The ground based soldiers love the A-10, so of course the military wants to get rid of it. Ground troops' wants and needs come last.
@Cyber Liberty I can tell you from my 6+ years of experience as a ground soldier,that NOBODY in ANY of the uniformed services gives a squad about infantry soldiers,BUT the ground support USAF,USN,and USA units.
It was,of course,a two way street. If one of them got shot down,we were the only guys going to come to their aid. They,of course,had the pararescue guys from the USN and the USAF ready to come in and pull them out,but that ONLY worked if they managed to escape and evade the enemy after getting shot down. No matter HOW good you are,2 guys rappelling down a rope are no match for an enemy infantry platoon.
EVERY pilot/aircrewman,be it USA helicopter pilots,USN fighter-bomber pilots,or USAF Pilots knew they had standing passes to visit our clubs any time they wanted,and that it would cost them nothing to eat and drink to their fill,because make no mistake about it,there are damn few of us that would have lived long enough to have completed a tour without them.