General Welsh Criticizes A-10 Supporters, F-35 Critics
General Welsh Criticizes A-10 Supporters, F-35 Critics by Stew Magnuson, National Defense Magazine
Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh has heard one too many times that his service doesn't care about close-air support missions.
"Really? I'm kind of tired of hearing that," he said Sept. 15 at the Air Force Association conference.
The Air Force has averaged about 20,000 CAS sorties per year for the last seven years. "At what point do we get a little bit of acknowledgement for that?" Noting that airmen who require protection serve on the ground, as well as his own son who is a Marine Corps infantry officer, Welsh characterized the notion that the Air Force puts a low priority on close-air support as "silly."
He has answered those who have told him to his face that the Air Force doesn't care about CAS by taking out his phone and showing them a picture of his son.
His comments come during a public debate over the retirement of the A-10 Warthog, a Cold War era aircraft that the service wants to retire to make way for the F-35 joint strike fighter. Congress so far is not allowing that to happen. While he did not wade into the specifics of the arguments, he ran a short video of a former A-10 pilot who is now putting the F-35 through close-air support test and evaluation…
General Welch,
The question not asked and not answered: “Sir, would your son prefer to receive close air support from an F-35 or an A-10?”
This reminds me of a driving under the influence case I tried long ago. The defendant had blown a .12, and was literally hanging out of the window of his car throwing up as the police pulled him over. In trial his attorney paraded his lovely wife and family before the jury; brought in his respected boss and showed photos of the magnificent river barges they manufactured; and even told a tale of how he had foolishly ordered a tuna melt sandwich the night of the incident at the shady strip club where he had “a couple of beers” with his boss and co-workers.
In closing argument I sent the jury to deliberate with a smile on their faces as I wrapped up with, “bad tuna may have made the defendant blow chunks – but it didn’t make him blow a point 12.”
Like the defendant in my tale, I don’t think General Welch has much choice but to attempt to distract the American jury from the facts of the case, with warm stories and irrelevant facts. I just hope he is right, as our national security depends upon it. My guy was simply trying to avoid an ugly reality through lies, denies, and misdirection. That is the right of every American in a court of law, but it is not a right that is extended to our public officials.
Ok, guys, we are talking the A-10, not the OV-10. The A-10 was not introduced until after the Vietnam war was over, and was designed to destroy tanks in the face of Soviet air defense systems in Europe.
It would not likely be used to fly a mission from the Philippines to the Taiwan straits; and it is equally unlikely that the computer generated fantasy of two F-35s having such an easy day against the Chinese in the midst of a full blown invasion of Taiwan.
The truth is the Air Force is all in on this gamble, and I hope they have the cards they think they do when a major opponent calls.
The Air Force does not like the CAS mission, they think the Army needs an Artillery Division to do the job instead of using planes as flying artillery pieces. The best solution is to let the A-10 wings be transferred to the Army and Marines.