Moving 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 MoreFrom Kentucky to Kosovo: The Holts’ Father and Son Support KFOR MEDEVAC Team
Story by Staff Sgt. Alyssa Lisenbe CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – On someone’s worst day, two U.S. Army soldiers from Lexington, Kentucky, have the capability to save that person’s life, and they just happen to share the same last name. Meet Kentucky Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 2 Travis Holt and his son, Spc. Trevor Holt, a father and son duo serving together in Task Force Aviation in support of Kosovo Force (KFOR), the NATO-led peacekeeping mission dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all people in Kosovo. The Holts are part of the...
Learn MoreArmy Aviation Soldiers begin training with Stalker UAS at Fort Rucker
Story by Leslie Herlick FORT RUCKER, Ala. – Army Aviation Center of Excellence (AVCOE) Soldiers began training with the VXE30 Stalker Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) at Fort Rucker on November 18, in preparation for equipment fielding in December. This system incorporates observations from the modern battlefield, including reduced noise and visual signature, vertical takeoff capability, and cost-saving munitions technology, underscoring the Army’s push to integrate cutting-edge systems into training at Fort Rucker and Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Maj. Wolf Amacker, the chief of the AVCOE Directorate of Training and Doctrine’s UAS and Tactics Branch, said the event represented a milestone in...
Learn MoreAlaska Army National Guard Aircrew Conducts Medical Evacuation from Scammon Bay Amid Severe Weather
Story by Alejandro Pena BETHEL, Alaska — Alaska Army National Guardsmen assigned to A Company, 1-168th General Support Aviation Battalion transported a patient requiring advanced medical care from Scammon Bay to Bethel, Nov. 18, after severe weather grounded civilian air ambulances for two consecutive days. The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center initiated the mission following a request for assistance from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Regional Medical Center. The patient, a Scammon Bay resident, had sustained a hip injury that exceeded the treatment capabilities of the local clinic. Initial attempts to evacuate the patient via a civilian air ambulance were halted due to...
Learn MoreTwo Army Aviators Awarded Soldier’s Medal
Story by Kelly Morris Two Aviation Center of Excellence Soldiers received the Soldier’s Medal during a ceremony at Fort Rucker, Ala., Sept. 30. Capt. Gabriel A. Coppinger, who commands Company B, 1st Battalion, 11th Aviation Regiment, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Shane T. Hawkins, who serves as an instructor pilot at 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment, received the award presented by Brig. Gen. Kenneth C. Cole, Aviation Center of Excellence deputy commanding general. The aviators disregarded their own safety and attempted to rescue fellow Soldiers during a multi-ship aviation mishap in Alaska in April of 2023 that sadly resulted in...
Learn More2-159th Attack Battalion Activates, Continuing 12th CAB’s Attack Aviation Legacy in Europe
Story by Capt. Lydia LaRue ANSBACH, Germany – The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) has reflagged its attack battalion from 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment (Attack), to 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (Attack), effective immediately, Oct. 14, 2025. The activation of the “Gunslingers” Battalion is largely a change in name-only for the 12th CAB, part of the wider Army Aviation Transformation Initiative (AATI). This action returns the 1-3 Attack Battalion lineage to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Stewart, Georgia, while re-activating a historic unit name for the U.S. Army’s attack presence in Europe. “We are redesignating back to...
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