Oh, BELIEVE me....... it's not a 'complaint' when you take the resources to man and staff an entire squadron of aircraft to fly just one bird. One bird is NOT a squadron. One bird has down time. One bird needs lots of maint. hours. LOTS of them. One bird, designed for air to air combat is pretty useless you 'your kid' who is on the ground in need of A10 support, or F18 support. 'Your kid' wants, and NEEDS about 10 different aircraft to support him if he is on the ground, trying to kick butt as you put it.
When we ran a skiff in, at 2am with no moon- we had no aircover nearby... They were always a radio call away, and considering the guys we used to deliver, they would send that support post-haste if we ever made the call. But- to have that support available, for our 5-12hr tasks? It took 3-5 birds in a constant loop, with 2 on the ready some odd 150 miles away, and patrol craft anywhere from 20-200 miles out or more. Even the non-existent air cover we had (Never called them in) cost a ton of man hours, maint. and the sheer cost of fuel and logistics added a heavy price tag to our tasks.
When you multiply your support cost by 10, 20, 100- it takes away money for a LOT of other, more crucial things.

Example: Your 30-06 is a great rifle. Now; it's not the fastest bullet out there. And it surely is not the most powerful. But you are shooting a deer or a hog; do you go with the 30-06, because it works perfectly for the task at hand? OR..... do you pull out a 338 Lapua and send a much more powerful and slightly faster round downrange, just because it is newer, more 'capable' and more powerful? Well, when the cost is reviewed, you see the raw numbers in black and white: 30-06; $450. Ammo- $18 a box. The Lapua; $1200-3000. Ammo- $7 per shot. End result? 1 dead deer, either way.

You never been on the boat and have them tell you the plan was nixed because the resources have been diverted, have you? Ever been told, on the boat.... to go anyway, though the backup has been diverted, and there is no support craft readily available....... so be real quiet, mind where you step, and get in and out without making so much as a ripple on the water, 'cause you guys are on your own...? Yeah; when the retrofit of a squad of F14's literally eats away at the overall funding for a carrier battle program, you suddenly find there are less helos at the ready. And, a few ancient A6's will be pulled up from the bullpen and pressed for more service... due to their lower operating cost, and solid service record.

Personally, I would rather we can afford to send up 10 airframes rather than 1- ESPECIALLY if I am on the ground, and might want to call for support.
And it can not be denied; there is no NEED for any airframe so 'advanced'. No one has anything in the air that can really touch the F15, in a fighter on fighter situation. And for ground support, the A10 and F18 are beyond comparison to everything else flying.
We built a better mouse trap, but there is no mouse.