A-10s return to Afghanistan

The Marine Corps Times reports that the A-10 Warthog was employed by Marine Corps advisors in Afghanistan for the first time since the aircraft was pulled out of that war in 2014 by the previous administration;

The Marine task force commander called in for approval of the strike, while a U.S. Army drone marked the target. It was a “joint effort in support of our ANDSF ground force partners,” the air officer said.

The return of the A-10 is a part of plan by Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, to bolster air and strike assets in theater to support U.S. advisers as they begin to embed with partner forces close to the front lines of combat.

The new rotation of Marines with Task Force Southwest and the pending deployment of the Army’s 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, will be the first units authorized to advise at the Kandak, or battalion level.

The Warthogs were freed up from operations in Syria and Iraq with the collapse of ISIS and then sent to Afghanistan.