Replies

“AF knows now grunts. Not personally.”

That is a load of BS. The U.S. Army Air Forces adopted the British practice of using forward air controllers during the WWII invasion at Salerno. Gen. Patton went on to have his Third Army perfect the CAS mission with the USAAF Ninth Tactical Air Force after D-Day. The built upon the concept in Korea and Vietnam. See for example:

In 1967, a group of combat-experienced fighter pilot volunteers were brought together in South Viet Nam to form a top secret squadron with a now-famous callsign — MISTY. They were stationed first at Phu Cat Air Base, then in 1969, they moved to Tuy Hoa Air Base. Their mission was to fly fast and low over enemy territory, armed with only their cannons and marking rockets... so low that they could see the targets... SAMs, AAA sites, trucks, bridges, boats, bulldozers... whatever. Their goal was straightforward: disrupt the transfer of enemy supplies and equipment down the Ho Chi Minh trail. When a Misty located one or more of these targets, he directed Air Force and Navy fighter strikes against them. Mistys flew the two-seat version of the Super Sabre, the F-100F, and although they flew fast (350 to 550 MPH), and they continually jinked (i.e., changed direction) to spoil the enemy’s prediction of where to aim, still, 28% of the Misty pilots were shot down during the three years they were active. Their first commander, Colonel Bud Day, was one of those shot down, and he became a POW in the Hanoi Hilton. Those who survived went on to important positions, including two Air Force Chiefs of Staff, seven general officers, two astronauts, numerous industry CEOs, and the first man to fly around the world unrefueled in a light aircraft.
http://www.mistyvietnam.com/

Play close attention to those Misty casualties and then bad mouth those Air Force pilots.

It won’t do you any good to try and claim things are all different now, because they are not. Just look at the histories of the Air Force TASS squadrons. Try handing out over enemy territory in a low and slow flying Air Force Cessna on a FAC (Forward Air Controller) mission.

Also don’t forget that Air Force FACs and combat air weathermen travel wherever the Army goes on the ground and in the air. Do not disregard how many of the SOF missions behind enemy lines is to provide the security for Air Force FACs and/or combat air weathermen. Whenever and wherever the XVIII Abn Corps, 82nd Abn, and 101st Abn go, the Air Force FACs and air weathermen go with them, including Air Force pilots performing the FAC assignment.

The problem here is with the Congress not appropriating the funding necessary for the Army, Navy, and Air Force to keep all of the combat branches adequately funded.