While the rest of Arizona’s Congressional delegation sits back and watches as the people of Southern Arizona scramble do what little they can to save the A-10, and by extension; Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Representative Ron Barber has stepped his fight for the plane. In what should serve as a clarion call to the entire nation; Barber has gathered a bipartisan handful of colleagues to ask President Obama to intervene.
The 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base flies 82 of the planes and trains the next generation of A-10 pilots.
Barber and New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte have fought on every level to secure continued funding for the A-10, an aircraft that plays a crucial role in protecting soldiers and Marines on the ground. Two pieces of legislation are being forwarded to ensure that the A-10 does not go away until there is legitimately something in place to replace it. In the Senate, current sponsors/cosponsors of S.1764 are Senators Ayotte, Blunt, Crapo, McCaskill, Graham, Isakson, and Baldwin. In the House, current sponsors/cosponsors of HR.3657 are representatives Barber, Bishop, Hartzler, Kingston, Miller, Scott, and Shea-Porter.
In a letter to the president, Barber and his colleagues wrote: “As you prepare the budget for fiscal year 2015, we strongly recommend and ask that you fully fund the operation, maintenance and upgrade of the A-10 Thunderbolt II. Full funding will ensure this proven workhorse continues to fly and provide unmatched support to our men and women on the frontlines.”
“The A-10 is solid, reliable and inexpensive to maintain,” Barber wrote in his letter to the president. “It flies low and at slow speeds, providing unique and punishing firepower at extremely close distances with a durability that can take incoming fire in the hottest of battlefields and return home to fight another day.”
New electronics have been installed on A-10s and over the past few years, the Air Force began installing new wings on all the planes. The rewinging has been completed on all A-10s based at D-M. The new wings and electronics were touted as cost-effective ways to extend the life of the planes until at least 2028.
The letter reads:
February 6, 2014
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500Dear President Obama:
As you prepare the budget for fiscal year 2015, we strongly recommend and ask that you fully fund the operation, maintenance and upgrade of the A-10 Thunderbolt II. Full funding will ensure this proven workhorse continues to fly and provide unmatched support to our men and women on the frontlines. If the Air Force were to divest itself of the Warthog, it would create a critical capability gap that cannot be bridged in the near future.
The A-10 is unsurpassed in its ability to provide close-air combat support for service members on the ground. In Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the A-10 performed nearly one third of the combat sorties. The A-10 is solid, reliable and inexpensive to maintain. It flies low and at slow speeds, providing unique and punishing firepower at extremely close distances with a durability that can take incoming fire in the hottest of battlefields and return home to fight another day. While derided by some as a single role aircraft, the A-10 is a proven asset in combat search and rescue missions and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
We are cognizant of the significant budgetary pressures the Air Force faces; however our national security and the protection of our service members in combat areas must be paramount as we consider the needs of the Department of Defense. There is no clear replacement for the A-10 at this time, and once cut, the institutional knowledge of the community of close air support specialists will be lost and difficult to rebuild.
The reported projected savings from the divestment of the A-10 fleet are small compared to the budgetary cuts the Air Force must make. To increase the risks to our ground troops and pilots in the air without significant budgetary savings and a viable replacement on hand is extremely difficult to justify to our service members and the taxpayers. We look forward to working with you and the Department of Defense to find reasonable and intelligent solutions to our fiscal problems, while continuing to support the core components of our nation’s combat power.
Thank you for your consideration of our request.
Sincerely,
RON BARBER
Member of CongressROB BISHOP
Member of CongressEMANUEL CLEAVER II
Member of CongressCAROL SHEA-PORTER
Member of CongressVICKY HARTZLER
Member of CongressCHRIS STEWART
Member of Congress
Get your representatives to co-sponsor the A-10 bills:
Senate contact numbers are:
Alexander, Lamar (TN)(202) 224-4944
Ayotte, Kelly (NH)(202) 224-3324
Baldwin, Tammy (WI)(202) 224-5653
Barrasso, John (WY)(202) 224-6441
Baucus, Max (MT)(202) 224-2651
Begich, Mark (AK)(202) 224-3004
Bennet, Michael F. (CO)(202) 224-5852
Blumenthal, Richard (CT)(202) 224-2823
Blunt, Roy (MO)(202) 224-5721
Booker, Cory A. (NJ)(202) 224-3224
Boozman, John (AR)(202) 224-4843
Boxer, Barbara (CA)(202) 224-3553
Brown, Sherrod (OH)(202) 224-2315
Burr, Richard (NC)(202) 224-3154
Cantwell, Maria (WA)(202) 224-3441
Cardin, Benjamin L. (MD)(202) 224-4524
Carper, Thomas R. (DE)(202) 224-2441
Casey, Robert P., Jr. (PA)(202) 224-6324
Chambliss, Saxby (GA)(202) 224-3521
Coats, Daniel (IN)(202) 224-5623
Coburn, Tom (OK)(202) 224-5754
Cochran, Thad (MS) (202) 224-5054
Collins, Susan M. (ME) (202) 224-2523
Coons, Christopher A. (DE) (202) 224-5042
Corker, Bob (TN) (202) 224-3344
Cornyn, John (TX)(202) 224-2934
Crapo, Mike (ID)(202) 224-6142
Cruz, Ted (TX)(202) 224-5922
Donnelly, Joe (IN)(202) 224-4814
Durbin, Richard J. (IL)(202) 224-2152
Enzi, Michael B. (WY)(202) 224-3424
Feinstein, Dianne (CA)(202) 224-3841
Fischer, Deb (NE)(202) 224-6551
Flake, Jeff (AZ)(202) 224-4521
Franken, Al (MN)(202) 224-5641
Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (NY)(202) 224-4451
Graham, Lindsey (SC)(202) 224-5972
Grassley, Chuck (IA)(202) 224-3744
Hagan, Kay R. (NC)(202) 224-6342
Harkin, Tom (IA)(202) 224-3254
Hatch, Orrin G. (UT)(202) 224-5251
Heinrich, Martin (NM)(202) 224-5521
Heitkamp, Heidi (ND)(202) 224-2043
Heller, Dean (NV)(202) 224-6244
Hirono, Mazie K. (HI)(202) 224-6361
Hoeven, John (ND)(202) 224-2551
Inhofe, James M. (OK)(202) 224-4721
Isakson, Johnny (GA)(202) 224-3643
Johanns, Mike (NE)(202) 224-4224
Johnson, Ron (WI)(202) 224-5323
Johnson, Tim (SD)(202) 224-5842
Kaine, Tim (VA)(202) 224-4024
King, Angus S., Jr. (ME)(202) 224-5344
Kirk, Mark (IL)(202) 224-2854
Klobuchar, Amy (MN)(202) 224-3244
Landrieu, Mary L. (LA)(202) 224-5824
Leahy, Patrick J. (VT)(202) 224-4242
Lee, Mike (UT)(202) 224-5444
Levin, Carl (MI)(202) 224-6221
Manchin, Joe, (WV)(202) 224-3954
Markey, Edward J. (MA)(202) 224-2742
McCain, John (AZ)(202) 224-2235
McCaskill, Claire (MO)(202) 224-6154
McConnell, Mitch (KY)(202) 224-2541
Menendez, Robert (NJ)(202) 224-4744
Merkley, Jeff (OR)(202) 224-3753
Mikulski, Barbara A. (MD)(202) 224-4654
Moran, Jerry (KS)(202) 224-6521
Murkowski, Lisa (AK)(202) 224-6665
Murphy, Christopher (CT)(202) 224-4041
Murray, Patty (WA)(202) 224-2621
Nelson, Bill (FL)(202) 224-5274
Paul, Rand (KY)(202) 224-4343
Portman, Rob (OH)(202) 224-3353
Pryor, Mark L. (AR)(202) 224-2353
Reed, Jack (RI)(202) 224-4642
Reid, Harry (NV)(202) 224-3542
Risch, James E. (ID)(202) 224-2752
Roberts, Pat (KS)(202) 224-4774
Rockefeller, John D., IV (WV)(202) 224-6472
Rubio, Marco (FL)(202) 224-3041
Sanders, Bernard (VT)(202) 224-5141
Schatz, Brian (HI)(202) 224-3934
Schumer, Charles E. (NY)(202) 224-6542
Scott, Tim (SC)(202) 224-6121
Sessions, Jeff (AL)(202) 224-4124
Shaheen, Jeanne (NH)(202) 224-2841
Shelby, Richard C. (AL)(202) 224-5744
Stabenow, Debbie (MI)(202) 224-4822
Tester, Jon (MT)(202) 224-2644
Thune, John (SD)(202) 224-2321
Toomey, Patrick J. (PA)(202) 224-4254
Udall, Mark (CO)(202) 224-5941
Udall, Tom (NM)(202) 224-6621
Vitter, David (LA)(202) 224-4623
Warner, Mark R. (VA)(202) 224-2023
Warren, Elizabeth (MA)(202) 224-4543
Whitehouse, Sheldon (RI)(202) 224-2921
Wicker, Roger F. (MS)(202) 224-6253
Wyden, Ron (OR)(202) 224-5244
In Arizona call:
| Senator John McCain | 202-224-2235 | 602-952-2410 | www.mccain.senate.gov/ |
| Senator Jeff Flake | 202-224-4521 | 602-840-1891 | www.flake.senate.gov/ |
| Rep Ann Kirkpatrick(D1) | 202-225-3361 | 520-316-0839 | www.kirkpatrick.house.gov/ |
| Rep Ron Barber(D2) | 202-225-2542 | 520-881-3588 | www.barber.house.gov/ |
| Rep Raul M. Grijalva(D3) | 202-225-2435 | 520-622-6788 | www.grijalva.house.gov/ |
| Rep Paul A. Gosar(R4) | 202-225-2315 | 480-882-2697 | www.gosar.house.gov/ |
| Rep Matt Salmon(R5) | 202-225-2635 | 480-699-8239 | www.salmon.house.gov/ |
| Rep David Schweikert(R6) | 202-225-2190 | 480-946-2411 | www.schweikert.house.gov/ |
| Rep Ed Pastor (D7) | 202-225-4065 | 602-256-0551 | www.pastor.house.gov/ |
| Rep Trent Franks (R8) | 202-225-4576 | 202-225-4576 | www.franks.house.gov/ |
| Rep Kyrsten Sinema (D9) | 202-225-9888 | 602-956-2285 | www.sinema.house.gov/ |
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