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The Army is not interested in assuming operation
of the A-10 fleet if the Air Force succeeds in its divestiture efforts, Army
Secretary John McHugh told reporters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Though
he said there is essentially “no chance” such a scenario would play out, McHugh
also acknowledged that "anything can happen ... but that’s not a topic of
casual conversation.” He said the Army is taking “dramatic steps” to
reconfigure its own aviation assets in order to generate long-term savings and
the A-10 is not “something to consider” in these reorganizations. The fixed-wing
CAS mission is “an Air Force mission and it should be. And I’m sure the Air
Force feels the same way,” added McHugh. In addition, the Army doesn’t really
care what platform the Air Force uses to conduct the mission “as long as [ordnances
dropped] are timely and effective, we are comfortable with that. And every
assurance that we have received says that they will be.”
