[Coota0]

Ok, Grimmy I thought about what you siad and here are my solutions:

Second, For the US Army to have to re invent inhouse CAS capabilities would be a MASSIVE logistical nightmare. It's not just planes and pilots. Where will they be based? what air fields? Where will the suddenly manditory extra warehouses for spare parts be located? how will the parts be shipped to where-ever they end up being needed? Who'd we buy to get the start up expertize? Who's gonna set up the SOP for training the ground crews? maintenance crews? flight crews? support personell? Where will the schools be located? Who's gonna staff the schools? and on and on and on.

1) The Army wouldn't have to completly reinvent CAS, it would just expand on what it's already doing with Kiowas and Apaches. The Army already has the raidos and procedures to deal with CAS form both Army aircraft and Fixed wing aircraft from other services.
2) All pilot training is already done at Rucker this could continue in one of two forms, all Army aviators would first learn to fly the TH-57 (Form what I understand it's easier to transition from rotary wing to fixed rather than the other way around) then they would either:
Plan A) Transition to fixed wing in a highspeed course (they alrady know the rules of flight they just need to be cheecked out and given some time in fixed wing, probably the T-6) then they could move onto the primary aircraft (A-10, AV-8 or new Aircraft) at Haunchey (it was once the largest field in the country and the Army used to teach fixed wing flight there too)
Plan B) The Army aviators could transition to fixed wing in the highspeed course in the T-6 and then in the case of the A-10 learn the A-10 with and ANG class or in the case of the AV-8 with a USMC class, or in the case of a new aircraft with the service that helped develop the new aircraft.

3)As far as basing the aircraft Army bases already have airfields and hanger facilities these could be expanded or reorganized.
The Army already has a system for spare parts for their rotary wing aircraft, incorparating fixed wing parts can't be that hard, in the case of the A-10 Davis-Monthom can provide spare parts until the Army gets their own system up and running completly.

3)Two ways to get the expertise in the new aircraft: A) from the branch that was already using the aircraft or B) in the case of a new aircraft the same as any other service would from the designer. The Army already recruits WO's from the other services, why not offer some of their senior enlisted men Warrants and use them to train either expereinced rotary wing techs or new recruits. The Army already has avionics techs, fuelers, ordnacemen etc. that could be eisly trained in a new aircraft (it's no different than if the Commanche had come online and they had to learn a new rotary wing aircraft) there would be some cases in which the simple fact that the aircraft was fixed wing would mean ther would be no Army personell that were already familiar with the technology (like bomb handlers)

4)The SOP for the ground crews would be up by the OIC of the transtion program most likley with a liason from whichever service the Army is getting the aircraft from or with a possible USAF liason in the case of a new aircraft. The senior enlisted men the Army would recruit form other services and make WOs would be involved in the SOP to train groundcrews.

5) Schools for the techs and groundcrew would be located at Rucker alongside the rotary-wing schools.

As as far as the USAF not wanting to provide CAS anymore, tough beans. No branch is an independant operation Period. The head cheezes in the USAF have absolutly ZERO power to decide what it is that the USAF will do or not do. That is decided by Defense Dept and as directed by Congress and the White House, unless the Supreme Court decides that defending ourselves is no longer Constitutional.

The DOD may decide what missions the USAF has, but the USAF decides what aircraft to buy and that means that while the F-16 may be capable of CAS, it is not nearly as good at the mission as an A-10 or AV-8, or as tough when it comes down to getting in the weeds to support the troops.

The USMC organization is uniquely self contained but even they are not fully non-dependant. The USMC organizaton was created back in the old agey times when it took just short of forever to get anyone, let alone anything anywhere. The USMC was very much and Expeditionary Force and was designed (during the 1920's and '30s) along that line. That's why the USMC has built in CAS and logistics enhancements. There wasnt anyone else near enough to be able to provide any form of support when and/or if it became needed. Therefore it was all built into the program.

You're absolutley right, but with the Army trying to get leaner with the strike brigades it means that the USAF will not always have it's logistical tail in gear to get the attack jets where they need to be to support the Stryker Brigades, but organic CAS will be there, this is why I favor the AV-8 over the A-10, or whatever the USMC goes to when the F-35 can't do the job for them (perhaps the solution would be a more joint approach to Marine and Naval Aviation rather than the USAF?)

Ok, Grimmy poke some holes.