A-10 pilot explains how the Air Force can outfit the beloved ‘Warthog’ to take on China
Opinion by Maurice Grosso - Yesterday 9:27 AM
Throughout my 10-year flying career in the United States Air Force, the A-10C Thunderbolt II, affectionately dubbed the Warthog, has been the subject of divestment. There is a joke amongst the A-10 community that discussions of getting rid of the A-10 started 2.5 minutes after the last one rolled off the Fairchild-Republic assembly line in 1984. Despite such quips, there is one resounding fact that defines our community; the mission comes before the plane. Now don’t get me wrong, with more than 2,000 hours and two deployments in the A-10, I love the jet with all my heart. But the mission will always come first. So herein lies the paradox: how does a jet under constant threat of divestment adapt and evolve to support the ever-changing mission?
In August of 2020 Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown published a white paper titled "Accelerate Change or Lose," wherein he asserts that for the Air Force to retain the ability to project power and establish air supremacy anywhere in the world, we must embrace rapid growth and adaptability. Gen. Brown followed his white paper up with action orders, published in December 2020 and revised in February 2022. The action orders were a charge to Air Force leaders to embrace the ideas laid out in the paper, stating “these action orders provide the what. It’s the way we address these action orders that will provide the how. It is all of us … our talented airmen … that are key to cutting unnecessary bureaucracy, recognizing and understanding our competition, and thinking of creative ways we can reshape the design of our Air Force.” With Brown’s charge in mind, the A-10 community set out to analyze and identify how to support the Air Force’s strategic, operational, and tactical goals.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-10-pilot-explains-how-the-air-force-can-outfit-the-beloved-warthog-to-take-on-china/ar-AAXCk69?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=ca31e045d5234542a2d2c18c9a7a3bf5
