Category Archives: Fighter Pilot

US Army Supports Air Force Plan to Cut A-10

The Air Force defended its decision to cut the A-10 from its inventory in a meeting with lawmakers last week:

Graham and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., suggested the Air Force has more work ahead to convince Congress that retiring the A-10 is a smart move.

“So for about $3.5 billion over the next five years, if [Congress] could find the money, could you afford to keep the A-10 on board?” Graham said.

Welsh said money wasn’t the only problem…

In an interesting twist, the US Army — which has traditionally been “accused” of wanting the A-10 and criticizing the Air Force for wanting to get rid of it — actually seems to be supportive of the decision:  Read more

Mustache March: Tradition, Camaraderie, and IG Complaints

Update: General Welsh announced the Mustache March winners.  Retired Naval officer Sara Zak published her own commentary in the Air Force Times, calling it all a “setback for AF’s strong women.”  US Air Force Major Deirdre Gurry begged to differ in her Air Force Times column, saying she’s “proud to say that since World War II women have been invited to join” the military “boys’ club.”

Besides the Air Force Times letter written by the disgruntled female officer, it seems the attempt at a little fun by Air Force Chief of Staff General

Mark Welsh generated some grief as well — including a concerted effort to get him fired:

Retired Navy Commander Sara Zak [sent] a complaint to the Air Force inspector general’s office, she asked that Welsh step down and rescind the challenge, saying the activity was “contrary to his Chief of Staff of the Air Force message to airmen he issued in January, [that] it perpetuated an environment conducive to sexual harassment, and that the Air Force should acknowledge [that] traditions that denigrate or fail to show proper respect to all airmen will not be accepted as part of the Air Force culture.”

Zak — whose retired Navy status makes her interest unclear — was pretty much told to pound sand, so she tried every other avenue she could think of:  Read more

Air Force Major Takes on General Welsh

US Air Force Major Jennifer Holmes, who identifies as the “senior trial counsel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland,” took issue with General Mark Welsh’s “all in” call for a Mustache March in an opinion column entitled “In Mustache March, I lose“:

I am not invited to be a part of the latest team-building game, Mustache March. I have been relegated to the bench to cheer the real players on…

This “gauntlet” thrown down by the most senior leader in our Air Force does not bring us together by tradition; it promotes Read more

Budget Proposal: Air Force to Retire A-10s, U-2s

The controversial DoD budget proposal that has been in the news for the past few weeks contains two specific items for the US Air Force — the end (again) for the A-10 Thunderbolt II (“Warthog”), and the U-2 Dragon Lady.

The former is supposed to be replaced by the F-35; the latter, by the unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk.

The A-10 has been on and off the chopping block for decades — most recently preserved by the very intentional efforts of a single Senator, who now calls this decision a “serious mistake.”

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F/A-18C Crashes Supporting Top Gun

Update: The Navy announced the pilot died in the crash.  The name of the pilot has been withheld until 24 hours after notification of next-of-kin.

A US Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet crashed on Saturday while supporting the Naval Strike and Warfare Center “Top Gun” course.

The Navy has issued several releases since then on the follow-up:

Initial reports from the scene indicate the aircraft is a total loss. It took Navy personnel several hours to reach the crash site as it was located in remote, rugged, mountainous terrain…

The reports say they are “continuing to search” for the pilot. Having located the aircraft, that is not a good omen.

Also at the Marine Corps Times, CNN, Christian Science Monitor, and the Stars and Stripes.

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Air Force Selects 100+ in Latest Flying Board

The Air Force announced it had selected more than 100 Captains and Lieutenants in its latest flying training board.

The UFT annual selection board convened in January to consider active-duty candidates for the program. Those selected will attend pilot, remotely-piloted aircraft, combat systems officer or air battle manager training…

These are active duty officers attempting to change career fields to aviation. Given historical precedence, about half of the selectees were probably pilots, with the other half spread among the other rated career fields.

The Air Force has generally held two Read more

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