A-10, D-M truth needs to be told, action needs to be taken

A-10 Thunderbolt IIs ares lined up on the flightline of Tallil Air Base in southern Iraq awaiting pilots. The aircraft are part of the 442nd Fighter Wing from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., which was deployed to Talli and Kirkuk Air Bases in 2003. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Terry L. Blevins)

It is time to get down to facts with the A-10, Davis Monthan Air Force base and its surrounding community. Many myths and misconceptions exist, as well as deliberate misrepresentations about the Air Force, the Warthog, and the fate of Davis Monthan.

The Air Force has wanted to mothball the A-10 almost since its inception. The slow and low flying plane is simply not sexy enough for the fighter boy mentality of the Air Force leadership. For Martha McSally to now claim that she first sounded the alarm August that the plane might meet a certain death is simply mcsilly.

Everyone in the defense community knew that the A-10 was not going to get anyone rich any time soon, so its demise was a given. The F-35 would be the big ticket for a few and fantastical enough to please the fighter boy Air Force leadership.

It wasn’t until Arizona Senator Jeff Flake answered almost honestly a question by Tucson radio show host, James T. Harris, about the A-10 in July that the average Joe was first informed about the Air Force’s plan. Even then, the people of Tucson and other A-10 communities didn’t completely grasp the full meaning of mothballing for their communities.

As for the communities; Tucson has been held hostage by a small group of people who for whatever reason ended up living in or near the flight path. That small group was made larger when anti-military folks joined them to oppose almost everything Air Force. They showed up at every public meeting conducted by the Air Force during the F-35 placement decision process.

They were loud and organized. And while Tucson really never had a chance at the F-35 because it was going to go to Jeff Flake and John McCain’s Maricopa County stronghold; the group called Tucson Forward sent a message loud and clear; “We don’t want you here.”

Some in the group will now try to argue now that they simply opposed the F-35 and if the Air Force becomes better neighbors all would be good. What it means to be a good neighbor is only to be decided by those few who can’t bear to hear a few planes fly overhead a few times a day.

The irony about the group is that many of them live in the wealthier sections of Tucson, many are retired, and all are entitled. They are for the most part, limousine liberals living in the lap of luxury; livid about the minor intrusions into their otherwise easy lives. Yapping into the open and eager ears of their Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik, a man who never missed an opportunity to intrude into anyone’s life, the members of Tucson Forward have only forwarded their own agenda.

They pay lip service to the downtrodden families who live in rundown neighborhoods, along 22nd Street, but that is all they really pay. When push comes to shove, they would shove the downtrodden out of the jobs created by the base in a heartbeat… and it looks as if they have.

The truth is… ugly. The truth is that if the A-10 goes away so do about 3000 direct jobs and the volumes of jobs across the community those jobs in turn create. The truth is that the only real prospect in the future is a small group of approximately 250 people to man 9 drones. That is a generous estimate.

By the time the F-16s are scheduled to arrive, the base will likely not survive a BRAC. It can’t; between the Tucson Forward group and the growing MIF scandal that will surely overshadow any positive actions by local government entities, Davis Monthan has few chances.

The truth is that there are not enough F-16s to go around. What better way to make sure you don’t have to keep your promise than to eliminate one of the bases you made the promise to?

If DM is to survive we must ignore the empty dreams of drones promoted by the likes of Kozachik, expose the meaningless resolutions by the MIF looters in Pima County for what they are, and reject the rants of the RNC’s McSally.

We must show that Tucson Forward does not represent the community. We must tell the DM50 that a billboard is simply not enough. We must demand that Flake and McCain represent all of the people of Arizona, even the poor relations down south, here in the Old Pueblo.

The Old Pueblo, that became a beautiful jewel in the desert, is being chipped away at by ideologues on both sides that are doing everything but moving Tucson forward.

Related articles:

Time to save the A-10’s ass, after years of it saving ours

Air Force A-10 plans could cost Tucson up to $480 million annually

Flake drops A-10 bomb on constituents

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In Arizona call:

Senator John McCain 202-224-2235 602-952-2410 john.mccain@senate.gov
Senator Jeff Flake 202-224-4521 602-840-1891 Jeff.flake@senate.gov
Rep Ann Kirkpatrick(D1) 202-225-3361 520-316-0839 ann.kirkpatrick@house.gov
Rep Ron Barber(D2) 202-225-2542 520-881-3588 ron.barber@house.gov
Rep Raul M. Grijalva(D3) 202-225-2435 520-622-6788 raul.grijalva@house.gov
Rep Paul A. Gosar(R4) 202-225-2315 480-882-2697 paul.gosar@house.gov
Rep Matt Salmon(R5) 202-225-2635 480-699-8239 matt.salmon@house.gov
Rep David Schweikert(R6) 202-225-2190 480-946-2411 david.schweikert@house.gov
Rep Ed Pastor (D7) 202-225-4065 602-256-0551 ed.pastor@house.gov
Rep Trent Franks (R8) 202-225-4576 202-225-4576 trent.franks@house.gov
Rep Kyrsten Sinema (D9) 202-225-9888 602-956-2285 krysten.sinema@house.gov