Defense News reports that “the fate of the A-10 close-air support platform has been the most contentious issue between the Air Force and Congress over the last six months. If comments made Tuesday are any indication, it’s a fight that isn’t going away.”  

“At a hearing called to discuss the future force mixture among active, Guard and Reserve components, Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh ran into an A-10 themed assault in the form of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain.”  

“It was clear from his opening statement that McCain planned to put the service leaders back on their heels. His first question was about how the service planned to fill the CAS role.”