[Commentary] How to settle the A-10 retirement standoff

The best way to resolve the A-10 retirement debate is to satisfy both sides with a solution that eliminates the operational and economic arguments driving it.

The primary vocal critics of the Air Force decision to retire the A-10 close-support aircraft are Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and freshman Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz. All three have strong ties to the A-10. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, is home to the largest A-10 base. Closure of the base would have serious economic impact. Ayotte’s husband is a former A-10 pilot. McSally flew A-10s in the Air Force.

The Air Force has presented strong operational arguments defending the retirement of the A-10: Other aircraft perform the A-10’s close-support mission today with the same effectiveness, and more survivability. The A-10 can only perform close support whereas other aircraft can perform close support and other missions, thus offering more value in a smaller Air Force. And with today’s precision weapons and automation, pilots can train for both close support and other roles without sacrificing effectiveness.

Former A-10 pilots argue from an emotional point of view citing personal experiences. With the strong support of McCain, Ayotte and McSally, they have organized a support group and congressional contingent advocating retention.

But they have been unable to shoot down the rationale the Air Force puts forth in defense of retiring the A-10. Their arguments are laden with shrill, emotional points of view, but are mostly anecdotal and unpersuasive when measured against objective, logical reasoning.

Moreover, this impasse is having adverse impacts on Air Force plans to field the F-35. To continue to operate the fleet of A-10s, it is necessary to forgo building up the maintenance force necessary to field the F-35. This slows the development of proficiency in Air Force F-35 pilots and, consequently, the operational readiness and competence of F-35 squadrons.

It also forces the Air Force to alter its rhythm to balance training, operational readiness and deployment commitments, creating a problem for combatant commanders who depend on having the F-35 in overseas theaters.

But there is a way to resolve this annual fight between the Air Force and A-10 advocates in the Army and Congress.

The Army likes the A-10 not just because of its attack capabilities but even more so because it is totally dedicated to close support of Army forces. The Army fears that without the A-10, and even though other aircraft can perform close support satisfactorily, the Air Force will not be there when needed.

To ensure the Army can depend on Air Force close support, the Air Force and Army should agree to negotiate a formal compact to team Air Force squadrons and controllers with Army brigades. Squadrons of F-16s, B-52s, B-1s and, soon, F-35s would be required to allocate a portion of their training to exercise and deploy with specific Army units. This teaming concept is not new but has not been enforced to the extent of this proposal.

An added benefit would be the close, symbiotic relationship that would bond the units, boosting team esprit and combat effectiveness, potentially more than exists today with the A-10.

To satisfy economic issues motivating opponents, the Air Force needs to ensure that Davis-Monthan — the A-10’s master base with more than 80 A-10s and 4,000 jobs — remains a major Air Force installation and economic engine in Arizona. It must, therefore, replace the A-10s with another operational mission at the base and at smaller Air National Guard A-10 locations.

Because the Air Force will likely retain its existing bombers, it will need at least one other big base with large ramps, a long runway and modern facilities for its new stealth bomber, the Long Range Strike Bomber. Dispersal of bombers, particularly nuclear bombers, is also necessary for nuclear deterrence to work. There is no bomber base in the southwest. Davis-Monthan would be an excellent choice.

Davis-Monthan could also be a home for the KC-46A tanker, or the upcoming T-X trainer. Since Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix is already a new F-35 training base, Arizona would then retain its two large bases with new, important Air Force missions, thus mitigating economic concerns.

For smaller Air National Guard A-10 units, the Air Force can find new missions as it does routinely during drawdowns and equipment changes.

The standoff between the Air Force and congressional opponents has become debilitating. Both sides need to work together for an amicable solution. Teaming Army and Air Force units for close support and replacing A-10s with new aircraft at Davis-Monthan are win-win for both. 

Retired Gen. John Michael Loh is a former Air Force vice chief of staff and former commander of Air Combat Command.

Via: Air Force Times

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What Washington Has Wrought on Illegal Immigration

About five hours south of San Francisco, where Kate Steinle was murdered in broad daylight by an illegal immigrant, another illegal immigrant has been charged with raping and savagely beating an Air Force veteran to death with a hammer.  According to police, Marilyn Pharis, 64, was sleeping in her Santa Maria, California home in the late morning — after having worked the night shift as a satellite tracker at nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base — when an illegal immigrant named Victor Aureliano Martinez and his accomplice Jose Fernando Villagomez broke into her house, raped her, strangled her, and bludgeoned her “mercilessly” with a hammer.  She died eight days later. 

The commander of the Air Force’s 50th Space Wing, where Pharis worked, called her death a “tragic loss.”

Martinez — originally from Durango, Mexico — had been arrested six times in the past 15 months.  But he was roaming free, thanks in part to the Obama administration’s lax view of deportation, its refusal to enforce federal drug laws, and its determination to reduce prison sentences for nonviolent crimes.  California’s parallel efforts contributed as well.

Santa Maria police chief Ralph Martin says, “I believe there’s a blood trail from Washington, D.C. to Sacramento into the bedroom of Marilyn.” 

Santa Maria, population 102,000, is exactly the sort of place where the I-95 open-borders crowd ought to spend some time before they continue to conspire, Gang of Eight-like, to make our immigration problems even worse.  Perhaps they would then finally start to appreciate the ill-effects of illegal immigration (much of which starts out as legal) and the lack of assimilation that inevitably results when immigration is both lawless and excessive. 

Steve LeBard is a business owner in Santa Maria who lives in the town of Orcutt, which borders Santa Maria to the south.  With some help from THE WEEKLY STANDARD, he fought and won a battle against the California Department of Transportation to hang an American flag near the entrance to charming Old Town Orcutt, but he has yet to prevail in his effort to build a privately funded memorial to veterans on that same site.  LeBard emailed a few thoughts in the wake of this brutal murder of an innocent Air Force veteran:

“Most people that live in the Santa Maria area believe that Santa Maria is an unofficial ‘sanctuary city.’  I disagree.  I believe Santa Maria is a Mexican city — of sorts.  A large part of the city speaks Spanish and has no interest in learning English — with many businesses advertising in Spanish only.  These people speak of returning to Mexico someday — bringing their new-found prosperity with them — they don’t want to be Americans….

“What does this have to do with this vicious murder?  It’s simple — if you’re here illegally you don't rock the panga — you don’t cooperate with the police and you don’t report crime.  You create a haven for criminals — gangs that prey on the mostly good people that are here working the farms….

“Santa Maria is the perfect storm when it comes to illegal immigration.  It is a community that has it resources overwhelmed by people coming here with knowledge of how to work the system.  They have it down pat, from taxes to social services to free buses to the fields.  They use the local hospital emergency room as their primary-care physician.  (I'm a Vietnam veteran; if I go to the VA Clinic and there is something wrong with me, they put me on a four-hour bus to Los Angeles.  If I'm a Mexican (as in Mexican citizen), I go to the emergency room and the hospital negates the bill — passes it on to me...a U.S. taxpayer.)

Via: Weekly Standard

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Escaped killer ‘won’ prison worker’s heart — then left her

He used her until he had no more use for her.

Escaped killer Richard Matt won the heart of prison supervisor Joyce “Tillie’’ Mitchell so he could get the tools he needed to break out — and then vanished without so much as a thank you, sources told The Post on Tuesday.

“She really doesn’t have much to tell about where they were going or what they were doing after,” a source said of Mitchell, who is suspected of helping Matt and fellow murderer David Sweat escape.

The married 51-year-old seamstress risked everything because “she thought there was something more between’’ her and Matt, 48, the source said.
“He’s a con man,’’ the source said of Matt.

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Convicted murderers David Sweat and Richard MattPhoto: Getty Images

Authorities believe that the smooth-talking con, who has brooding good looks — and steel front teeth — convinced Mitchell to help the men escape.

The unlikely pair met in the tailor shop at the Clinton Correctional Facility, where Mitchell supervised inmates on projects. Matt and Sweat had been assigned to the shop as a perk for behaving behind bars.

Mitchell and Matt share interests that include the US military. She posted a photo on Facebook in March 2014 of herself with her son in his Air Force uniform. She was wearing a red shirt that read, “AIR FORCE Mom, I raised a hero.’’

Matt, meanwhile, sports a large tattoo of the US Marines insignia on his right shoulder.

Mitchell’s son, Tobey, doesn’t believe his mom’s involvement.

“She’s not going to risk her life or other people’s lives to help these guys escape,” he told NBC. “She’s always been a good person.”

Her husband, Lyle Mitchell, also works as a prison supervisor at Clinton. Authorities believe he had no idea what his wife was up to, sources told The Post.

Joyce Mitchell, a former tax collector in the family’s home town of Dickinson, was clearly proud of her prison work. In a 2013 Facebook posting she wrote, “It takes balls to work behind the walls. No guns . . . just pure guts.”

Via: New York Post

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Under Obama, Air Force One cost per hour jumps 27% to $228,288

The president spent over $7.3 million on just three trips in 2013, including $2.1 million to appear on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in August, according to new flight documents provided by the Air Force to a public watchdog group.

Judicial Watch told Secrets that the sky-high jet travel costs for the first family's 2012-2013 Christmas vacation in Hawaii, their beach vacation on Martha's Vineyard last summer and President Obama's brief trip to California in August totalled $7,396,531.20.

The Air Force said it costs $228,288 an hour to fly Air Force One, a massive $48,535 jump from the last estimate of $179,750, or 27 percent.

The details according to documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act:

— The outbound flight to Honolulu for the Obama 2012-2013 Christmas vacation cost taxpayers $2,214,393.60. The return flight to Washington was $1,871,961.60. The total price for flight expenditures alone came to $4,086,355.20.

— The outbound flight to California in August 2013 for Obama to dine with fundraiser and DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and appear on the “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” cost taxpayers $1,209,926.40. The return flight to Washington was $935,980.80. The total price for flight expenditures alone came to $2,145,907.20.

— The outbound flight to Martha’s Vineyard for the Obama family August vacation cost taxpayers $890,323.20. The return flight to Washington was $273,945.60. The total price for flight expenditures alone came to $1,164,268.80.

Getting the documents was a score for Judicial Watch, which has also sought and received Obama administration vacation spending documents from the U.S. Secret Service. Typically, flight costs are not provided. It was also the first authoritative hourly cost provided for operating Air Force One.

“The Obamas are abusing the public trust and the taxpayers with unnecessary luxurious vacations and travel,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These staggering costs show why these documents were covered up and we had to sue in federal court to get them. Another transparency fail for the Obama gang.”

Via: Washington Examiner

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