Barber’s A-10 amendment passes

Rep. Ron Barber offered an Amendment late Wednesday night to prevent divestment of the A-10 in 2015. The amendment passed the House Armed Services Committee by a 41-20 vote.

After the vote Barber commented, “Today the House Armed Services Committee took an important step to support our ground troops and prevent the A-10 from being divested. We will continue this fight in the weeks to come.”

Barber continued “We will continue it together as a community in Tucson and I will continue to bring the fight to Washington alongside my colleagues in the House and the Senate, Republican and Democrat alike.”

Back in Tucson there was a town hall meeting to discuss the A-10 situation hosted by retired Command Chief Master Sergeant Chuck Wooten who is running for congress in CD 2 and retired Lt. Colonel A-10 pilot Thomas Norris. The meeting at Golf Links Library was attended by +/- 50 people discussing the future of the plane.

After the vote Wooten said, “I am obviously very pleased with the news this evening that the House Armed Services Committee passed an amendment to fund the A-10 in the NDAA by a vote of 41-20. The result of this amendment’s passage means the A-10 can possibly avoid elimination for at least another year. The news from the House is wonderful, but we’re not out of the woods, yet. The measure now goes to the Senate and pass there. The call to action for Tucson citizens to call and write our Senators to express community support for the A-10 is badly needed until it goes up for a vote. This is very encouraging news, indeed.”

At the town hall meeting citizens were in complete unity for their support for the A-10, but every individual who spoke up was concerned for the safety of the troops.

One retired Marine who served in Vietnam had this to say, “I have witnessed and lived through not having good air support and actually having great air support. The A-10 and the A-1 prior to it were providing that kind of cover for me in Vietnam… Our A-10 has supported so many people and if you get to those people and ask them was it worth it? You bet your life it was worth it. I have a good life right now because of the A-10 and A-1 and its support of us on the ground.”

Some on the House Armed Services Committee claimed that we are no longer in ground battles in Afghanistan therefore we can withhold the funds needed for the A-10 without hurting our troops, but this view is short sighted and naïve.

Lt. Norris explained it this way, “The only reason we have the A-10 is the Air Force performance in Vietnam was so pitiful that Congress forced them to design an airplane solely dedicated for close air support.”

New conflicts are not always predictable and if the airplane is not funded it will not be ready to support our troops. This would be putting our ground forces in harms way over the cheapest combat plane in the Air Force.

Lt. Norris recalled asking his uncle a Vietnam Army Vet, which plane he should fly. His uncle told him, “I’ll be honest I don’t know what the Air Force does, but I do know what the A-10 does. The A-10 saves our butts and that is the airplane you want.”

The next test for the A-10 is in the Senate. A similar parliamentary procedure will occur there.

Wooten, feeling optimistic about the A-10 in the Senate, provided this description, “Where we see this right now. There are a handful of senators, a group of them that have essentially committed to finding the money elsewhere in that defense authorization act to offset the A-10 so that we can keep it… Senator McCain is a large part of that.”

Next Thursday at 6 p.m. there will be another meeting at Wilmot Public Library to discuss the DOD’s A-10 and the implications of DMAFB.

Wooten added, “Make Noise. Contact your representatives… We need you to do your part.”