MD

True, if talking pure CAS. But ever since back a while back, when BAI and CAS were essentially rolled-in together, now CAS has become the art of delivering a piece of ordnance from an aircraft to somewhere, or on something, that a ground commander requests. Whether delivered from an aircraft merely serving as a bomb truck such as a B-1, or from a tactical aircraft of some sort that is fully integrated and with full SA to the CAS mission going on. I think where these lines have since blurred or meshed, is where we get into new roles and missions for certain airframes, and how well (or not) they fit into that puzzle. Case in point, I couldn't get a -15E to strafe a ground target in theatre ten years ago. Now it's standard work for them. Similarly, there are certain CAS-type situations where a B-1 would work fine, and others where it wouldn't at all. BAI style work [albeit short-notice pre-planned] ala Khe Sanh '68? Sure. Dropping a bomb as a bomb truck where a ground commander wants said bomb dropped? Sure, it can do it. Danger close or fluid situation like that? Now comes the hesitation on my end. But if it's all there is at the time....

It depends what its being used for in particular. In certain situations, it's fine. In others, it may not be the best tool to use for the job. In even other situations, it may be the only tool available and has to be adapted as best as possible. Just depends.

Sounds like there is becoming just like here. The two scumbags that knifed the Brit soldier to death in the street, should've gotten the same right there on the spot too.

Hell, WMD use has been going on for everyone there and all sides. Much like Capt Willard's narration regarding speeding tickets and the Indy 500. Though its looking like the so-called rebels may have been setting up Assad to look like the WMD master.

MAFFS also = AFRES/AFRC, for the Peterson people.

I would certainly hope we're not so stupid as to be supporting Assad, at the same time we're helping arm the Syrian "rebels" who are anything but. When did Assad become such the bad guy? Syria was an ally and partner during Desert Storm. Same question goes for Libya......Khadafi wasn't any kind of threat anymore and had really throttled back, yet there was some immense need all of a sudden to depose him. Look what that's gotten us.

All this proves is that Assad was correct in stating that the FSA "rebels" were nothing more than terrorists and the same people we were fighting in Iraq; yet somehow, we want to give them arms and support? Are we really that utterly stupid in this country? We must be. Assad is no angel, no dictator is. However he did run a legit government, Syria was one of our coalition allies in Desert Storm, and even Israel saw Syria as a stable neighbor. Not a buddy buddy neighbor, but one where there was a peaceful existance of neither bothering the other post-1973. There was stability on that particular border of theirs that Israel could at least count on; same as they counted on with the Egypt border, but low and behold.....we stupidly screwed that one up too. Same thing we did with Libya.

Reserve, and many ANG units, have become nothing more than mini-AD.

They're all just poor people looking for work, right? These are just in this past week, but you won't hear about them from the federal government or the national news, as they don't fit the narrative of "...the border is more secure than ever". So people outside these areas generally won't hear the truth of the war going on in our own backyard......well, not their backyards. But hey......great idea to just let them all in unchecked, like some want to do. We obviously won't get any undersirables or criminals here, will we? Mariel boatlift, anyone? Mexico is taking that page out of Castro's playbook brilliantly. http://www.krgv.com/news/2-charged-in-off-duty-agent-s-death/ http://www.krgv.com/news/2-accused-of-assaulting-border-patrol-agent/

MGen Robert Worley was the 7 AF/CV when he was killed in July '68 after taking battle damage in his RF-4C Phantom and being unable to eject from it after it caught fire while RTB; his RSO was able to successfully eject. His death prompted a prohibition on flag officers flying combat during Vietnam. I believe he remains the highest ranking AF officer killed in combat.

Maybe someone is remaining single.

Probably the the 214th...

It's all 35-10 man.... or something like that.

You might want to take that up with the SCOTUS, who has ruled that interior checkpoints are indeed legal under US vs Martinez-Fuerte. Border Patrol get serious about defending the border? How can they when neither political party is serious about it, nor is the D.C. as a whole. Don't hate the player, hate the game, because the game is indeed pretty screwed up.

We spend a heck of a lot of rescue personnel, assets, and $$$ retrieving many of these people who get themselves in bad situations, in bad areas, whether medical or running into bandits etc, and end up with a lot of risk made for what is completely preventable. The situation linked below was just the other day. Medical emergency of an illegal separated from his group on top of the Huachuca mountains that took a fairly long search, culminating in a high altitude hoist rescue. When questioned during treatment prior to transfer, the guy admitted to reentering after having been deported and had been living in southern AZ for a few years illegally. These rescues happen far more often than publically reported, and many turn into law enforcement situations during the rescue, as it's often injured felons that require rescue following a fall injury, a gunshot wound, a vehicle accident, etc. http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/25970399/border-patrol-rescues-illegal-immigrant-in-huachuca-mountains

I wouldn't necessarily equate rational criticism of problems and stupidity to automatically equal one being a "bitter, selfish, disillusioned crybaby", anymore than I'd label your or other ways of thinking to be kool aid drinking rah-rah lemming-speak. Sure, there are the actual crybabies, and sure there are the kool-aid brainless types; but I think overall both of the more moderate types of people on each side actually solve issues and come up with solutions for what is an AF that definitely isn't without problems (a good number of, in fact), even with the good things it has and offers.

That was good few years ago it was taken down, unless it was replaced again recently?

I would hope these guys weren't the willing-surrender and lay down their arms types who didn't put up a fight at all, thinking that would somehow be a good thing.

Unfortunately, that doesn't always prove to be the case. Look at Laughlin. Unless something has changed in the long time since I've been there, but there used to be a pilot-centric club bar, which was turned into a sports-bar type motif rather than a pilot-type motif after non-pilot types complained about not feeling welcome.....at a UPT base. Compared to Willie, where there was a back room that you could do pretty much what you want. Get pissed and want to punch a hole in the wall? Fine. Just leave your card number so you can be appropriately charged for the damage repair. I agree there are lots of challenges for a club to survive, especially at more urban-located bases where there is ample off-base competition for business. And clubs have varying problems, some minor, some major. Ultimately, the membership will come if the club and the members work to make it their own. I would like to hope that the clubs aren't a thing of the past.

In a situation like Nellis, an ABW is essential simply for the sheer size of everything involved at that base that would be a mountain for one flying Wg/CC to handle. It just couldn't be done. Where that concept is good, even though the Wg/CC doesn't own the support assets, is to have a good working relationship with that ABW/CC (or AD/CC back in the day, though the Wg was an echelon lower back then) and have that single point of contact to get problems fixed when they occur. So yeah I agree, it can go both ways depending on the relationship climate at a given location.

This is what happened way back when, when we got rid of Air Divisions and went to the "on wing, one base, one boss" objective wing concept. Time was, the AD/CC....otherwise known as the base commander.....ran all the support functions of the base: CE squadron, SP squadron, medical, CBPO, etc. The Wg/CC, subordinate to the AD, ran his stuff for his mission, and wasn't bothered by the extras that the AD commander dealt with. His concern was the flying/operational challenges, etc; and he oversaw those through his DCO, DCM, and their subordiante squadrons. Times have changed. And some think not necessarily for the better.

As the article mentions, quite the leap indeed. The irony being, that the A-10 has the most numbers of killed and wounded of friendly personnel of any allied CAS aircraft, in the most number of incidents.....nearly 20 troops KIA since Desert Storm and an equal number wounded. What does that mean? That frat can and does happen with any platform at any time. This isn't the first, isn't the deadliest incident, and won't be the last. Heck, it's not even known (or at least revealed yet) where the fault lies on this one.

Not surprising. Mission has been half-assed there overall for quite a number of years now. Leaving with this kind of how-do-you-do, is just the standard US cred we've seen in a number of historical examples in the recent past.

That's what I had thought, with my post above. Just hadn't seen it in an article yet. Thing is, just because the the authorization for funding was made by the House, that doesn't directly translate to Appropriations allocating $$$ for it. The fact that there was a super-majority vote will help, so long as it can be maintained. If it can't, then a Presidential veto (were it to come to that down the road) wouldn't be able to be overturned.

Is the funding for the A-10 actually in the bill from Appropriations? I had thought that it wasn't inserted or mentioned by them yet? So though it's been approved by Armed Services, the people holding the money bags made no mention of it, as of yesterday.