How to Engage with Congress
1. Write a Letter. Written letters to their DC office get the most attention. Samples below.
2. Email. Not as effective as a letter, but much easier.
3. Call their DC office. A staffer will likely answer the phone. Give them your name and tell them you're in their district. Give them a 1-2 minute summary of the issue and what you want: stop the AF from cutting CAS in Fiscal Year 2024.
4. Sign our petition. This will give us firepower when we ask Congress to take action.
5. Spread the word. Help family, friends, concerned citizens and taxpayers understand the issue.
Version 1
Dear Senator/Representative
Thank you for your service
As your constituent, I want you to know that I oppose the Air Force’s plan to cut Tactical Air Control Party Specialists (TACPs) and A-10s
Hundreds of brave Americans are alive today because of the performance of TACPs and A-10s in Kosovo, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. The Air Force should not cut any A-10s before a replacement of equal or greater capability is developed. There aren’t enough TACPs and A-10s to support 2 major wars as it is. Cutting them would decimate our CAS capacity and needlessly cost American lives and risk losing battles against near-peer adversaries. I’m very concerned about the Air Force attempts to mislead Congress and the American people about A-10 survivability. I understand that the A-10 can survive in those fights using force packaging and smart tactics just like other older fighters. I don’t understand why you would spend $46Bn over 10 years to replace them with less effective F-35s.
American families support this effort. You should too. There is no greater responsibility than ensuring our men and women in uniform have the support they need to accomplish their missions and return home safely. I understand that the Air Force confronts difficult budget decisions, but it should look for savings elsewhere in areas that will not directly damage our nation’s combat readiness and the well-being of our troops. Thank you again for your service in Congress. I look forward to hearing from you.
Version 2 (< 2000 Characters)
Dear Senator/ Representative
Thank you for your service
I ask you to ensure American Troops have the best support possible when they fight for our nation. Many Americans are alive today because of the A-10s performance in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. I thank Congress for that. Today, the USAF is trying to kill the CAS mission again by eliminating 50% of the Tactical Air Control Party Specialists (TACPs) and all the A-10s with no adequate replacement.
The USAF is misleading congress about the effectiveness of the A-10 in a fight against Russia or China. The A-10 has proven that it can survive and thrive in those threat environments using a combination of force packaging, smart tactics, and standoff weapons. The A-10/ F-35 flyoff, Red-Flag and Weapons School exercises all demonstrate that.
We must be ready to fight Russia on the ground. Europe’s low weather and missile threats drive low altitude standoff tactics that the A-10 was built for. Vulnerable aircraft like the F-16, F-15, and F-35 can’t operate below the weather and survive dense anti-aircraft artillery like the A-10 can. With fewer TACPs, coordination with ground forces will be abysmal. That means less close support of much lower quality.
Keeping the fleet of 281 A-10s instead of buying 281 F-35s would save $46 Billion over 10 years. The USAF proposal to cut 400 fighters over the next 5 years and develop a “several hundreds of millions of dollars per copy” next-generation air dominance (NGAD) fighter that won’t be ready “until the early 30s” is fiscal and strategic suicide.
Thousands of American troops, and their families support this effort. You should too. There is no greater responsibility than ensuring our men and women in uniform have the support they need to win. I ask you to ensure our current TACP force is preserved and the current fleet of 281 A-10s is funded for modernization until a suitable replacement of equal or greater capability can be fielded. Thank you again for your service.
Version 3
Dear Senator/ Representative
Thank you for your service to our nation.
As your constituent, I ask you to ensure American Troops have the best Close Air Support possible when they fight for our nation. Please ensure the USAF maintains its current Tactical Air Control Party Specialists (TACPs/ Air Ground Integrators) force and fleet of 281 A-10s until a better replacement can be fielded.
USAF attempts to cut the A-10 pre-date the Global War on Terror and even Desert Storm. Many Americans are alive today because of the A-10s performance in in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. I thank Congress for that. Today, the USAF is trying to kill the CAS mission again by eliminating 50% of the TACPs and all of the A-10s with no adequate replacement.
The USAF is misleading congress about the effectiveness of the A-10 in a fight against Russia or China. The A-10 has proven that it can survive and thrive in those threat environments using a combination of force packaging, smart tactics, and standoff weapons. The A-10/ F-35 flyoff, Red-Flag and Weapons School exercises all demonstrate that. Because of its unique capability to operate from short/ austere airstrips with vast quantities of standoff weapons the A-10 is an inexpensive force multiplier that can shut down enemy air defenses.
We must be ready to fight Russia on the ground. Europe’s low weather and missile threats drive low altitude standoff tactics that the A-10 was built for. Vulnerable aircraft like the F-16, F-15, and F-35 can’t operate below the weather and survive dense anti-aircraft artillery like the A-10 can. They’ll try to conduct close air support through a soda-straw radar picture and without eyes on friendlies. Further, they can’t operate from short strips close to the fight due to their reliance on long pristine runways. That drives an extensive and vulnerable tanker requirement, and shorter time on station. With fewer TACPs, coordination with ground forces will be abysmal. That means less close support of much lower quality. Our troops deserve better.
Deterring China: The A-10 can island hop across austere fields in the Pacific that other fighters can’t because of its short field capabilities and high mounted engines that won’t ingest rocks. From those islands, the A-10 can launch unmatched numbers of standoff weapons to overwhelm air defenses and increase the survivability of penetrating 5th Generation fighters.
Given the current and emerging threats to democracy, congress should demand a USAF budget that preserves proven capability and capacity while developing and evaluating new technology. The USAF proposal to cut 400 fighters over the next 5 years and develop a “several hundreds of millions of dollars per copy” next-generation air dominance (NGAD) fighter that won’t be ready “until the early 30s” is fiscal and strategic suicide.
Keeping the fleet of 281 A-10s instead of buying 281 F-35s would save $46 Billion over 10 years. Eliminating A-10s and 50% of our TACPs would needlessly cost American lives and risk losing battles against near-peer adversaries. Thousands of American troops, friends, and families, and the Project on Government Oversight support efforts to prevent these cuts. You should too. There is no greater responsibility than ensuring our men and women in uniform have the support they need to win. I ask you to ensure our current TACP force is preserved and the current fleet of 281 A-10s is funded for modernization until a suitable replacement of equal or greater capability can be fielded. Thank you again for your service to our country.