Fired : Major General James Post III was fired on Friday after making a treason comment . An Air Force major general has been formally reprimanded and removed from his job for telling a group of officers that talking to Congress in a bid to block retirement of the A-10 Warthog amounted to 'treason , ' the Air Force said on Friday . An investigation of remarks by Major General James Post III , who was the vice commander of Air Combat Command , found that his words to some 300 airmen at Nellis Air Force Base on Jan. 10 may have had a 'chilling effect ' on some of them , convincing them not to speak with lawmakers . Representative Mac Thornberry , chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee , said the Air Force action against Post was 'important and correct . ' 'Members of Congress must be able to receive unfiltered facts and opinions from service members ... , ' he said in a statement . 'Attempts to prevent or restrict that communication can not be allowed . ' The incident added fuel to a controversy over efforts to retire the low-flying , tank-killer aircraft , which is highly regarded by ground troops for its ability to provide close air support . The plane has strong supporters among members of Congress who have so far successfully blocked efforts to retire it . Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh , himself a former A-10 pilot , has said that given budget and personnel constraints , the Air Force needs to retire the plane to save money and free up people to learn to maintain the new F-35 joint strike fighter . Post made his remarks while fielding questions the airmen . He was asked about the status of the A-10 and began to discuss budget constraints facing the department and the reason for the decision to retire the plane . A-10 retirement : The incident added fuel to a controversy over efforts to retire the A-10 , low-flying , tank-killer aircraft , which is highly regarded by ground troops for its ability to provide close air support . The inspector general 's investigation interviewed several witnesses who remembered Post using the word 'treason ' to describe efforts to oppose the Air Force leadership 's decision to retire the plane , either via a social media campaign or by talking to Congress . In his own written account , Post said he told the group the Air Force did n't want to get rid of the plane but needed to because of budget constraints . He acknowledged using the word 'treason . ' General Hawk Carlisle , commander of Air Combat Command , gave Post a letter of reprimand due to the findings and removed him from his position as vice commander . Post issued an apology on Friday and said he did not intend to try to prevent people from talking to lawmakers . Handed in a latter : General Hawk Carlisle , commander of Air Combat Command , gave Post a letter of reprimand due to the findings and removed him from his position as vice commander .
Major General James Post III was fired for saying that the retirement of the A-10 Warthog amounted to 'treason ' The incident added fuel to a controversy over efforts to retire the low-flying , tank-killer plane highly regarded by ground troops . In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, he said it would be 'a mistake' if the service did not keep its planes in service.