
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…