Ready Now: Amid the Global Pandemic
This is your Army Reserve / By COL Roger Deon and LTC Amy Buck: COVID-19 Response – ECAB mobilizations are enabled by experienced air crews with a proven ability to adapt to rapidly emerging requirements in complex environments. Their specialized skillsets and readiness posture allowed for seamless support to the Nation’s COVID-19 defense response and the Army’s refocused mission to protect the force, posture the force to maintain global operational readiness and support the national effort to fight against and mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Company C, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, 11th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade, arrives at a simulated...
Learn MoreOur Total Force
Branch Chief’s Corner / By MG David J. Francis: As Army Aviation continues to perform missions at home and worldwide, the depth, resilience, and flexibility across our force is consistently impressive. A California Army National Guard CH-47 helicopter on final approach for one of multiple rescue pick-ups during the Creek Fire near Shaver Lake, CA in early September 2020. / CALIFORNIA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO A significant aspect of our enduring successes involves leveraging the integration of all three components (Active, Guard, and Reserve). Crucial to our success is our ability to fuse the necessary resourcing, training, and modernization across...
Learn MoreSupporting Our Total Force
President’s Cockpit / By MG Jeff Schloesser, U.S. Army Retired: As you read this you may already know we have cancelled the 2021 Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit scheduled for 21-22 April in Nashville following the Army’s decision that it would not be able to support the Summit based on an Army Health Risk Assessment as well as the current environment. COL (Ret.) Harry Townsend at the 2017 Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit. Rest in peace, old Warrior (See page 55)./ AAPI FILE PHOTO Since we depend on the Army for our key speakers and leader attendance, aircraft displays, and...
Learn MoreMaximizing FARP Efficiency in Large Scale Combat Operations
By CPT Edmund Lee and CPT Ryan Riemer: ATP 3-04.1 Aviation Tactical Employment notes that forward arming and refueling points (FARPs) often become a limiting factor when conducting sustained attack aviation operations. In attack battalions (AB) and air cavalry squadrons (ACS), aviation planners often lack a thorough understanding of sustainment operations and their organic Forward Support Company/Troop (FSC/T) capabilities. The reverse holds true for logisticians in the FSC/T and S-4 shop, who may not understand some of the unique requirements of aviation FARPs compared to the Refuel On the Move techniques utilized by brigade combat teams. This article provides some...
Learn MoreProsecco N Prose – Book Club with Perlage
AAAA Family Forum / By Wendy Knowlton and Amy Horner: Bubbly, buddies, and books … a trio of trouble or a triple treat? We like to think it’s a little bit of both and a whole lot of fun. Wendy Knowlton (left) and Amy Horner recording in their home studio./ PHOTO BY AMY HORNER Book clubs have long been a way for military spouses to connect, but what happens when, inevitably, your family must move? We met when our husbands were stationed together at Fort Campbell, Ky, at the most traditional of military spouse meeting places, a dirty taco restaurant...
Learn MoreTraining Aviation FSCs for Distributed Operations in the Indo-Pacific
By CPT John Walsh: Since its inception in 2014, the Pacific Pathways program has provided U.S. Army Pacific units the opportunity to deploy and train with partner and allied forces in the Indo-Pacific region. Though no two Pacific Pathways deployments are the same, every rotational unit must address the challenge of operating in a distributed environment. Pacific Pathways is a unique stressor of the sustainment warfighting function. For an Aviation task force, a Pacific Pathways deployment requires the Aviation forward support company to provide fuel, ammunition, and maintenance capabilities to multiple locations separated by hundreds of miles of jungle and...
Learn MoreIntervertebral Disk Disease
Ask the Flight Surgeon / MAJ Theresa M. Long: Q: I am a senior UH-60 pilot who was recently permanently grounded for chronic lower back pain after having lumbar disc fusion. I still have some recurrent numbness, tingling and pain in my legs that requires treatment with a drug called Gabapentin. I currently have a P2 for no sit-ups and an alternate aerobic event. I have a friend in the Infantry who was sent to the medical evaluation board (MEB) and medically retired for almost the exact same thing. Why doesn’t my flight surgeon submit me for an MEB too?...
Learn MoreNot An Ordinary Fire Season
Reserve Component / By MAJ Sean Summerall: The California Army National Guard’s 40th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade (ECAB) (TF Phoenix) is no stranger to wildland firefighting. After a light season in 2019, all appeared well going into the 2020 season until COVID struck and hampered some of the normal preparation. CH-47F aircrews from the California Army National Guard conducting water bucket operations during recent wildfire support./ LOS ANGELES TIMES PHOTO BY MARCUS YAM – BY PERMISSION The California Military Department along with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), United States Forest Service (USFS) Region 5, and the...
Learn MoreDenied, Degraded, and Disrupted Space Operational Environment – D3SOE
Branch Chief’s Corner / By MG David J. Francis: Operating effectively in the space domain is a top Department of Defense (DOD) priority. Since Operation Desert Storm, the reliance on space-enabled equipment has expanded exponentially. Pilots from Company B, Task Force Lobos, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, conduct pre-flight checks from the cockpit of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter April 6. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SGT FELIX ACEVEDO, 1ST ACB, 1ST CAV. DIV. PUBLIC AFFAIRS This equipment not only enables detailed planning and preparation for a full range of operations from dispersed and remote locations, but it is...
Learn MoreOn Course to the Summit!
President’s Cockpit / MG Jeff Schloesser, U.S. Army Retired: It is hard to believe it’s already February! We at AAAA National Headquarters and your National Executive Group are hard at work to make our Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit this April a REALITY. A UH-60 Black Hawk belonging to 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, awaits take-off during Agile Combat Employment training at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, Dec. 18, 2020./ U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY SSGT. RYAN LACKEY As a reminder, it is 21-23 April at the Gaylord Opryland, in Nashville, TN. I wrote last month that we are taking every...
Learn More
