Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is asking for an update on the Air Force’s probe of a general who allegedly said airmen who talk to Congress about the retirement of the A-10 have committed “treason.”
In a Feb. 24 letter to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, Ayotte says she looks “forward to receiving an update on the investigation’s status and reviewing the investigation’s results.”
{mosads}“I am sure you would agree that we must unambiguously defend the lawful right of service members to communicate with Congress,” adds Ayotte, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Maj. Gen. James Post, vice commander of Air Combat Command, reportedly told officers during a meeting last month at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada that they were not to speak with lawmakers about the service’s attempt to retire the revered attack jet, commonly called the “Warthog.”
“If anyone accuses me of saying this, I will deny it … anyone who is passing information to Congress about A-10 capabilities is committing treason,” The Arizona Daily Independent, a conservative news website, quoted Post as saying.
Pressed by Ayotte on the controversy last month during an Armed Services hearing, Air Force chief of staff Gen. Mark Welsh said that a service investigation, overseen by the Defense Department’s inspector general, is being conducted.
“I completely commit to lawful communication with Congress,” he said. “I support any airman’s right to communicate anything you would ask them.”
Earlier this month a coalition of nonprofit groups asked James to remove Post from his position, saying his comments “seriously call into question his judgment and ability to continue in his role as vice commander of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command.”