The military calls it purple, purple meeting, you know, you've got green for Army, and khaki for the Marines and light blue for - the Air Force, and blue for the Navy.

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The Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy's Blue Angels will cancel air show appearances.

NPR: How Budget Cuts Could Affect You

And the biggest acts are the Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds, the precision flying teams whose performances were abruptly canceled April 1, along with the Army skydiving team, military flyovers, demonstration flights and even static displays.

WSJ: Dark clouds hang over air shows after budget cuts

One of those corny black-and-white forties Air Force films with tearful goodbyes as Jimmy Stewart flies off into the wild blue yonder.

NEWYORKER: Indianapolis (Highway 74)

This means having a nuclear deterrent, a deployable army division, a blue-water navy with two aircraft carriers, and an air force with fighters and deep-strike jets.

ECONOMIST: Britain's armed forces