Why Keep Close Air Support that Really Works and Saves Lives for a New Toy That Doesn't?

Government not working in all its glory! New Toys, New Contracts, the Political and Bureaucratic Pentagon, Crony-Capitalism and Obama all come into play to abandon one of the best planes ever built for close-in ground support of our troops. m/r

Save the Warthogs

By Christopher S. Carson On May 12, 2015 In Daily Mailer,FrontPage

President Obama’s Air Force wants to send the venerable A-10 Warthog ground attack plane to the boneyard, claiming it can’t afford the expense of keeping them. But if the cost is measured in human life, the better question is: can we afford not to keep them?

Let’s say you and your buddies are US Marines patrolling through a ravine in a remote area of Afghanistan. You’re ambushed by an entire company of Taliban fighters shooting down on you from a high ridge. It’s nighttime and the weather is bad. You’re out of range of artillery support. You’re pinned down and taking casualties. You can barely see your enemy up behind the rocky ridge. You make radio contact and the Air Force can vector in two aircraft to your area to provide close air support (CAS).

You and your buddies’ survival almost entirely depend upon what sort of aircraft can come to your assistance.

If the Air Force sends in a low and slow-flying A-10 Warthog, it’s your lucky day. Total cloud cover? No problem: the Hog flies almost to the nape of the earth so it can get up close and personal with the enemy. Nighttime? Also no problem: your plane is so maneuverable that you can bob and weave away from tracer rounds.

Your pilots get their Hogs near the ridge. The plane is literally built around a monster 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger multibarrel cannon, which shoots huge depleted uranium bullets at a high speed. Originally designed to kill Soviet tanks rushing into West Germany, the Avenger cannon basically cuts through anything in its path like, well, butter. The Warthog can loiter above the battlespace for hours, returning again and again for more attack runs.

Even the pilot is well cared-for. His seat is surrounded by a reinforced titanium bath that deflects almost all ordnance. It’s not pretty ...

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