Mate, you're absolutely right, of course, there have been blue on blues, I knew personally one of the fusiliers involved in Gulf 1, I also know AH drivers that have been involved, mistakes happen and I wouldn't pretend otherwise, but, to be clear, CAS is not a skill that can be switched off and suddenly back on, when doing missions in Herrick I would always nag my oppo to look out the window! SA is what ultimately will help those that need you to be on the money. As I've said, if A10 goes fine, but it's a mistake.
And ref trade off, I'm not a mug, i know it happens, but I flew Lynx in Iraq, and adequate would be over selling how pathetic That airframe was, I then flew a world class bit of kit for a while and just loved being able to help people, no better reward than saving guys and gals with the right equipment. It can be done. It just needs some balls.