Max Cruise
President’s Cockpit / By BG Steve Mundt, Ret.: Wow! It is already that time of year when we find ourselves looking forward to the perennial “Blue Book” issue of ARMY AVIATION magazine. AAAA National President, BG (Ret.) Steve Mundt (2nd from left) pauses for a photo op with the other foursome members (l to r) Ron Kwalek, Michael Frattaroli and newly elected chapter president, John Palumbo, during the Annual Connecticut Chapter Golf Tournament at the Whitney Farms Golf Course in Monroe, August 10, 2017. / AAPI PHOTO BY COREY STOKES I enjoy catching up with where everyone has moved to...
Learn MoreVirtual Interactive Environment Devices
128th Aviation Brigade / By SSG Zachary T. Barber: Three questions must be answered for valuable training to occur: how to train, how to influence, and how to communicate to ensure trainees are learning. The most challenging part for all instructors is to develop the “how.” SSG Walter Kairuz, a 15B instructor with Co. C, 2nd Bn., 210th Avn. Regt. explains the main modules and subcomponents of the T700 series turbine engine to a 15B10 class on May 5, 2017. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SSG ZACHARY BARBER All Soldiers do not retain technical knowledge at the same rate because...
Learn MoreReadiness through Repetition
Reserve / By BG Scott R. Morcomb: Army reserve aviation has successfully executed tens of thousands of missions over our 50-plus year history, but never has there been a more proficient and lethal federal reserve aviation force for the nation. BG Scott Morcomb (center, standing), commanding general of the Army Reserve Aviation Command, observes a mission brief during XCTC 17-01 at Fort A.P. Hill over the Memorial Day weekend at the end of May 2017. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY CPT MATTHEW ROMAN, U.S. ARAC This nearly impossible track record is not due to some consistent stroke of luck or...
Learn MoreGaining Back Aviation Maintenance Proficiency
Branch Command Sergeant Major / By CSM Gregory M. Chambers and LTC Thomas W. Bamford: In response to the Holistic Aviation Assessment Task Force findings and recommendations, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) led the Army’s effort to implement an aviation maintenance training program in order to build aviation maintenance proficiency back into the Branch. Soldiers of D Troop, 4th Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Calvary Regiment work on their individual sections of the AH-64E during the 500-hour phase maintenance on April 29 at Camp Taji, Iraq. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SSG ISOLDA REYES, 29TH COMBAT AVIATION BRIGADE The Aviation...
Learn MoreThe “Why”
Chief Warrant Officer of the Branch / By CW5 Joseph B. Roland: As Army Aviation integrates changes driven by The National Commission on the Future of the Army, the Holistic Aviation Assessment Task Force (HAATF) Study, and Aviation Branch specific initiatives, I wanted to take some time to give you the “why” behind just a few of these changes. CW3 James Baker presents his team’s findings to LTG Robert Brown, commander of the Combined Arms Center, during the first Warrant Officer Solarium, held at the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS, Jan. 15, 2016. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO...
Learn MoreRetaining Army Aviation’s Decisive Advantage through Training
Aviation Branch Chief / By MG William K. Gayler: While the U.S. military enjoys many technological advantages over current and potential adversaries, the rapid pace of technological change in the world is quickly eroding those advantages in many areas – and the Army’s Aviation Branch is no exception. Battle Group Poland U.S. Soldiers conduct air assault training with 10th Combat Aviation Brigade’s CH-47 and UH-60 helicopters at Rostki Helipad near the Bemowo Piskie Training Area during Saber Strike 17 June 6. Saber Strike 17 is a U.S. Army Europe-led multinational combined forces exercise conducted annually to enhance the NATO alliance...
Learn MoreFair Winds Aloft
President’s Cockpit / By BG Steve Mundt, Ret.: Summer is in full swing but we want to take time to remember those who are deployed and away from those they love. We hope those who are with their loved ones are out enjoying the weather and some much deserved time off! It is important to note that AAAA is also in full swing and moving out on a number of fronts. First, I am pleased to announce that the 2018 AAAA Annual Summit has already sold out the majority of the exhibit area with well over $2M in revenue. Yes...
Learn MoreMaple Resolve 2017
From the Field / By LTC David L. Magness: With the last ember of daylight on a cool Canadian spring night, American infantrymen lay prone in their fighting positions. Mosquitos had come out in earnest during the almost two hour long sunset, and the ground was soaked by three days of rain. Soldiers manning their posts strain to see or hear any sign of the enemy. The buzzing of insects is soon replaced by the distant but all too familiar whoop of CH-146 Griffon helicopters. Sun sets at Airfield 21, Wainright, Canada, as C/1-169th MEDEVAC conducts live hoist operations while...
Learn MoreHelp For Our Heroes
Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: It was an exciting time to be in Nashville attending the 2017 AAAA Summit! For those who were not able to participate, I would like to share what I learned about two wonderful not-for profit organizations who were exhibiting there (gratis AAAA). Retired Marine Sergeant Adam Kisielewski and his family posed for a photo in their specially adapted home in Lillington, North Carolina, while Homes for Our Troops was producing a video about “Rebuilding Lives” to be released in June 2017. / PHOTO BY HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS I was impressed with both because...
Learn MoreAviation Collective Training at a Crossroads
Simulation / By Mr. Daniel Finch: The future of aviation collective training in the virtual environment is obscure at best. Retirement, at what some might consider an early age, is on the horizon for the Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT). AVCATT also happens to be the only collective training capability in the aviation arsenal. The training device has been on the scene since 2003, and with only a combined fourteen years of service, it is arguable that AVACTT has never reached its full potential. This is especially true when considering the lifespan of AVCATT has fallen completely within the...
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