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Welsh: Congress Blocking A-10, KC-10 Divestitures Would Further Degrade Warfighting Ability

Welsh: Congress Blocking A-10, KC-10 Divestitures Would Further Degrade Warfighting Ability
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh (right), along with Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James (left), told the House Armed Services Committee on March 14 that blocking the service from cutting its A-10 fleet, and its KC-10 fleet if sequestration returns in 2016, would only cause additional damage to its ability to conduct and win wars. Photo: Dana Rene/Defense Daily

The Air Force’s decision to retire its A-10 fleet of close-air support planes was based on minimizing the impact to its overall warfighting capability, and any efforts by Congress to stop the retirement would only cause greater degradation of warfighting abilities, the Air Force chief of staff said March 14. Testifying to the House Armed Services Committee, Gen. Mark Welsh said his service did significant research, both operational analysis using Defense Department wargaming tools and consulting with military leaders across…

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