Air Force
GalleryIdaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing begins divesting A-10s
Stars and Stripes
May 28, 2025
Lt. Col. Jay Labrum, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, prepares to take off in his assigned aircraft, tail number 611, before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
The Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing officially began the divestment of its A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, with the first jet departing Boise’s Gowen Field on Tuesday.
The Warthog aircraft is headed to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, commonly known as the boneyard, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., as part of the Air Force’s plan to retire the A-10.
“This aircraft has shaped not only how we fight, but who we are as a wing,” said Col. Ryan Richardson, 124th FW commander and A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot. “It’s helped forge a culture of toughness, precision and purpose.”
Lt. Col. Jay Labrum, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, steps to his assigned aircraft, tail number 611, before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
Lt. Col. Jay Labrum, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, prepares to take off in his assigned aircraft, tail number 611, before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
Lt. Col. Jay Labrum, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, take off in his assigned aircraft, tail number 611, before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
Lt. Col. Jay Labrum, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, prepares to take off in his assigned aircraft, tail number 611, before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
Crew chiefs with the 124th Fighter Wing, Idaho Air National Guard, prepare an A-10 Thunderbolt II, tail number 611, before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
Lt. Col. Jay Labrum, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, steps to his assigned aircraft, tail number 611, before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
Door art on an A-10 Thunderbolt II, tail number 611, assigned to the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, is shown before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
An A-10 Thunderbolt II, tail number 611, assigned to the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, is shown before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
Lt. Col. Jay Labrum, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, take off in his assigned aircraft, tail number 611, before departing Gowen Field for the final time, May 27, 2025. (Mercedee Wilds/U.S. Air National Guard)
For almost 30 years, maintainers from the 124th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron played a pivotal role in keeping the Warthog mission-ready, and while the divestment has been anticipated, the aircraft holds a special meaning for the airmen who have worked on it, said Lt. Col. Scott Walker, 124th Maintenance Squadron commander.
“We are saddened that the day finally arrived but are still excited for our present and future mission,” Walker said.
Along with Gowen Field, other A-10 units including Moody Air Force Base in Georgia are expected to shed the A-10 by 2028 in favor of F-35s and F-16s, which are newer and more advanced aircraft.
Air Force officials have long worried the aging Warthogs would prove easy targets against near-peer powers such as China or Russia. The planes were not designed to evade modern radar systems or for an air-to-air fight, but specifically to support ground troops by flying low and slow below 1,000 feet.
The single-seat A-10 has provided close-air support for ground forces since it entered service in 1976. It is equipped with the infamous seven-barrel 30 mm Gatling gun and can carry up to 16,000 pounds of ordnance.