Maybe FReeper and ‘Warthog Driver’ Hulka would weigh in on this thread? BBBBZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!
Most fun you can have is to fly that jet and shoot that gun. . .most fun you can have with your trousers on, basically.
Worst nightmare is blue-on-blue. It happens and something we KNOW happens, but a nightmare scenario that Hog Drivers wake up in a sweat over. When I was a FAC on the ground calling in A-10’s. I was never concerned about frat from CAS aircraft as I knew the guys would do anything to get me and my Army troop brothers out of a jam, too include giving their own life. . .and CAS pilots have been doing that since the first CAS mission.
Hog Drivers are proud of their jet and their mission. Deeply proud.
Before Gulf War I, the A-10 was the red-headed step-child of the Air Force. Never really respected. . .but then GWI came along and even Gen Horner, the biggest anti-A-10 ass around, praised the A-10.
The jet is irreplaceable. Its ability to do the CAS mission is unmatched. Sadly, the Air Force and DoD are making the same mistake it did back during Vietnam—buying a jet that is supposed to do all missions, be everything to everyone. . . the JSF is the F-111 of our time.
Rationale? Why pay for a single-mission jet when we can buy a multi-mission jet? Stupid question that gets a stupid answer. . the JSF.
Interesting. . .thought you’d like to know I was just called a liar for “claiming” to be a fighter pilot and stealing glory and all that. . . http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3344111/posts?page=139#139