Battled Damaged A10

Interesting comments here about the A-10. Figured I would add my 2 cents (no change will be given).

Most fast mover pilots don't like rotary wing guys until they crash but just recently in southern asscrackistan, I had a couple of random A-10s drop out of altitude, slow down (110-120 knots) and fall into a loose formation with me and my sister ship. We chatted it up over the radio like old friends and after about 15min, they said farewell and climbed back up to altitude and hit the throttles. Good times.

The latest rumor that I heard around the hanger is that when the AF announced that they wanted to mothball the A-10, the Army offered to take them. Unfortunately that age old agreement still exists that keeps the Army from having any form of fixed wing attack platform. Too bad the AF cant remember its heritage... US Army Air Corps...who's your daddy now....

cannonfoddertfc said:

<snip>
Too bad the AF cant remember its heritage... US Army Air Corps...who's your daddy now....

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Yeah, yeah, just like the Marines kowtowing to the Navy, eh?

In the US, we do not have a combined military, like say Canada. There was a reason the USAF was separated from the Army, and why we have 4 branches. We have decided that specializing and compartmentalizing is more efficient and productive than an amalgamation. Personally, I think the Navy shouldn't have fixed wings as well.

Time to hide...

Go ugly early, fear the hog!

RangerBob said:

In the US, we do not have a combined military, like say Canada. We have decided that specializing and compartmentalizing is more efficient and productive than an amalgamation. Personally, I think the Navy shouldn't have fixed wings as well.

Time to hide...

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I still can't figure the reason we even have an Army, much less an Air Force:

- The Navy with it's Marine Corps is entirely capable of every mission, at a fraction of the cost and a multiplied efficiency.

Guess I better go and hide, too...

We Marines have and need special role Aircraft to accomplish primary objective. In situations where we do not possess the tool for application. We call for CAS. Not that hard to do! Was more than happy to have USAF bring in what we needed to accomplish task at hand. Especially the A-10! There are other craft that come to mind also.

One thing is for sure. You will never forget sound of that machine. Sounds like VICTORY!

Thank you USAF for taking care of me and my fellow warriors. And especially for getting us home when USN could not get us out. DMLII sends... Semper Fidelis

donalloy1 said:

We Marines have and need special role Aircraft to accomplish primary objective. In situations where we do not possess the tool for application. We call for CAS. Not that hard to do! Was more than happy to have USAF bring in what we needed to accomplish task at hand. Especially the A-10! There are other craft that come to mind also.

One thing is for sure. You will never forget sound of that machine. Sounds like VICTORY!

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http://youtu.be/AicqBhHvGlA

Congress Just Saved the A-10 Thunderbolt Warthog -- and That Could Be Bad News for ISIS​

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...ust-saved-the-a-10-thunderbolt-warthog-a.aspx

By Rich Smith | More Articles | Save For Later
December 14, 2014 | Comments (31)

Congress is working again, and the A-10 is saved.

That's the upshot of a story just out of the Military Times, which reports that House and Senate negotiators in Washington have agreed to send the president a $490 billion military budget for the current fiscal year (plus $64 billion tacked on for supplemental spending projects). The 2015 Defense Authorization Bill (NDAA) also appears to have ended debate over the future of the U.S. Air Force's fleet of 326 A-10 Thunderbolt "Warthog" close-air support fighters

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There is a link to an 'unofficial official' USAF A-10 documentary in the article, but all of the blurred and blacked-out images are a bit frustrating. Hearing the in action/real-time gratitude of the ground-pounders and the A-10 pilots absolute commitment to them is pretty cool.

Another Ahab said:

I still can't figure the reason we even have an Army, much less an Air Force:

- The Navy with it's Marine Corps is entirely capable of every mission, at a fraction of the cost and a multiplied efficiency.

Guess I better go and hide, too...

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Each branch has a specialized purpose although they tend to overlap. The Marines are an expeditionary force, basically when it absolutely has to be destroyed overnight, send in the Marines. The Army is an occupation force, the Marines don't have the logistical structure to hold ground for extended periods, this is where the Army steps in. The Army has more support troops than actual combat troops (although the media calls all soldiers "combat" troops) whereas the Marines are the opposite (every Marine is a rifleman first). To the media, both services are interchangeable but this really isn't the case. Each branch may be able to do the others task but they aren't as specialized, Marines are better at assaulting beachheads whereas Rangers are better at assaulting airfields. The Navy covers the wet parts...the Navy pilots cover the ships in these wet parts. Navy pilots don't specialize in bombing infrastructure, they specialize in air-air combat and recon screens. The Air Force is kind of like FedEx, they haul stuff. They also have the bombers because they already have the support for large aircraft so no sense doubling up somewhere else. Why they have fighters still remains a mystery to me other than the Navy guys may not want their aircraft that far from the ships and someone has to escort the bombers and heavy haulers. Each branch has then added their own support elements that definitely overlap the other services but that is because none of them want to be reliant on a different service.

Ideally, they are supposed to work together with the COC (think president) being the top of the pyramid and each branch coordinating and cooperating. This doesn't happen like it should because each branch has a different way of doing things and like all bureaucracy, red tape is the word of the day and each branch command structure wants it their way. Generally speaking, the guys at the bottom of the food chain work ok together but when you get commands involved, it goes to crap. I have worked with guys from all branches without issue until someone got a commander involved, then it was let me check this and let me check that and you have to jump through this flaming hoop and you have to kiss this spot just the right way... you get the idea.

cannonfoddertfc said:

Each branch has a specialized purpose although they tend to overlap. ... you get the idea.

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cannonfodder, your explanation is appreciated:

- And don't mind me

But I Don't Buy It.

LMFAO.... very nice snip of a long winded post

Ok, although I am afraid we have threadjacked this, I must continue:

So, riddle me this... why do they put marines on navy ships... because sheep are too obvious...

cannonfoddertfc said:

LMFAO.... very nice snip of a long winded post

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cannonfoddertfc said:

LMFAO.... very nice snip of a long winded post

Ok, although I am afraid we have threadjacked this, I must continue:

So, riddle me this... why do they put marines on navy ships... because sheep are too obvious...

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Do you really need to go there? obvious.../// (^^^)

As previously stated, each branch does their thing, but in the end we are the same team working towards the same goal. The USAF can move gear the fastest, the USN can haul the most gear but slower, the USA has the manpower to occupy a country, and the USMC has the guns and psychotic mindset to assault said country at any cost.

Warfare used to mean air domination- think WWII and the carpet bombing of Japan and Germany. Frequently. It's an effective war tool... But most current (and likely future) conflicts are taking place in urban environments with many civilians present. Carpet bombing is out. Precision airstrikes are good for destroying specific targets (USN, USMC, USAF all have the capability). But, when the boots one the ground need CAS, the loitering capability of the A-10 and AC-130 is unmatched. Something about a 30mm gattling gun and a 105mm Howitzer watching over would give me warm fuzzies on the ground.

But I joined the Air Force, lol. In a way, the USAF is logistical backbone of the entire military.