A-10 Warthog - possible victim of the sequestration

[desertswo]

It's kind of funny how the 'Hog has been the bastard child of the Air Force as long as they've had it. It isn't fast or sleek by a damn sight, it doesn't rattle windows going by (though I've heard noise complaints from those who just have to whine) and doesn't hurt to be near one running on the flight line (probably explains why I'm deaf after never bothering wiht ear protection).
Yet - every time we get into a shooting fight - EVERY TIME, it is the A-10 that does the job that needs doing.
Precision guided munitions are great, but they are't needed for every mission. Sometimes simple works great, and when the only thing necessary is a warhead on a forehead - the A-10 delivers.
In the 90's the USAF wanted to get rid of them in favor of the do-it-all-OK F-16. Then Desert Storm showed that sometimes, you need a sledge hammer in your toolkit. Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq (twice) and Afghanistan - the A-10 does its job and just gets sh*t on.
Maybe that's why enlisted like the damn thing so much...

I spend a fair amount of time on Luke AFB teaching my terrorism class, and that's the training wing for the F-16, not only for the US, but for all of the other nations that fly it. I grew up listening to F-4s and F-14s at NAS Miramar, and then served in a CV and nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is as loud as that freaking Falcon taking off on AB. I mean it's obnoxiously loud. I'm all for the "sound of freedom," but if I was ever looking to relocate, an F-16 base wouldn't be in close proximity.

[Stitch]

I spend a fair amount of time on Luke AFB teaching my terrorism class, and that's the training wing for the F-16, not only for the US, but for all of the other nations that fly it. I grew up listening to F-4s and F-14s at NAS Miramar, and then served in a CV and nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is as loud as that freaking Falcon taking off on AB. I mean it's obnoxiously loud. I'm all for the "sound of freedom," but if I was ever looking to relocate, an F-16 base wouldn't be in close proximity.

Then just imagine what an F-15 sounds like, since it has TWO of the same engines (more or less) as the F-16!

[desertswo]

Then just imagine what an F-15 sounds like, since it has TWO of the same engines (more or less) as the F-16!

You know, I'm scratching my head trying to think if I've ever been anywhere near an F-15 other than the static display at Luke. Used to track and "defend" against a lot of them flying out of Kadena and I controlled a whole lot of them and F-16s, as well as USN/USMC assets in the Gulf, but I don't think I've ever seen one on the ground. I've watched an Air Guard A-10 squadron do their thing in New Jersey and they weren't loud to any great degree. No worse than an S-3A Viking, which uses the same power plant, doing "touch-n-goes" at NAS North Island.

[DonBelt]

Never went over to Langley?

[surfgun]

When one watches an F-15 demo after watching an F-16 demo. It is clear that the Eagle goes to eleven.

[desertswo]

Never went over to Langley?

Nope. When I ventured to military bases in the area for other than duty situations it was always Ft. Belvoir (great Sunday brunch at the O-Club). Went to Andrews a lot because I was on the JWCA and used to fly out of there on this charter airline called America Trans Air (ATA). We'd meet at the VIP terminal (and yes, the faucets in the head are gold plated, and no I'm not joking) where His Heinous is staged prior to boarding Air Force One, and then board this L1011 that was tricked out with 77 and only 77 first class seats; nothing else. Full wait staff, the whole show. Living large while flying all over the world. It was kind of a nice "attaboy" for 20 years on the job at that point. A bunch of eagles, ones, twos and three-stars flying around acting like rich assholes because we could. LOL!!! Believe it or not, that's still cheaper than putting us in the back of a KC-135. No overhead involved.

Anyway, I'd drive down to Quantico now and then just for the drive, but Belvoir was literally about two miles from my front door in Alexandria so there was no real reason to be too adventuresome. Sometimes I'd take my kids who were all still real young then over to this grass parade ground area in the early evening in the summer just to watch the two billion ground hogs that called it home get stupid. Quite a cheap form of entertainment for seven and four-year olds. ;)

[Albany Rifles]

Belvoir always had the best Class VI store in the Army.

Other than that I hate that place!

[surfgun]

At least it (Ft. Belvoir) has a nice view of the Potomac River, and the brunch is very good.

[desertswo]

At least it (Ft. Belvoir) has a nice view of the Potomac River, and the brunch is very good.

Nice pool too.

[Gun Grape]

You cannot beat the burgers and cold beer at the Command Post pub in QTown. But you do have to put up with a bunch of 2dLts

[desertswo]

You cannot beat the burgers and cold beer at the Command Post pub in QTown. But you do have to put up with a bunch of 2dLts

Larval vermin, the lot of them!

[Gun Grape]

Larval vermin, the lot of them!

Even worse. These are freshly minted ones.

[Gun Grape]

And hey, since we have derailed this thread

[Officer of Engineers]

Give it to the GS to insult every Officer on WAB ... and we can't do a damn thing about it ... because we remembered how stupid we were!

[bigross86]

There was nothing we liked worse than an officer who had spent a year and eight months going straight from Basic training to advanced training to TC school to OCS to Tank Officer school. Especially since they seemed to get to the combat unit and immediately assume that they knew everything, not knowing that the things taught by the book and how they are done in real life are vastly different.

Of course, that raises the question of why they don't teach from a different book, but that's already a much larger question....