Your point is well taken and very well made but the original news report is problematic about the planes themselves.
The "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB is operated by the 309th AMARG (Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group) and has three principle functions.
1. Long Term Storage : Planes that arrive for storage are washed, clocks and data plates removed and the boxes of documentation that go with each airframe carefully stored. They get fluids drained, hoses checked, sealed in spray on familiar white latex and towed out onto the flight apron for storage. The "boneyard" itself is roughly half of Davis-Monthan with the flight apron on west side of the base. It is an incredible sight, row after row of planes, mothballed for future use.
2. Storage for Repurpose : Some of the planes in the "boneyard" go through conversion to other uses. They may re-purpose a fighter into a drone or a research airframe destined for NASA. Some planes get reconditioned and prepared for museums.
The 309th AMARG tries to keep at least one of every airframe in its inventory in part because of their historical value. The Pima Air and Space Museum sits adjacent to the Davis-Monthan and with over 300 airframes in its inventory is one of the largest non-Governmental air and space museums.
3. Storage for Reclamation : The older airframes which will never again fly can end up in the desert section on the east side. This is where planes are stored to be "parted out". When older airframes need repair or replacement parts, they can salvage from the inventory in the desert and ship the replacement out to the maintenance center requesting it within days.
Given that the C27J's (a beautiful and versatile airframe) are brand new I expect that they are ending up on the west side on the apron. They may be there only a year or two but when they peel off the latex, check the hoses and refill the fluids, they will be airborne in a week or two.
= new reply since forum marked as read