Army Special Operations Aviation UAS Integration In Multi-Domain Operations
Unmanned Aircraft Systems / By MAJ Joshua Bell and MAJ Kristin Yampaglia: In preparation for the future fight, Army Special Operations Aviation (ARSOA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) continues to exploit the MQ-1C Extended Range Gray Eagle capabilities and limitations through challenging, realistic training events and supporting U.S. Army Futures Command initiatives. Earlier this year, MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (ER) crews from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) participated in two keystone exercises that highlighted the versatility and adaptability of ARSOA UAS. The first event was in China Lake, CA known as the Special Operations Aviation-Advanced Tactics Training (SOA-ATT). SOA-ATT...
Learn MoreOsteopath, Chiropractor and Physical Therapist
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By CPT (Dr.) Frank C. Stafford: Q: Osteopath, Chiropractor, Physical Therapist? What is the difference and who should I see? FS: In the military, we have a wide variety of medical providers that use hands-on techniques such as stretching, gentle pressure and resistance in order to diagnose, treat and prevent illness and injury. These include osteopaths, chiropractors and physical therapists. Photo/army.mil Osteopaths are licensed physicians who hold a four-year medical degree of Doctor of Osteopathy and bear a “DO” after their name. This degree is earned after completing a bachelor’s degree. As with their “MD”...
Learn MoreUnity Through Community in the 128th Aviation Brigade
By SSG Israel D. Lopez: This summer, as protests erupted across the nation, marches, stand-ins, and riots all began to coincide. America seemed to be at a reckoning, a moment where racial atrocities would no longer be acceptable, but the turmoil would be far-reaching. Members of the 128th Avn. Bde. help clean up the Elmerton and Bassette Cemeteries in Hampton, VA./ U.S. ARMY 128TH AVN BDE PHOTO The 128th Brigade, like every unit in the Army, could not escape this reality, as the towns surrounding Fort Eustis, Virginia, saw civil unrest become the norm. Many sat and wondered what could...
Learn MoreOpportunities, Make the Most of Them!
By CSM Brian N. Hauke: As I sign off the net and gather my thoughts for my final article as our Aviation Branch Command Sergeant Major, I thought it would be fitting to write about opportunity and making the most of those opportunities given to us. With my pending retirement rapidly approaching, I find myself reflecting on the last 30 years of “opportunities.” In 1990, I was a wide-eyed, naïve young man who stepped off the bus at Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic combat training. Never, and I mean never, would I have thought back then the Army and...
Learn MoreTactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems in USAREUR-AF
By CW5 Rich Tiu: The United States Army Europe & Africa (USAREUR-AF) TUAS have been present and continue to be operational in Europe since the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina erupted in the early 1990s. U.S. Army Shadow Tactical UAS in position to launch at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels, Germany./ U.S. ARMY JMRC PHOTO The USAREUR-AF’s permanent forces include maneuver units such as the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2CR) and 173rd Airborne Brigade (173d IBCT(A)). The TUAS platoons are assigned and stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany, where they conduct TUAS flight operations more frequently than any other European...
Learn MoreFuture Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS) and Air Launched Effects (ALE)
Branch Chief’s Corner / By MG David J. Francis: Layered stand-off is the real enemy in Multi-Domain Operations. Our adversaries employ it at all levels – economic, political and military – to separate us from our allies in order to achieve their strategic means short of igniting conflict. An Air Launched Effects (ALE) system is launched from a UH-60L Black Hawk as part of capabilities testing during Project Convergence at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, Sept. 15, 2020. The autonomous weapons system was designed to launch from in-flight aircraft at high tactical altitudes./ U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SPC JAVION SIDERS, 92ND...
Learn MoreAdapting to Ensure Success
President’s Cockpit / MG Jeff Schloesser, U.S. Army Retired: As I write this “Cockpit” for our November issue of Army Aviation, our Army continues to soldier on and address head-on training, readiness and modernization challenges, in spite of the continued COVID related impacts around the world. SPC Kemonte Williams and PFC Daniel Stanton, unmanned aircraft systems repairers assigned to 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, perform maintenance on a RQ-7Bv2 Shadow unmanned aircraft system, Sept. 22, at Evans Army Airfield, Georgia. / U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Andrew McNeil, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd...
Learn MoreSurvivability – Outlook for Today and Tomorrow
Aviation Survivability / By CW3 Paul Olson: The Aviation Survivability Development and Tactics (ASDAT) team occupies a unique position in U.S. Army Aviation. ASDAT, the Army component of the Joint Combat Assessment Team (JCAT) underneath the Joint Aircraft Survivability Program (JASP), started as a forensics-focused team that examined enemy tactics techniques and procedures (TTP) utilized to affect U.S. aircraft and provided the joint aviation community with counter TTPs against the threats posed to them. These efforts resulted in increased U.S. military aircraft effectiveness and survivability. The team’s mission has expanded tremendously since its inception, with two new pillars of training...
Learn MoreS&T Advancements in Threat Detection
Aviation Survivability / By Mr. Ralph Troisio, Dr. Frances Bodrucki, Mr. Thomas Z. Provencher and Mr. Paul Restine: The development and proliferation of advanced anti-aircraft munitions including surface-to-air missiles (SAM), man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) and air-to-air missiles (AAM) present a significant threat to Army Aviation. These high-speed guided missile systems give crews little time to react to incoming threats and can prove fatal if not avoided or neutralized before impact. The U.S. Army Ground Combat Vehicles (GCVs) face similar threats in the form of Anti-tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs). EWAGS GRAPHIC A passive threat warning sensor (TWS) can increase aircraft and...
Learn MoreHow Are Our Youth Coping with COVID-19?
Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: No doubt about it. We are living in a deeply altered world with a dramatic change in what is “normal.” Without a vaccine, and maybe even with one, COVID-19 may be here to stay indefinitely according to a growing consensus of scientists. Masks, full-to-the-max back packs and social distancing before, during and after school are the daily norm for most students physically returning to school./ PERSONAL PHOTO CW4 (RET.) JOE PISANO But as doctors improve treatments, and people embrace best practices like wearing a face mask, washing hands, and practicing social distancing, we are...
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