WASHINGTON: What the Defense Secretary and his office taketh away, Congress can restore. So the Air Force is asking Congress to restore $691 million for the five F-35As cut from this year’s budget, along with $724 million for eight C-130Js and, perhaps most interestingly, $1.2 billion for base improvements that include cyber networking.

As Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh have told Congress repeatedly over the last week that they really didn’t want to cut the planned five F-35As from their budget request but they had little choice. And they really need more people to cope with the unending strikes against Daesh, as well as the enormous constant drumbeat of drone strikes and ISR missions, as well as flying stuff all over the globe every day.

C-130Js

Congress has seemed very sympathetic to buying more C-130Js. It’s too early to tell with F-35s, though my bet is they will restore the five planes because that will lower the unit price. And the House Appropriations defense subcommittee listened sympathetically yesterday to James and Welsh discuss the need for more airmen — up to 321,000 from the current 313,000 — in more places around the globe.