
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh came under heavy fire on Thursday from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) over plans to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II, which has found renewed purpose in combat against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.McCain called the ongoing attempts by the Air Force to retire the 1970s-era A-10 a “folly,” when it has proven the “most effective close air support (CAS) system we have” in the current fight against ISIL and the Air…