Aviation Center Announces 2024 Lt. Gen. Ellis D. Parker Award Winners
Story by Kelly Morris FORT NOVOSEL, Ala.–The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence announced the winners of the 2024 Lt. Gen. Ellis D. Parker Awards Jan. 29, 2025. The multi-component Department of the Army level awards, which recognize excellence at the battalion level, were presented during the annual Aviation Senior Leader Forum here. The award’s namesake is a former Army Aviation branch chief. A true Army Aviation pioneer, Parker provided the vision, the masterful leadership, and the commitment necessary to consolidate and modernize Army Aviation during its formative years. Parker assumed command shortly after the branch’s formation, and skillfully led...
Learn MoreAviation Leaders Forum Highlights Operations, Training, Leader Development
Story by Kelly Morris FORT NOVOSEL, Ala.–Aviation leaders across all Army components gathered at the home of Army Aviation at Fort Novosel, Ala., to focus on current and future operations, training and leader development Jan. 28-30. With a theme of “Army Aviation–Ready to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges Today,” the event included a three-day lineup of guest speakers and breakout working group sessions. Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, Army Aviation branch chief, said Army aviation must prepare to defeat an enemy that is evolving at the rapid pace of technology and also maintain the readiness to be able to “fight and win...
Learn MoreHarding Fellowship Offers Chance to Propel Impactful Ideas
Story by Christopher Hurd WASHINGTON — Almost seven years into his Army aviation career and Capt. Phillip C. Fluke, AH-64 Apache pilot, was looking for a new assignment last year following his time with the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade. “I really wanted something different, intellectually challenging and stimulating,” he said. He said his unit leadership at the 601st Aviation Support Battalion, thought he would be a good candidate to support the Harding Project, a chief of staff of the Army initiative started in 2023 to renew the service’s professional publications. The opportunity, a Harding Fellowship, would allow Fluke to serve...
Learn MoreArmy Space, Air Domains Partner to Deliver Close Space Support
Story by Brooke Nevins FORT CARSON, Colo. — In a recent exercise involving U.S. Army Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s 1st Space Brigade, 4th Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Space Command demonstrated rapid deployment of personnel and tactical space systems to provide close space support on the battlefield. Soldiers with 18th Space Control Company, 1st Space Battalion, conducted the joint air assault and medevac training at Fort Carson on Jan. 31 to validate expeditionary deployment and delivery methods of Army space forces and equipment. Capt. Anthony Portuesi,...
Learn MoreWorking With Congress and Holiday Wishes
From all of us at the AAAA Global Headquarters, we hope you all have had a wonderful Holiday Season… time with family and loved ones. And especially during this time, our thoughts and prayers are with our men and women in uniform who are deployed and engaged around the globe in support of our Nation’s vital mission. I’m pleased to report that we had a very successful Cribbins Readiness Conferrence in Huntsville, AL beginning on Veterans Day in November. The professional programs and sessions were incisive and impactful, and we thank the entire Aviation General Officer Steering Committee (GOSC) for...
Learn MoreA New Year Full of Possibilities
Welcome to 2025… a quarter of the way through the 21st century! From all of us at AAAA, we hope you all had a fantastic Holiday season with your family and loved ones. By the time you read this, the AAAA National Executive Group, along with our Executive Director Bill Harris, will have attended the Aviation Senior Leaders Forum at Fort Novosel. We are always so grateful to our Branch Chiefs, now MG Clair Gill, for including the Aviation ‘Graybeards’ in this incredibly comprehensive and inciteful conference for the senior leaders and command teams of the Total Army Aviation Force....
Learn MoreMuch To Be Thankful For
It is great to continue the rhythm of events and activities that showcase Army Aviation’s essential capabilities, and your Association’s contribution to enabling the pillars of Networking, Voice, Recognition and Support for our Army Aviation soldiers and families. On November 7, I had the privilege and honor to represent the Association at the U.S. Southern Command Change of Command and retirement ceremony for GEN Laura Richardson and induct her into the Gold Order of Saint Michael in recognition of her incredible accomplishments, service, and support to our Army, Joint Force, and the Army Aviation Community. The event served as a...
Learn MoreGetting Back Into the Rhythm
It is great to be back into the rhythm of the events that showcase Army Aviation’s essential capabilities, and your Association’s contribution to enabling the pillars of Networking, Voice, Recognition and Support. First was the Association of the United States Army Hot Topic on Aviation, which occurred in early September at AUSA Headquarters in Arlington VA. Bill Harris, our Executive Director, and I were invited to participate in this important event; I was honored to chair the opening panel on “Army Aviation in the Air-Ground Littoral of 2040,” while Bill introduced all the day’s speakers and panels. Our Branch Chief...
Learn MoreU.S. Army PEO Aviation Showcases Future Long Range Assault Aircraft to 25th Combat Aviation Brigade
U.S. Army PEO Aviation Showcases Future Long Range Assault Aircraft to 25th Combat Aviation Brigade WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, Hawaii – The U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) is set to deliver a transformational capability for ground forces and aircrews alike. With enhanced speed and improved range, FLRAA accomplishes the mission twice as far and twice as fast, creating multiple dilemmas for the enemy, expanding the depth of the battlefield and extending the reach of air assault missions. Its design allows for rapid exploitation of freedom of maneuver, enabling decentralized operations across vast distances. With unmatched reach and standoff...
Learn MoreEDGE of Innovation: EDGE 24 concludes at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground
The Army Futures Command’s (AFC) Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Cross-Functional Team (CFT)’s 2024 iteration of the Experimental Demonstration Gateway Event (EDGE) concluded earlier this week after three weeks of experimentation. EDGE 24 was deliberately smaller in scale than previous iterations of the event and focused on autonomous collaborative behaviors of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), launched effects (LE), and unmanned ground vehicles. “Our specific experimental objective was learning how launched effect surrogates behave on a network and off a network,” said Brig. Gen. Cain Baker, FVL CFT Director. “Based off a simulated enemy threat array, we allowed the launched effect surrogates...
Learn More
