Mission Accomplished, More to Achieve
Rotary Wing / By COL Al M. Niles Jr.: In January 2020, Team Chinook will successfully pass another milestone: the U.S. Army will take delivery of its last Remanufactured CH-47F Block I Chinook helicopter. This is a culminating event of what is considered one of the Army’s most successful acquisition programs. The CH-47F traces its origins to the 1997 Improved Cargo Helicopter program, a service-life extension program for the CH-47D. The program achieved its First Unit Equipped (FUE) in July 2007 with fielding to the 7th Battalion, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, KY. Over the...
Learn MoreNowhere to Go For the Army Unmanned Aircraft System Operator
Reserve Component Aviation / By CW2 Jonathan Olson: Winning matters, and people are my number one priority… We win through our people, and people will drive success in our readiness, modernization and reform priorities. We must take care of our people…” – General James McConville, 40th Army Chief of Staff It’s easy to see the evolution of military forces across the timeline of technological advancement. A conversation often sidelined by technology is the human element, the training, the chess match of keeping talent within an organization. SGT Mills, SGT Soule and PFC Brandsoy, unmanned aircraft crewmembers in Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 173rd...
Learn MoreBuilding a Multi-Domain Operations Ready and Capable Force
PEO Aviation Update / By Mr. Patrick H. Mason: It is an absolute honor and privilege to serve as your Program Executive Officer for Army Aviation. Our sincere gratitude to MG Thomas and Tracy Todd for their tremendous leadership of the PEO over the last three years. Aviators from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, conduct final pre-mission checks for a night air assault mission during operational tests of the UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter. The UH–60V updates the UH-60L analog architecture with a new digital, glass cockpit to replace the current analog dial instrumentation. The upgrades improve the enduring aviation fleet’s interoperability...
Learn MoreThe Future Fleet
Branch Chief / By MG David J. Francis: Success no longer goes to the country that develops a new fighting technology first, but rather to the one that better integrates it and adapts its way of fighting… – The National Defense Strategy (2018) Helicopters of the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, stage on Chièvres Air Base, Belgium, Oct. 17, 2019 before deploying to more than 17 countries in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve./ U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY VISUAL INFORMATION SPECIALIST HENRI CAMBIER Once again we are at a defining moment for Army Aviation as we move ever closer...
Learn MorePlanning for the Future
President’s Cockpit / MG Jeff Schloesser, U.S. Army Retired: U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence commander and Aviation Branch Chief, MG Dave Francis hosted a superb Army Aviation Senior Leaders Forum at Fort Rucker, AL a few weeks ago. MG Jeff Schloesser, U.S. Army Retired34th President, AAAAThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Brigade command teams attending the Aviation Senior Leaders Forum at Fort Rucker gather in the Museum at the start of the annual Awards Dinner January 29, 2020 featuring AAAA Functional Awards and LTG Ellis D Parker Awards./ AAPI PHOTO...
Learn MoreMake 2020 Your Year For Employment Opportunities!
Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: When I first started writing this column in 2006, I contacted Military One Source (MOS), a newly acquired DoD sponsored program, to see if it really offered what it promised. I was impressed when I talked at length to a live agent at 11 o’clock at night, and subsequently felt it worthwhile to publish their call line and website. Years later, on New Year’s Eve morning, I called the Help Line 1-800-342-9647 and still found no busy signal, prompts, or long waits, and had a discussion with a very informative and friendly agent. I...
Learn MoreSexually Transmitted Infections
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By MAJ (Dr.) Roger Williams & CPT (Dr.) Gurdeep Buttar: Q: Doc, I go to my flight surgeon every few months to get checked for sexually transmitted infections. I have been treated three times in the last year for these infections and I was wondering how this could affect my flight status. FS: From a military perspective, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), have a significant impact on the medical readiness of individual service members and degrades force health protection. According to the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, between 2010-2018, approximately 350,000 service members were diagnosed with an...
Learn MoreResolve To Make A Difference!
Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: It is that time for making New Year’s resolutions, and here is one that is truly worth considering. Become a VOLUNTEER! The word derived from the French “Voluntaire” dates back to around 1600 as “one who offered himself for military service.” By the mid-19th century, the word “volunteering” expanded to a non-military sense which included community service. On 8 Dec. Charlie Company, 2916th Avn Bn, 916th Support Brigade, NTC, Fort Irwin, CA organized “Black Hawk Photos with Santa.” Soldier and Family members volunteered to fulfill the roles as photographer, photo op assistant and greeter,...
Learn MoreGetting Left of Readiness Drivers
Aviation Maintenance/Sustainment / By Ms. Debbie Daniel and Mr. Fred W. Pieper, Jr.: The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) is driving forward and challenging the status quo; and that is readily present in optimizing the supply chain. The following article describes the Army’s efforts to develop a predictive analysis capability integral to the supply chain management. The effort to develop the predictive analysis capability in the supply chain will span and engage all sustainment logistics business areas including, Business and Finance; Supply Chain Execution; Supply Chain Planning; Product Logistics Management; and U.S. Army PFC Tess Sandoval assigned to...
Learn MorePlatelet-Rich Plasma: Is it for me?
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By CPT Frank C. Stafford, D.O.: Q: I have had shoulder pain for years and I’ve been told I have problems with the muscles and tendons around the shoulder. I read on the internet that Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) can help with this kind of problem. Is that true? Will PRP treatments down me? Photo by Jose E. Rodriguez, army.mil FS: Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is one of the newer treatments in the category of regenerative medicine. It has been used to treat both acute and chronic tendon and ligament concerns. Tendons and ligaments are both tough...
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