Shhhh...Don't talk about the A-10

[precontact]

https://www.dodbuzz.com/2015/01/16/general-praising-the-a-10-to-lawmakers-is-treason/

General: Praising the A-10 to Lawmakers is ‘Treason’

By Brendan McGarry Friday, January 16th, 2015 2:13 pm

Posted in Air, Policy

A top U.S. Air Force general warned officers that praising the A-10 attack plane to lawmakers amounts to “treason,” according to a news report.

Maj. Gen. James Post, vice commander of Air Combat Command, was quoted as saying, “If anyone accuses me of saying this, I will deny it … anyone who is passing information to Congress about A-10 capabilities is committing treason,” in a report published Thursday on The Arizona Daily Independent.

In a response to the news outlet, a spokesman at the command, based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, described the comments to attendees of a recent Tactics Review Board at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada as “hyperbole.”

In an e-mail to Military​.com, spokeswoman Maj. Genieve David said, “The intent of his comments were to communicate the Air Force’s position and decision on recommended actions and strategic choices faced for the current constrained fiscal environment.”

She added, “Our role as individual military members is not to engage in public debate or advocacy for policy.”

The Air Force is seeking to retire its fleet of almost 300 of the Cold War-era gunships, known as the Thunderbolt II and nicknamed the Warthog, even as pilots fly the aircraft — whose snub-nose packs a 30mm cannon — in the Middle East to attack targets affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Congress rejected the service’s requests to begin the process of divesting the low, slow-flying aircraft this year and included about $337 million in the budget to keep it in the inventory. While they did allow the Air Force to move as many as 36 of the planes to back-up status, they blocked the service from sending any of them to the bone yard.

Air Force officials say they’ll renew the effort as part of the fiscal 2016 budget request, which is expected to be released in a couple of weeks.

In a briefing Thursday at the Pentagon, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said the service’s use of A-10 in U.S.-led air strikes against ISIS isn’t inconsistent with its strategy to eventually retire the plane.

“There are a number of strike platforms that are engaged” in the operation against ISIS, including the F-15 and F-16, she said. The A-10 is “a great contributor, but so are the other aircraft,” she said.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, himself a former Warthog pilot, said the proposed retirement of the gunship is “an emotional issue inside the Air Force.” Pilots “love their airplane — they should love their airplane,” he said.

“For the Air Force … it’s a sequestration-driven decision,” Welsh said, referring to automatic, across-the-board budget cuts Congress and the White House agreed to in 2011 as part of deficit-reduction legislation. The cuts are slated to return with greater effect in fiscal 2016 unless lawmakers agree on an alternative plan.

“We don’t have enough money to fund all the things that we currently have in our force structure,” Welsh said.

Even if the service’s request to retire the A-10 was approved as part of the fiscal 2015 budget, he added, the aircraft would have remained in service until 2019.

Sen. John McCain, the longtime Republican from Arizona and new chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was part of a group of lawmakers who worked to preserve funding for the A-10.

““We are going to do away with the finest close-air-support weapon in history?” he questioned during a press conference last year on Capitol Hill.

The senator, a longtime critic of the F-35 fighter jet – the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons acquisition program designed to replace the A-10 and other aircraft – questioned why the Air Force would begin to get rid of the Warthog before it has started operational flights of the stealthy, radar-evading jet. The F-35A is scheduled to reach initial operating capability, or IOC, in 2016 but only by employing a less lethal version of software.

“And we are then going to have some kind of nebulous idea of a replacement with an airplane that costs at least 10 times as much — and the cost is still growing — with the F-35?” McCain said at the news conference. “That’s ridiculous.”

And now possibly hearings on all of this... https://www.arizonadailyindependent.com/2015/01/20/posts-comments-generate-calls-for-congressional-hearing/

Edited January 22, 2015 by precontact

[Polter]

JQP's response. Well worth the read.

https://www.jqpublic-blog.com/creeping-fascism-unamerican-air-force/

Edited January 22, 2015 by Polter

[matmacwc]

Generals are political puppets, at least for the most part. I wish Welsh would throw down what he thinks, has he? If he has I missed it. And if Boomer reads this thread, what up!!?

Edited January 22, 2015 by matmacwc

[ViperStud]

Post is a real piece of work, so it doesn't surprise me. He was the first WG/CC in a long time to leave Shaw without being a select, so we all figured he was done. Unfortunately he was only delayed, not denied, said promotion. I've never seen SNCOs openly deride the WG/CC in front of officers with absolute confidence that they were right, was glad to see that was the exception and not the rule as I moved on to subsequent assignments. This is a dude that tried to have a light bar installed on his CC mobile so he could pull people over. Eventually SFS won that battle. If he did say those things, hopefully Welsh holds him accountable. Good riddance.

[11F]

No public comments from Welsh. He did do some fact finding.

[Fuzz]

This is a dude that tried to have a light bar installed on his CC mobile so he could pull people over. Eventually SFS won that battle.

Mother of God

[Beaver]

One time we had to stop launch for a few minutes when a flock of birds landed on the runway. We're sitting there in EOR and here comes Post hauling ass down the runway in the white top trying to chase the birds away. It was pretty funny to see them take off about 5' up in the air then land after he passed by. I could just picture how angry he was that they weren't respecting his authoritah.

[Fuzz]

So he tried to do SF and Airfield Management's job, when did he have time to do his actual job?

[Azimuth]

So he's the Rat of the CAF?

[brabus]

From what I've read about Rat on here, yes.

[Fuzz]

It was only a matter of time, but it looks like McCain is involved in calling for an investigation.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/capitol-hill/2015/01/22/james-post-a10-comment-investigation/22155219/

[BitteEinBit]

Anyone have the over/under on the retirement timeline in months?! I'm going to double down on two months...

[busdriver]

I think JQP is a bit off, I really don't think Gen Post made that remark "knowing that in chilling the civic participation of his subordinates, he made it unlikely any of them would risk his wrath in order to take the actions necessary to manifest a complaint against him." My impression of him at WEPTAC was that he really was just speaking from his perspective. In this case, he just can't fathom that anyone would know what's at stake and still think keeping the A-10 is good idea. In other words a self-righteous a-hole who can't fathom that A-10 bros might actually have some kind of valid argument.

I went in thinking his bro-level input from a GO-level was pretty cool, but some of the things said tweaked me a bit. It makes me wonder if a GO can actually provide bro level input at all, it seems all too political.

[11F]

Anyone have the over/under on the retirement timeline in months?! I'm going to double down on two months...

While he's not going to get a third star or even another two-star job before he retires, I'd peg his retirement around Jan-17. COMACC will conduct a CDI (if it doesn't get taken over by DoD/IG), he'll get some form of documented reprimand that doesn't effect his pay or paygrade, and he'll then stay in job until Jan-17 when he retires.

Over-Under: 01-Jan-17

[Herk Driver]

While he's not going to get a third star or even another two-star job before he retires, I'd peg his retirement around Jan-17. COMACC will conduct a CDI (if it doesn't get taken over by DoD/IG), he'll get some form of documented reprimand that doesn't effect his pay or paygrade, and he'll then stay in job until Jan-17 when he retires.

Over-Under: 01-Jan-17

Probably SAF or DOD IG if determined to fall within 10 USC 1034. If so then only IG can investigate.

(a) Restricting Communications With Members of Congress and Inspector General Prohibited.—

(1) No person may restrict a member of the armed forces in communicating with a Member of Congress or an Inspector General.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a communication that is unlawful.

[Dupe]

Probably SAF or DOD IG if determined to fall within 10 USC 1034. If so then only IG can investigate.

(a) Restricting Communications With Members of Congress and Inspector General Prohibited.—

(1) No person may restrict a member of the armed forces in communicating with a Member of Congress or an Inspector General.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a communication that is unlawful.

Though Gen Post certainly said the wrong thing, there isn't any evidence that he's actually restricted any member's communications with Congress.

[dvlax40]

Though Gen Post certainly said the wrong thing, there isn't any evidence that he's actually restricted any member's communications with Congress.

if someone is planing a murder do we not arrest them for conspiracy to commit murder?

[KState_Poke22]

if someone is planing a murder do we not arrest them for conspiracy to commit murder?

To be fair he said passing info was akin to treason, he didn't say he was going to start prosecuting people for committing treason. I'm certainly not defending him but there is a difference.

[dvlax40]

To be fair he said passing info was akin to treason, he didn't say he was going to start prosecuting people for committing treason. I'm certainly not defending him but there is a difference.

True. Ill agree with that

[Jaded]

The implication was there, however. Why else would he say it?

[BB Stacker]

A HAF spokesperson confirmed the SAF IG has opened an investigation.

[Herk Driver]

To be fair he said passing info was akin to treason, he didn't say he was going to start prosecuting people for committing treason. I'm certainly not defending him but there is a difference.

I am not making a judgement about whether I believe it to be restriction or not since that will come out in any investigation which apparently has already been opened.

But, one issue that I am sure the IG will look at is whether what he said had a "chilling effect" upon those in ACC. One does not necessarily have to directly tell you that you cannot talk to Congress or the IG in order for it to be considered restriction.

Remember the IG only investigates restriction, reprisal and FWA (and those things directed by CC).

Edited January 25, 2015 by Herk Driver

[Bobby]

First public comments by the CSAF regarding the incident. Kudos to Sen Ayotte for asking all the pertinent questions regarding the issue.

https://youtu.be/7Yy2F3OWdIQ

[Azimuth]

[SuperWSO]

I wouldn't have that hanging in your office during your next periodic re-investigation. Those guys have had their sense of humor surgically removed.