The U.S. Air Force has finally released a small official documentary on the
A-10 Warthog ground attack aircraft’s contributions in Afghanistan nearly four years after Combat Camera airmen shot the footage. The service had apparently tried to suppress the film, officially known as “Grunts in the Sky,” as it pushed to retire the planes for good
despite their record of “saving guys on the ground.”
The film has quickly begun to spread online after the Air Force released it in response to a private individual’s Freedom of Information Act Request in December 2017 and appeared on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook group. The existence of the video first became public in September 2015, after former Air Force officer Tony Carr
posted an initial version, known as “Hawg,” on his blog John Q. Public. Carr had been and continues to be an outspoken supporter of the service and its mission, but a vocal critic of its leadership and many of their decisions.
“It’s a pretty easy answer, too, in terms of ‘why are we here?’” one A-10 pilot says. “The number one priority is always saving guys on the ground,” another adds.