMs and our nuclear bomber forces, under a single commander. Standing up this command is no small task, and we have actually been able to do it a little bit of -- ahead of the schedule that we had forecast last year. This command will provide the combatant commanders with forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence in global strike operations through the ICBM, B-2 and B-52 operations." No mention of airlifters here, only bombers and missiles.

Based on the Administrations silence on the C-17s, your Editors are staying with our prediction that 1) the 3 additional C-17s in the house bill will be passed and signed into law, 2) Boeing will close on some of the pending international C-17s orders, 3) the Long Beach production line will keep rolling through 2011, and 4) the entire match will repeat itself next year.