Transitioning Into the New Year Full-Throttle
We just completed our “new-format” 2025 Cribbins Futures Forum in Huntsville, AL. It was touch-and-go for a while with the government shutdown, but AAAA staff, our exhibitors and attendees executed with aplomb! At the end of the day, very few exhibitors cancelled, our sponsorship was up, and attendance was only slightly down. Truly a remarkable result considering that early Monday November 10, three days before the AAAA staff arrived on site in Huntsville, we made the decision to go ahead after cancelling the prior Friday night when all Senate talks had completely collapsed! Thank you to our Soldier and Industry...
Learn MoreGuardsmen Take Part in Aviation Exchange with Royal Thai Army and Navy During Recent Engagement
Story by Joseph Siemandel Guardsmen from the Washington National Guard’s 96th Aviation Troop Command conducted an Aviation Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) with Royal Thai aviation partners across multiple locations in Thailand from Nov. 28 to Dec. 16, 2025, strengthening long-standing relationships and advancing aviation safety and interoperability within the State Partnership Program (SPP). “The exchange began in Lopburi and Bangkok from Nov. 28 to Dec. 12, where our team worked alongside aviators and maintainers from the Royal Thai Army’s 9th, 41st and 2nd Aviation Battalions,” said CPT Taylor Payne, Army Aviation Support Facility 2 commander and SPP aviation liaison...
Learn MoreExercise Gallant Tower: Breaking New Ground in Joint Interoperability
Story by Staff Sgt. Erica Webster MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. — Exercise Gallant Tower brought together Reserve and active duty Airmen from the 908th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, 71st Rescue Squadron, the 729th Airlift Squadron, and Soldiers from the Alabama Army National Guard Detachment 2, Charlie Company, 111th General Support Aviation Battalion, for a joint patient-movement and refueling event unlike anything executed before in the state. Held between Sept. 5-7, 2025, the exercise was designed and led by the 908th AES, to push ground and flying crew to operate in conditions that mimic future contested environments, scenarios they expect to...
Learn More‘Making Students into Aviation Warfighters’: AVCOE Honors FY2025 Instructors of the Year
Story by Kelly Morris FORT RUCKER, Ala.–The Aviation Center of Excellence honored its Instructors of the Year for Fiscal Year 2025 in a ceremony at Fort Rucker, Ala., Dec. 16. Each quarter throughout the year, academic instructors and flight instructors from around the AVCOE and Fort Rucker are nominated by their supervisors for the honor of competing for Instructor of the Quarter. They are evaluated on quality of instruction, quality of materials developed and used, and quality of their presentation. The Instructors of the Year are determined from the quarterly winners. The Instructors of the Year for FY25 are: The...
Learn MoreFort Rucker Soldier Jumps at the Chance to Honor the Past
Story by Leslie Herlick FORT RUCKER, Ala. — Sgt. 1st Class Riley B. Watts III is the first sergeant for A Company 1-14th Aviation Regiment, the Army’s largest AH-64 Apache helicopter company, but his interest in becoming a Soldier started with a different kind of aviation Soldier: the World War II paratrooper. This dream began long before he wore an Army uniform. It started in his living room as a teen, watching stories of courage and sacrifice unfold on the screen. “Before joining the Army, I, like many others, watched ‘Band of Brothers,’” said Watts. “That series opened doors I...
Learn MoreMoving Ahead Full-Throttle
AAAA is fast approaching our busiest period of the year. By the time you read this, we will have completed our annual Cribbins Symposium, almost be on top of Thanksgiving, be preparing for Christmas and the holidays, be coordinating the Army Best Drone Warfighter Competition at Huntsville, AL in February, and of course, be getting everything in order for our keystone event, the Summit in April. The MacArthur Chapter hosted a spectacular Dining Out in September at the Long Island, NY Hyatt. I had the pleasure of joining the Chapter leadership of the MacArthur, Empire and Mohawk Chapters for a...
Learn MoreFoxtrot Company, 2-159th Attack Battalion Activates
Story by Capt. Lydia LaRue ANSBACH, Germany – Foxtrot Company, 2-159th Attack Battalion, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, officially activated on November 18. The company, nicknamed “Specter,” falls under the 2-159th Attack Battalion and was established under ARSTRUC 28-32 as part of the Army Aviation Transformation Initiative. Foxtrot Company consists of soldiers dedicated to modernizing Army Aviation. Its primary task is to integrate launched effects and tactical unmanned aerial systems into the existing doctrine, fundamentally modernizing combat operations. “While we prepare for our platforms, we are tasked with doing something no one in the Regular Army would have even considered five...
Learn MoreHow CCAD’s Oil Lab Supports Flight Safety
Story by Kathleen Pettaway-Clarke Written in collaboration with Dr. Frederick Koch Corpus Christi Army Depot, Texas-Oil analysis is crucial for maintaining readiness and ensuring flight safety in Army aviation. Regular laboratory testing of used oil samples assesses the lubricant’s condition and serves as an early warning system to predict equipment breakdowns. At the heart of this essential process is the Corpus Christi Army Depot, home to the Army’s only aviation depot oil laboratory. The fleet labs, which were once part of the Army Oil Analysis Program, do not operate in the same manner as the depot Oil Lab. CCAD performs...
Learn MoreAMCOM Leaders Underscore Sustainment Readiness and Modernization at 2025 Cribbins Futures Forum
Story by Richelle Brown Senior leaders from U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command underscored the urgency of modernizing sustainment for future contested environments during the Army Aviation Association of America’s Cribbins Futures Forum, held Nov. 17–20 in Huntsville, Alabama. AMCOM Commanding General Maj. Gen. Lori Robinson opened the Day 2 professional session by stressing that sustainment remains the decisive factor in maintaining aviation readiness. “Today, tomorrow and in the future, we need every part that makes these great machines fly,” Robinson said, noting that spare-parts availability continues to be the Army’s most pressing sustainment requirement. She outlined three key priorities...
Learn MoreMV-75 Special User Evaluation at Redstone Arsenal Highlights Operational Relevance
Story by Heather Douglas, Program Executive Office – Aviation Soldiers from the Army Aviation community visited Redstone Arsenal this week giving critical feedback on the MV-75 Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program via its new Virtual Prototype (VP) and Virtual Reality (VR) demonstrators. The Soldiers were taking part in the Special User Evaluation (SUE), a critical, hands-on event to gather direct feedback from the user community regarding proposed design elements of the MV-75 FLRAA multi-mission aircraft. SUEs facilitate direct interaction between the design team and intended users: pilots, maintainers, and operational personnel. This week’s event is the fourth SUE the...
Learn More
