The Membership Corner
Liaison officers (LNOs) have been stationed at Fort Rucker since 1956. One person who has served as the British LNO is Lieutenant Colonel Claire Curry. Claire and her husband, Colonel Ian Curry, currently live in Wiltshire, England, just over 5 miles from Stonehenge. Lt. Col. Claire and Col. Ian Curry / LTC CURRY PERSONAL PHOTO Claire left Exeter University in 1993, joined the Reserves and took a job working in London. Claire decided that she could work for a Blue-Chip company anytime, but not join the Army later in life, so in 1996 she joined Commissioning Course 962 at the...
Learn MoreLooking Forward, Looking Back
How the Army Addressed the 4th Quarter Class A Aviation Accident Spike / By COL Ronald Ells and LTC Randy James: Last year, we reported that FY19 had the fewest fatalities on record, and while we cannot boast the same for FY20, the Aviation Branch remained tenacious in its approach to Aviation safety. FY20 was the safest year in Army Aviation history in both the total number of Class A mishaps (6) and the Class A mishap rate per 100K flying hours (0.63), a 50% reduction in one year alone. FY16-20 is the safest five-year period in Army Aviation history...
Learn MoreAeromedical Considerations for Common Shoulder Injuries
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By MAJ (Dr.) Christopher Grace: Q: I am a CH-47 pilot that has been dealing with worsening right shoulder pain and I think it’s time to get it looked at. What do I need to know about seeking treatment for my shoulder pain? FS: The shoulder joint is comprised of two bones: the upper arm bone (humerus) that forms a round bony prominence that fits into the socket of the shoulder blade (scapula). Surrounding the joint are muscles, their tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and the labrum that can all be sources of pain. DVIDS / Sgt....
Learn MoreHover Performance: The “No-Kidding” Requirement
CCDC Avn Tech Talk / Dr. Thomas L. Thompson: The Army’s next generation of rotorcraft will fly significantly faster and farther than our current fleet, but they will continue to perform missions that require them to takeoff/land vertically and hover out-of-ground effect (HOGE) at high altitudes for extended periods of time. CH-47F hovering at high-altitude./ U.S. ARMY PHOTO While the need for increased speed and range will change the look of Future Vertical Lift (FVL) aircraft, the unchanging requirement for HOGE capability will dictate (from an efficiency standpoint) that they remain rotorcraft – aircraft that generate vertical thrust more efficiently...
Learn MoreCluster Operations in the 128th
128th Aviation Brigade / By CPT Trenton Conyers: As 2020 ended, the 128th Aviation Brigade postured itself to conduct Holiday Block Leave for all the trainees and cadre as it does every year. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, however, this mission posed new challenges to leaders within the Brigade. The commander’s goal from the beginning was to maximize Soldier participation in this leave period and to do so as safely as possible, utilizing a series of COVID-19 mitigation strategies at every juncture. The most critical strategy in this was the creation of student “clusters” upon return from Holiday Block Leave which would help...
Learn MoreAlways Ready, Always There To Answer The Call To Action
Army National Guard / By LTG Jon A. Jensen: The Army National Guard’s vast array of missions throughout this past year – and the number of Soldiers that each one of those missions draw from is extraordinary. To say our operational tempo has been high is an understatement. A CH-47 Chinook helicopter, assigned to the New York Army National Guard’s Company B, 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation, approaches a helipad in New York City, April 16, 2020. New York National Guard members are supporting the multi-agency response to COVID-19. Our ability to accomplish our overseas mission during a time of Guard-wide...
Learn MoreReady 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 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...
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