Air Force ousts general who linked talk about A-10s to treason

The internal intrigue within the Pentagon over controversial plans to retire the A-10 aircraft hit a new altitude today when it was revealed that an Air Force general, who had called support among airmen for the A-10 “treason,” has been removed from his post.

Stars and Stripes is reporting that Maj. Gen. James Post has been reprimanded and removed from his position as the Air Combat Command vice-commander.

The fate of the A-10s remains a worrisome issue for Michigan lawmakers as the fate of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township – the lone major military installation remaining in the state – could be in jeopardy if the base’s 20+ A-10 jets are removed.

According to Stars and Stripes, the Air Force Inspector General investigated Post’s remarks and found that the comments had a “chilling effect” and caused airmen to feel constrained about their right to speak to members of Congress.



Maj. Gen. James Post

Those comments came at a Jan. 10 gathering of about 300 airmen at a Weapons and Tactics Review Board meeting at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The board was discussing the controversial proposed retirement of the A-10, which has sparked a sharp pushback from Congress, infantry troops who rely on the unique plane for ground cover, and pilots who believe it has unmatched capabilities on the battlefield.

The battle in Washington took a bit of an ugly turn in February when the Air Force came under fire over charges it cherry-picked data for a USA Today article questioning the aircraft’s safety. The Project on Government Oversight released a report that said Air Force officials used “cooked statistics” to twist the debate in favor of B-1 bombers and ending the A-10’s run.

In reality, “the A-10 produces nearly five times fewer civilian casualties per firing sortie than the B-1 bomber,” the watchdog’s report concluded. Officials denied the charge that underhanded Air Force tactics were being used to frame the debate.
Shortly afterward, the Air Force brass took the unusual step of trying to fend off Congress by suddenly arranging a summit on Close Air Support (CAS) where critics say they made a biased argument in favor of sending the A-10s to the boneyard.
Here's how the Center for Defense Information described that military move:
"Notes and documents from the summit meetings, now widely available throughout the Air Force and shared with the Project On Government Oversight’s Center for Defense Information (CDI), reveal that the recommendations of the summit working groups were altered by senior Air Force leaders to quash any joint-service or congressional concerns about the coming gaps in CAS capabilities. Air Force headquarters needed this whitewash to pursue, yet again, its anti-A-10 crusade without congressional or internal-Pentagon opposition."

Meanwhile, senators such as Kelly Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican, and representatives such as Candice Miller, a Harrison Township Republican, have aggressively challenged the Air Force's assertions that the ultra-expensive F-35 fighter plane can replace the A-10.

The A-10 was used extensively to support ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Warthog conducting about 11 percent of airstrikes in the air war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Among the Warthog's biggest supporters are top Army officials.
The  heavily armored A-10 Thunderbolt features a menacing Gatling gun that can cut down large numbers of enemy forces in seconds. The bombs on these attack jets, which move low and slow over the battlefield, can destroy tanks and other armored vehicles.  

In central Europe, the threat of further Russian aggression has prompted the Pentagon to send A-10s to Germany, Poland and Romania.