U.S. AIR FORCE combat aircraft no longer grounded.

The ability for the Air Force to get its planes airborne again comes after Congress authorized the Defense Department to shift about $7.5 billion from lower priority accounts to more vital operations. The Air Force said the restored flying hours represent about $208 million of that allocation authorized by Congress.

“If recent reprogramming measures can put our pilots back in the air, I fully expect the Air Force can also find a way to also end furloughs for this fiscal year,” U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said in a statement. “Today’s announcement proves the military’s pain from sequester could have been mitigated all along had my bill to give flexibility to the Department of Defense been rightfully considered.”

More proof -- if any is needed -- that the sequestration need not have been as harmful as the Obama administration would have us believe.