Training to Fight in Large Scale Combat Operations
Branch Chief’s Corner / By MG David J. Francis: It was 0320 hours and the lead troop of the squadron had just made it through their passage point across a low saddle with heavily wooded hilltops on either side. It added a couple of extra minutes to the route, but it avoided a built up area and more importantly this saddle gave them a gap they could exploit where the threat systems could not “see” them, either visually or with their advanced tech. Sure, their cutting-edge Aircraft Survivability Equipment could acquire and defeat almost anything on the battlefield…almost anything. But...
Learn MoreCareer Decisions
By CW5 Jonathan Kozio: Being a Soldier in the United States Army is a demanding profession. Long days training, weeks away from home, and deployments. Now, let’s add a family to the mix and the management of time gets far more difficult. The demand for aviation assets to support training and deployment rotations has not slowed, which strains our Soldiers and their families. U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 John Marsh and Capt. Nicholas Bruno, assigned to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, taxi their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, on Chièvres Air Base, Belgium, Oct. 23, 2019./ U.S....
Learn MoreArmy Aviation Moving Out!
President’s Cockpit / By MG Jeff Schloesser: The holidays are almost upon us, and so it’s a great time to reflect back over the year, and what a great year it’s been for Army Aviation! Deployed AAAA Aviation Mission Survivability Officer of the year CW4 William Roth’s wife and daughters accept the award and congratulations on his behalf during the ASE Symposium on Nov. 18, 2019 in Huntsville, AL./ AAPI PHOTO BY CHEALSEA JARVIS Army Aviation leaders at all levels have settled into their jobs, and are pushing our entire enterprise forward, working hand in hand with OSD, Congress, and...
Learn MoreAUSA’s Senior Leaders Town Hall
Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: AUSA’s 2019 Annual Meeting and Exposition was held in Washington D.C. from October 14-16, and thanks to technology I was able to view many of the live forums and events as can you at ausa.org/events/2019-annual-meeting/live-stream. During “The Family Forum Army Senior Leaders Town Hall,” The Honorable Ryan D. McCarthy, Secretary of the Army; GEN James C. McConville, Chief of Staff of the Army; and SMA Michael A. Grinston, Sergeant Major of the Army, shared their philosophy and responded to questions from the audience, as well as from other venues. They collectively agreed that “our...
Learn MoreWarrant Officer Flight Training Program
By CW4 Becki Chambers: This reason is what motivated CW2 Elizabeth Kruchek to join. Elizabeth grew up in Laingsburg, MI, a small town just northwest of Lansing. During her sophomore year of high school, Elizabeth had the opportunity to participate in a German exchange program. She says the experience changed her life and opened her eyes to the world that existed outside of her tiny hometown. She became hooked on travel, and has since lived in many states, and not all because of the Army. Left to right: Madeline Heath, Elizabeth Kruchek, Tarrissa Vincent When Elizabeth was a teenager, her mother...
Learn MoreDelivering Systems in Support of Multi Domain Operations
PM UAS / By COL Scott Anderson: In December 2018, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) released TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1, “The U.S. Army in Multi-Domain Operations 2028.” This document serves as the first step in the doctrinal evolution for future operations of the Army of 2028 across all warfighting domains – air, land, sea, space, and cyber. It provides a foundation for continued discussion, analysis, and development of our warfighting methods to comprehend enabling the joint force on the future battlefield. This evolution of comprehension and understanding will guide organizational change, as well as inform decisions about future operational changes and...
Learn MoreSesame Street to Youth Sports – Concussion Awareness
Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: Time really flies, but has it really been 50 years since the beloved Sesame Street began its flagship program with iconic and lovable characters aimed at reaching children in their early years? The creators relying on research realized that before the age of 5, a child’s brain grows faster than at any other time, laying the foundation for all learning, behavioral, physical, and mental health and decided to help young children reach their full potential through a variety of creative initiatives. I asked our “Magnificent 7” now ranging in age from 34 -50 who...
Learn MoreOperation Flying Heroes
From the Field / By Vicki Cody: Once a month for the past 10 years, at a small airfield in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a group of former and current Army aviators gathers in a hangar for Operation Flying Heroes (OFH). With Dick “Commander” Cody as the leader, this unlikely group of warriors spend the day giving back to some of this generation’s Wounded Warriors (WWs). This story really begins back in 1980 when then Captain Dick Cody and CW2 Ned Hubard were crewed together flying “little bird” helicopters out in the Arizona desert, part of the genesis of the 160th Special...
Learn MoreBack and Neck Pain
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By CPT Peter Petrillo, P.A.: Q: My neck and upper back have been bothering me for a while and now I’ve started to notice pins and needles in my hand. Are these related? PA: We live in a world that encourages sitting for long periods of time; at desks, in front of computer screens, at staff meetings, cramped cockpits, etc. Such conditions encourage poor postures with head forward, shoulders slumped and hands rotated in. This routine results in tightening of the muscles in the chest and front of the neck and weakens the opposing muscles...
Learn MoreMaking the Aviation War Fighters More Lethal to Win Wars
By MAJ Zachary F. De Groot and MSG Mark A. McKain: The 128th Aviation Brigade produces quality Aviation Maintainers for the operational force. The Brigade sets high standards for every member of its ranks because it is shaping the future of Army Aviation through the training of every Initial Entry Training (IET) Aviation Maintainer student. Aviation maintainers require proficiency in their military occupational skill (MOS)-specific tasks and must be fully prepared to endure the rigor of the increasingly lethal and expanded battlefield in Multi-Domain Operations (MDO). SSG Christopher Maxwell, 1-210th Aviation Regiment, trains AIT Soldiers on the proper method to request...
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