The Laughing Wolf

Dereliction Of Duty: A-10

Well, I was going to write about the Air Force's craven refusal to fulfill its duties for close-air ground support, but it seems everyone has beaten me to the punch. So, what I am going to do is point you towards some of the better discussions and then give you my two cents worth at the end.

Start with Trent Telenko's piece (yet another good one by Trent) over at Winds of Change, and be sure to read the article at Slate he references as it gives some much needed history for understanding what is going on right now. Another good article with a lot of history is here. Also check out Blogfather Joe Katzman's piece at Winds of Change.

These provide a good start, but you will also want to check out some of the discussion at Jerry Pournelle's place in the mail section. Jerry writes about a lot more than computers, and has the background to be authoritative in quite a few areas. Where he is not an expert, he pulls in readers and others who are such, and the mail is often a very lively exchange. Yes, it takes time to read but is well worth the time.

But these discussion, while quite good, only tell part of the story. You need to go to Warthog Territory to get a much fuller picture of what this remarkable plane can do, has done, and is needed to do now and in the future. You also need to pay particular attention to THIS story, and take a good, hard, and long look at the pictures -- and at the plane, not the pilot.

The fact is, the A-10 has been the true workhorse of the last two wars. To be honest, I have always wanted one of my own because of my belief that there are no old, bold pilots. You can have old, or you can have bold, but rare indeed is the one who is both. The A-10 has about two of everything in case one gets shot off. It is one of the most survivable planes ever developed, taking on man and nature and usually coming out on top.

The Air Force has, from the beginning, been unable and unwilling to live up to its sworn agreements on close-air ground support. Then again, the Air Force has long had some serious problems with its field grade officers and leadership. A family friend who worked for the Air Force blamed a lot of it on it being a young service with far too young leadership when it was formed. According to this friend, they had never grown up and the resultant Air Force reflects that to this day.

This friend pointed out a lot of the follies of this service, from having to go bury "excess" stock needed for maintenance before inspections and then not being allowed to go retrieve same after inspection, to the insistence on smoke and flame from engines, even when eliminating same would increase power and fuel efficiency. Nope, couldn't have that, the brass had to have the visual. It is my personal opinion that the current scandals racking the Air Force Academy, and the craven refusal to admit to and correct same by the Secretary of the Air Force and the top officers under him, reflect this same "frat boy" mentality.

My own experiences have verified a lot of what they said, and I was less than impressed with many of the field grade Air Force officers I had met. While there were some damn good NCOs, and I very much liked the SOW people I had met, it was not until I worked at an Air Force research and testing center that I met some truly good officers. I am very picky about who I would willingly follow into a conflict, and I found several there that I would have followed. I also noticed that most of the really good ones were leaving the Air Force, and see signs that this trend continues to this day.

Okay, they are willing to yet again abandon their responsibilities and sworn duty, that's fine. They are also manifestly unwilling to let the Army assume the role, for purely political reasons, but that is fine too. One way out of this mess is to turn it over to the only other service that does provide fixed-wing close-air support to the troops who are living up to their oaths and doing the work: the Marines. My recommendation is to completely sidestep the whole issue of Air Force vs. Army and give the job to someone who can do it, who is not a part of the current pissing match, and has the integrity -- unlike the Air Force -- to do the job. Give them the job, all the funds currently going to the Air Force for same, and a portion of the current Air Force R&D budget so that they can develop a replacement for the A-10. From everything seen so far in the War on Terror, in Afghanistan to Iraq, the A-10 is the star performer and the true workhorse.

We need it, the troops need it, and the pilots who are not afraid to do the job need it. What is more, they deserve it and the cowardice of the Air Force clearly shows that they can not do it. So, let's cut to the chase and give it to someone who can and will do the job, and do it right. Semper Fi.

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