It’s also been modernized with new systems, tactics, and techniques making it less exposed and less vulnerable to the threats while making it an unmatched CAS weapon. Desert Storm happened nearly 25 years ago, and the A-10 has racked up nearly 15 years of inarguably valuable combat service since then. Pausing for a moment, it should be pointed out that even if this claim were to be accepted as true, it wouldn’t support Welsh’s argument that it’s time to retire the A-10. It’s a rugged airplane, but it’s not hard to hit.” Seventy percent of the A-10s we used during the first Gulf War suffered battle damage. “The A-10 will not be used in a high threat environment. Mark Welsh, the Air Force Chief of Staff (CSAF).Ĭonsider Welsh’s recent commentsto an audience of airmen at Hill Air Force Base (my emphasis): Increasingly, it’s clear why: the effort is sponsored at the highest level by none other than Gen. Doing so has backfired, with Congress recently signalingthe service in strong terms that it won’t permit retirement of the A-10 without a replacement, and that it’s the Air Force’s job to field that replacement before it dismantles a capability that saves lives on the ground in the nation’s wars.ĭespite the dubious track record of this dishonorable strategy for mothballing the A-10, it continues to thrive. Throughout that time, the service has resorted regularly to underhanded, dishonest, and sometimes unlawfultactics. Read more here.įor a few years now, the Air Force has committed itself to a political campaign geared toward earning Congressional consent to retire its best Close Air Support (CAS) aircraft, the A-10. Welsh acknowledged on October 28th that his statement was erroneous. Mark Welsh on an F-35 Lightning II replacement modification at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Oct. Eileen Frock, the 570th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron operations officer, briefs Air Force Chief of Staff Gen.
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