Should the A10 Thunderbolt II be an Army / Marine asset due to the Air Force's plans to drop the platform in 2015?

Saw this and had to share it here!!

You damn right the Army should take it!! It's a flying tank for goodness sake. There was a female Air Force Pilot that flew her A10 back to base during Desert Shield/Storm with half the vertical fin shot off and holes all over the aircraft. That was proof enough for me that this aircraft is BADASS!!!

I see a movie in the making. Some of you may be aware that the Australian MoD's offering jobs to former US servicemen. So I'm thinking a rogue wing of A-10 drivers led by an unhinged COL along with a zany KC crew should steal their birds and fly them off to down under where they'd get commissions in exchange for handing over the planes to the RAAF. Then, as we've fought alongside the Aussies more so than either the Brits or the Canucks, they can provide the Army and USMC with proper CAS. Think Cannonball Run meets Dr. Strangelove meets Firefox.

SSG John Bacon.

What a deal . . . sustaining the entire fleet of Warthog A-10 Thunderbolts . . . for another decade and a half through 2028 . . . is said here to cost us less than one third of the cost of one of those New USAF $85MM F-35 JSF Currently NickNameless Flying Thingys . . .

What other flying machine has a rotary cannon that dwarfs the size of a Volkswagon . . . and fires rounds bigger than a bottle of beer . . . at even half the Warthog rate of fire ???

Bring on your ISIS, Al Queda, Boco Haram . . . but maybe not your Vladimir Putin . . . we've got a cheap reliable answer to your cheap unreliable pickup trucks . . .

Warmest Regards, Sandy

o http://www.funker530.com/a-10-warthogs-life-extended-until-2028/

Let the Army take them and you'll see my Warrant Packet for A-10 Pilot hit the post office in about 24 hours.

Also, the sound of their engines is probably the most motivating thing I've ever heard in my life, though they remind me of home due to their large numbers at Davis Monthan AFB.

This is yet another example of congressional/senior military staff ridiculousness. "Let's get rid of a proven battlefield asset because we think our fast movers can fly slow enough to handle the mission of the 'Hog." There was a rumor going around when I was a young Soldier during the Gulf War that the USAF had decided to let the Army take the A-10 program over, but reconsidered after the A-10 was the rock star of the war. I wish it had been true because that is one aircraft that is a real benefit to ground troops. In the end, despite all of the Joint Operations rhetoric, the USAF is going to do what is best for the USAF. Since only a very small percentage of USAF Airmen are ground-pounders (CCTs, PJs, combat weathermen, etc.)the A-10 is not all that important to them. Fighter jets are sexier, bombers drop more ordnance, cargo planes haul the lickies and chewies, and space operations are the future (according to the Star Trek movies). If one of the roles of the USAF is to support the Army or the Marines on the ground, then I say the responsible thing to do is to make the USAF keep the Warthog. You know, we have had problems with the Army Air Corps ever since they went off on their own back in '47! Does anybody else think "combat weathermen" sounds silly?

Absolutely. There is nothing wrong with that air frame. It has lots of life left in it, and plenty of opportunities to keep it current in the near and distant future. The A-10 could conceivable have just as long and successful service life as the B-52 has had.

The Airframe is solid. The engines have already gone through numerous upgrades (there civilian counterparts anyway, and working for the company that makes them I can tell you all those upgrades could be drop ins to the current air frame), and the weapons package it brings to the battlefield is not something that can be easily replaced.

The A-10 is not stealth. It is not "networkcentric" and it is not a techno fad 'insert buzzz word'. What it is, is a solid, survivable airframe that can carry a whole heck of a lot of ordnance and put it right where it needs to be. It should have gone to the Army and the Marines a long time ago.

I know for a fact that there are marine A-10 pilots. I would love to see the marine Corps keep this platform and fly it as it is an amazing CAS aircraft. One of the benefits of the A10 is that it can fly at low speeds. Additinally that gun is just an amazing piece of machinery and needs to be in the air supporting the ground pounders.

The Wart Hog saved my life in Afghanistan. I heard we sold some to the Canadians.

To guys on the ground, the A-10 is the best thing since sliced bread. My suggestion would be to move the A-10 to the USMC Air Wing, then have USMC and Army conduct one joint exercise after another until perfected.