Arizona Congressman Rep. Ron Barber, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told top Pentagon leaders, “I am a supporter of the F-35. I am a supporter of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), I believe that other airframes can perform aspects of close air support, but none can take the place and perform like the A-10.”
Barber questioned Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel about their proposal that calls for retiring the A-10 to meet budget requirements. Barber asked Dempsey, “From an Army officer’s perspective who has commanded ground troops, how is it possible that it is not in our nation’s best interest to keep this proven workhorse up and flying?
“I believe we are making a grave mistake in divesting ourselves of the A-10 when it has performed so magnificently and there is no other airframe that can do the job it has done,” Barber added.
Dempsey responded, “The A-10 is a wonderful system, but it is also an old system, but its also vulnerable in a high intensity environment in a way that it’s not vulnerable in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Air Force has other platforms that produce the flying artillery you described and so does the Army, its called the Apache helicopter. It’s a prudent budget decision made in the face of significant cuts. If we have the money we thought we had, you know in 2010, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation. But we are we are having this conversation.”
Hagel answered, “This was a recommendation that the Air Force made to me. Gen. Welch, you know is a former A-10 pilot, it is not a matter of was it a platform that that wasn’t everything you said it was, but the federal deficit has laid out the realities of a 40 year platform as we are looking down the road at the kind of requirements we need in the future with the restraints we have.”
With moments left in his time, Barbara concluded, “We put $1.1 billion into upgrading this aircraft…. we need to keep it flying.”
Barber and Senator Kelly Ayotte led the fight to include language in comprehensive defense legislation signed in December that prohibits the Pentagon from taking any action during 2014 to retire the A-10.
In addition to being a key piece of the military’s arsenal, the A-10 is important to the Southern Arizona economy, according to a statement released by Barber. The 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base flies 82 of the planes and trains the next generation of A-10 pilots.
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.
However, the spending decisions have been called into question across the board. Senator Ted Cruz questioned Hagel earlier in the week about his concerns with National Guard and reserve unit cuts. “The Department of Defense continues to spend billions of dollars unnecessarily on alternative energy research programs at DOD. The Navy recently spent $170 million on algae fuel that will cost four times as much as regular fuel meaning potentially $120 million wasted. And instead of buying that algae fuel by catching fuel, which even the National Research Council says is unsustainable. DoD could instead field nearly a battalion’s worth of active-duty soldiers or even more National Guard troops, and so I want to ask Secretary Hagel is why in your judgment does it make more sense to cut Army infantry troops rather than spending money on algae fuel for the Navy?”
Barber, like Dempsey and Hagel, blamed sequestration for the cuts. “There’s no question that we have to reduce our debt and deficit but I share the view of many on this committee and in Congress that sequestration is absolutely the wrong way to do it,” Barber told the Pentagon leaders. “I believe it is seriously compromising our national security.”
Barber, told the military leaders that “the A-10 plays a crucial role in protecting our service members on the ground – a role that simply cannot be suitably replicated in all aspects by any other aircraft in our inventory at this time.”