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Guv want control of National Guard A-10's
Page 13 DC Examiner .pdf Apparently a Republican governor...The governor of Connecticut, backed by the congressional delegation of that state, has filed suit in federal courts to block the Pentagonâs Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission from moving or closing down elements of the Air National Guard in that state. The governor cites her role as the head of the state National Guard as the foundation of her arguments. She asserts that as the commander, she must be consulted before any recommendation may be made. She also fiercely insists her state needs that unit. If this were an infantry unit, which might respond to an East Coast hurricane or riots in Hartford, I would understand completely. The same for an engineer unit, which can fight fires and build bridges, I would also understand. In fact, there are many sorts of units which are useful to a state in its hour of need. But in this case I believe that Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut is poorly advised by those surrounding her. Alternatively, and perhaps more distressingly, this may be a simple (if classic) example of a complete lack of understanding about the military among those who control it. The unit in question, you see, is not an infantry unit, nor military police or engineers or even Air Traffic Control. It is a fighter unit, the 103rd Fighter Wing. It is equipped with a magnificent aircraft, the A-10 âThunderbolt,â more commonly known as the âWarthog,â because it is one butt-ugly airframe. It is squat, stubby winged, with a titanium âbathtubâ to protect its single crewmember from ground fire. Why does ground fire matter? Well, because the A-10, a plane beloved by infantrymen across the United States, is designed with one purpose and one purpose only to kill enemy tanks. It cannot defend the United States or the airways of America by intercepting a rogue jet plane, nor can it carry supplies to a beleaguered area. Rather, it is designed to rain scunnion scunnion? Itâs not in my dictionary! from the sky upon tanks. That it also happens to be good at killing trucks, armored personnel carriers and enemy infantry is just a happy bonus. But ultimately the design purpose of this flying warthog, with its deadly tusks, is killing tanks. Surely Gov. Rell cannot be aware of this. S o m e b o d y must be concealing from her the fact that no governor in the entire history of the United States has ever used a squadron of ground attack jet fighters as the commander of the state National Guard. Nor, I imagine, would the governor plan to use these high-technology wonders herself, if only somebody would tell her what they are. To the best of my knowledge, Connecticut is not currently anticipating any armored thrusts coming from Rhode Island. No assault by infantry fighting vehicles down I-91 from Massachusetts is planned. Accordingly, I am at a loss as to how to explain Gov. Rellâs complaint that national security would be undercut by the repositioning of the 103rd Fighter Wing. Posted by: Bobby 2005-10-03 |
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