AFM Editor Thomas Newdick talk s to the 124th Fighter Wing, Idaho Air National Guard, about its recent combat deployment under Operation Inherent Resolve.
124TH FW ANG
“WE’LL NEVER be able to replace the A-10, but specifically my concern as a commander is to make sure that our close air support (CAS), forward air controller – airborne (FAC-A), and combat search and rescue (CSAR) expertise doesn’t get lost,” Col Timothy J Donnellan, commander of the 124th Fighter Wing (FW), told AFM in March.
Donnellan is like many A-10 pilots; he implicitly understands this aircraft and what it stands for. The CAS role, the bread and butter mission for the popular ‘Warthog’, is rarely out of the spotlight these days. The A-10 is safe for now, and the US Air Force has put retirement plans on ice until at least 2021. Col Donnellan, an A-10 combat veteran – including tours in Korea and the Middle East – clearly sees the F-35A Lightning II is programmed for taking on this role. “I haven’t flown the F-35, but certainly that’s the direction the US Air Force is going in with manned fighters,” he says when discussing the future of CAS. In the meantime, US military leaders are glad that the A-10C is staying in service.
Having i…
