July 8Jul 8 Good video from Ward Carrol about the projected retirement of the A-10 and its effects on pilot training and GFM.
July 8Jul 8 I remember when they talked about retiring the A10 when I was in college..I looked it up on AltaVista.
July 8Jul 8 Author 1 hour ago, Chicken said: I remember when they talked about retiring the A10 when I was in college..I looked it up on AltaVista. Sounds like they are serious this time and they want to do it quickly. If you are a young A-10 pilot it sounds like you will be twiddling your thumbs waiting on a retraining slot!
July 8Jul 8 The jet is done for unfortunately. Hawg guard guys who finished UPT in the last ~4 months were not given B-course dates and have had to find other homes. AD not sure but I would assume they stopped around the same timeframe. The latest is that the final B-Course is already happening and its a messed up situation where the flying portion isn't going to be done at DM. Nobody really knows what's going to happen to all the dudes graduating this year if big AF gets its way with the retirement in 26. Been straight up uncertainty for about a year and half now for anyone in the pipeline for the Hawg and the outcome has been based purely on where you are in the pipeline. Edited July 8Jul 8 by Hobo
July 8Jul 8 They'll be retrained into something - EX or 35 probably make the most sense. They may “burn” some time not doing a whole lot, but it’ll be fine in the long run.
July 8Jul 8 The last MH-53 graduate from Kirtland started the CV-22 course the following week. We've been here before.
July 8Jul 8 2 hours ago, Hobo said: The jet is done for unfortunately. Hawg guard guys who finished UPT in the last ~4 months were not given B-course dates and have had to find other homes. AD not sure but I would assume they stopped around the same timeframe. The latest is that the final B-Course is already happening and it’s a messed up situation where the flying portion isn't going to be done at DM. Nobody really knows what's going to happen to all the dudes graduating this year if big AF gets its way with the retirement in 26. Been straight up uncertainty for about a year and half now for anyone in the pipeline for the Hawg and the outcome has been based purely on where you are in the pipeline. U-2 bros right now
July 8Jul 8 Good video and explanation from Pako on the COCOM demand / no feedback problem. As to the A-10s and replacing it, my druthers would be to ask for as many EXs as possible to replace the retiring Hawgs. Make it simple enough that Congress can understand it and end up with more 4+ long range modern fighters while beginning to consolidate the AF to one type of 4+ gen fighter, the EX.
July 10Jul 10 On 7/8/2025 at 2:59 PM, brabus said: They'll be retrained into something - EX or 35 probably make the most sense. They may “burn” some time not doing a whole lot, but it’ll be fine in the long run. We've had a couple come through the HC-130J FTU this year. Not sure of their individual stories.
July 10Jul 10 1 hour ago, DirkDiggler said: We've had a couple come through the HC-130J FTU this year. Not sure of their individual stories. Interesting, probably some “non-standard” or personal reasons driving those.
July 14Jul 14 On 7/11/2025 at 1:21 AM, DirkDiggler said: We've had a couple come through the HC-130J FTU this year. Great airplane. Great mission. Edited July 14Jul 14 by HuggyU2
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