Gen. Herbert J. “Hawk” Carlisle, Pacific Air Forces commander, delivers a speech during the 13th Air Force inactivation ceremony Sept. 28 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Nathan Allen)[/caption]
On Friday afternoon, Tucson radio show James T. Harris exposed a misstep by the Air Force leadership in their campaign against the A-10. As part of the PR blitz, General Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, Commander of Air Combat Command, claimed that Jordanian F-16 pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh, was shot down and captured by ISIL.
However, according to Harris’s sources and popular USAF blogger, Tony Carr, the details of al-Kasasbeh’s “capture have not been confirmed, and indeed have been publicly disputed.”
Before the Air Force’s anti-A-10 campaign, now known as Operation Destroy CAS, kicked into high gear, McClatchy reported on February 5th, that a CENTCOM spokesman made it clear that Jordanian authorities were still investigating the cause of the F-16’s crash. ““[I]t therefore would be inappropriate to discuss specific details,” said Col. Patrick Ryder. The Pentagon also declined to comment, according to Carr.
One source described Carlisle’s lapse as a “stupid mistake made out of desperation.”
Carr notes, “Other remarks in the general’s speech illustrate possible motivations for his apparent departure from the established facts about al-Kasesbeh.” According to Carr, Carlisle has a “reputation for good faith and fair dealing.” Still, Carr takes exception to Carlisle’s statements logic. “He frames concerns about the A-10’s combat vulnerability in terms of speed, seeking a contrast with higher-velocity aircraft like the F-16, F-15E, and F-18,” writes Carr. “This invites uneducated audiences to misapprehend the nature of the threat and the A-10’s relative effectiveness against it.”
That is the point of the USAF’s Operation Destroy CAS. According to Harris, sources have advised him that the USAF is “gearing up on several fronts for a full-court press to sell divestment over the next three weeks.”
A lot can happen in three weeks, and Harris’s sources report that if more missteps are made, they could cost Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, General Welsh, his job.
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