Today’s episode is a special replay from At the Water’s Edge with host Scott Kelly.Full credit to Scott Kelly and At the Water’s Edge — check it out on Spotify, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6b6TN2bcrsVF6QCpsuV7K2?si=tD2uWib3TC6HvJeTrz_wpA
I wanted to share this episode because it cuts through the talking points and gets to the ground-truth of modern war: what Close Air Support actually looks like when troops are pinned down, visibility is bad, timelines are brutal, and decisions have consequences. If you care about readiness, joint warfare, or what happens when capability gets “optimized” out of existence, this conversation is worth your time.
In this episode, Scott is joined by a heavyweight panel of former Air Force pilots, Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) veterans, and military scholars to take on one of the most contentious debates in U.S. defense policy: should the A-10 Warthog be retired? Drawing on combat experience from Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon planning, and military history from World War II to Ukraine, they argue that retiring the A-10 isn’t about obsolescence — it’s about priorities, incentives, and what gets lost when CAS culture disappears.
You’ll hear from:• Steve Call — former B-52 pilot, Pentagon strategist, military historian, author of Danger Close• Nathan Bachand — former TACP (Air National Guard), PhD historian, founder of the Tack Pee Foundation• Conan Higgins — former TACP (25 years), former law enforcement, PhD in international law, author on crisis leadership.
They break down:
• What the A-10 was designed to do — and why the mission still exists
• The difference between dedicated CAS and “CAS as a checkbox”
• Why speed, stealth, and altitude don’t replace loiter time, visibility, and survivability
• The real limits of the F-16 and F-35 in close-air-support scenarios
• Why drones and light attack aircraft aren’t true A-10 replacements
• Institutional incentives, budget priorities, and the Air Force–Army divide
• What ground troops lose when CAS culture disappears
Bottom line: Close Air Support isn’t obsolete — it’s been deprioritized. And future wars will still put soldiers in the mud — and they’ll still need air support they can trust.
Note: This episode has been edited and re-posted with permission.
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