Four Decades, One Legacy: The Rademacher Family’s Generational Service
Story by Staff Sgt. Robert Whitlow CLAY NATIONAL GUARD CENTER, Ga. – Master Sgt. Jerome “Jay” Rademacher’s military journey began in 1984, long before many of today’s Soldiers were born. On Dec. 7, 2025, surrounded by family, friends, and fellow Soldiers, he closed out more than 40 years in uniform at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Marietta, Georgia. Before his retirement ceremony began, the focus was on a new beginning. Rademacher’s youngest son, Nathan, raised his right hand and took the oath of office, joining his father and two brothers in the ranks of those who wear the nation’s...
Learn MoreApache Pilot Fueled by Competing in Triathlon Endurance Races
Story by Joe Lacdan SAN DIEGO — Last October, 1st Lt. Waverly Schnetzler jogged along rocky paths of Prehistoric Trackways National Monument, an expanse of the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico that sits 4,500 feet above sea level. There in the backdrop of the Robledo Mountains, Schnetzler entered a backyard ultra; a grueling elimination ultra marathon where competitors run four-mile loops until one competitor remains. Also known as a “last man standing” race, exhausted runners file out one by one and the last remaining competitor gets crowned champion. Competitors run backyard ultras often more than 100 miles. “She’ll approach something...
Learn More2-2 AHB Conducts Joint Fast-Rope Air Assault Training
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2d Infantry Division/ROK-U.S. Combined Division, alongside 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conduct fast-rope air assault isolated personnel extraction training, Dec. 18, 2025. The training integrated aviation assets with infantry elements, as well as small unmanned aircraft systems and U.S. Air Force joint terminal attack controller capabilities, demonstrating 2CAB’s ability to operate with both conventional and unconventional joint forces in support of readiness across the Korean Peninsula. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Childers)
Learn MoreTask Force Brawler Maintainers Keep the Mission Flying
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Task Force Brawler work on a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk assigned to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, Romania, Dec. 5, 2025. The 3rd Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade’s mission in Romania is to conduct training while generating warfighting readiness and combat-credible forces along NATO’s Eastern Flank. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joseph Bartoszek)
Learn MoreTransitioning 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 More
