This is a good formula for success in any project, military or otherwise. Keep the gubmint out of the designer's hair and let them come up with something that works.
The F111 was the best example of how NOT to build a military airplane. Ol' never-made-a-mistake-in-his-life Robert McNamara just wouldn't leave the project alone, so the result was an airplane which was originally supposed to do everything that couldn't do anything really well. The last use I saw them being put to was back in the late 60s where they had volleyball nets attached to their vertical stabilizers in 'Nam.
The way they fly the A-10 reminds me of my crop-dusting days. Much the same techniques are used. I hope the Army takes them over or acquires a second generation of them. They can do so much better than a helicopter which is so limited in speed.
It actually was a kind of test platform for things like side-looking radar. I seem to remember that it also had a little problem with parachutes not opening when the crew ejected.
I also read somewhere that the F111 was used in developing the F14. But it never did do all of the things it was originally commissioned to do.