Posted on 04/16/2014 8:12:40 AM PDT by SandRat
A top Air Force official had one word to describe the proposed cuts threatening to ground the A-10 fleet.
“Heinous.”
Rep. Ron Barber relayed the comments from Gen. Michael Hostage, the commander of the Air Combat Command, shortly after the pair toured Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to discuss the fate of the iconic attack aircraft known as the Warthog.
The commander of the Air Combat Command, Hostage oversees the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan which flies more than 80 A-10s.
Barber, flanked by community leaders, asked Hostage to come to Tucson to see the overwhelming community support for the air base and the A-10.
Last week, Barber wrote to Air Force officials asking them to consider reassigning F-16 squadrons from Luke Air Force Base to D-M when squadrons of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters arrive.
After the tour with Hostage, Barber said he is still working with senators and key members in the House for a legislative solution.
Barber continues to blame the budget sequester as the true motivation for mothballing the A-10 fleet.
Former A-10 pilot Martha McSally, one of four Republicans vying to run against Barber this fall, accused the Tucson Democrat is playing political games using soldiers as backdrop as he runs for re-election.
“When it mattered most and he could have had an impact, Congressman Barber flat out ignored the threat to the A-10, denied it was at risk and was asleep at the switch to the point of skipping the committee hearing that shaped this crucial decision,” McSally said.
“Now he’s using active duty military to desperately play politics and cover his tracks. “
Barber has consistently disputed McSally’s assertions over the A-10 to the point of releasing a timeline of various actions he has taken since being elected into office in 2012.
The Tucson Democrat concedes he missed a committee hearing last year, but only to chair a subcommittee hearing on sequestration at the same time as the Air Force posture hearing.
Will he be “retired” before the end of the week?
and every grunt on the ground agrees !
The one thing that other systems cannot match is the A-10’s ability to take fire, still complete the mission and return home.
We just spent how many Billions re-winging the damn things. It makes no sense to retire them all.
Finally, we find a General who escaped the lobotomy.
The Warthog is the most awesomest flying machine~! why would they retire it?
I saw one in action at an air show in Tucson, AZ. It seemed to almost hover and spit death.
A marine I met there who was in the war said the enemy was scared to death of them
How can a rational person look at the situation in the Ukraine and surrounding countries and still want to do away with the A-10? You’d have to be an irrational isolationist or a surrender monkey.
Maybe Obama will give them to Russia to help Putin in Ukraine
Especially since they may soon be asked to do the job they were originally designed for: killing Soviet, er..Russian tanks pouring through the Fulda Gap
We need every A-10. In fact, we should build more.
The A-10 is a wonderful piece of machinery and it is as durable as a hammer. T’would be a BIG mistake to get rid of such a beast! The latest and greatest stealth fighters packed with advanced electronic wonders will never, ever replace the rugged airplane flying low and slow carrying a big load of air-to-ground weaponry to support the infantry!
I friend of my father was a Warthog driver (early 80s I think). He told a story where, during "target practice" he "hit a tree". He came in just a smidge to low. He flew the plane back to base where it needed a dent pulled out and a paint job.
Now THAT's ground support!
A vet I know said that in Afghanistan, some of the Taliban called them "Dragon Planes".
Amen, brother.
In 1982 I was flying a helicopter just west of the Fulda Gap using nap of the earth (treetop, around trees, underneath power lines) when there rang out over the 123.45 freq “PIGS IN SPA-A-A-A-CE!!!!” and a pair of A-10s appeared like yards away to my nine o’clock and I swear they could hover. The pilots waved & I saw their grins. Awesome.
A-10 haters tend to be bureaucrats with little to no combat time.
Actually a much better option would be to license a German aircraft manufacturer to produce Thunderbolt II, with “universal” plug and play electronics upgrades.
They would cost about a scant $15m an aircraft, which is a bargain basement price, yet have German engineering, which would insure a high quality engine and parts.
Since the US Air Force has long hated the “grubby” role of Close Air Support, the US would initially shun them until they needed them. However, most of the production would go to the eastern European nations, which would strongly fortify them against Russian hanky-panky like we’re seeing in Ukraine.
It would give a good stimulus to the idea of rebuilding the German air forces as well.
You know, if I were planning a general battle I think an A-10 / F-22 combined-force would do well:
— A-10 for CAS and forward air control
— F-22 for Air superiority, keep the skies clear and controlled for medevac, supplies, etc.
Groundwise I’d want Paladins (too bad the Crusader was scrapped) to support the infantry units.
(And you have to have infantry to control the ground. You CANNOT claim ground control from mere air-control: Afghanistan shows that.)
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