Releasing Untapped Potential
Reserve / By COL J. Ray Davis and Mr. Christopher Flemming: Winds were out of the south at 10 knots with the temperature nearing 80 degrees (F) as the cannon boomed to start the Army Birthday Run. Det. 1/B/642nd ASB, SCARNG, Jan. 23, 2017, Camp Buehring, Kuwait with the first in-theater-completed AH-64E phase inspection. (left to right) SSG Cori Simmons, SPC Christopher Powell, SSG Todd Sturgell, SSG Brock Thomas, SPC Jesse Gable, SPC Ean Laubach, SGT Thomas Brown, SGT Tim McCoy, SPC Robert Waller, SPC Joseph Nalley, SGT Joshua Sligh, SSG Nathan Bloom, SGT Peter Savarese, SGT Robert Rutledge, WO1...
Learn MoreNCO Contributions in the Current Fight
ARSOAC CSM / By CSM Stephen H. Helton: I recently completed battlefield circulation of our Army Special Operations Aviation (ARSOA) deployed elements. I wanted to take this opportunity to share my thoughts and provide assessments with regard to aviation NCO leadership currently and in the future. Soldiers in the USASOAC take notes as they are instructed on the next training event. / ARSOAC COURTESY PHOTO ARSOA elements are deployed to numerous locations around the globe. They operate in relatively small teams for limited duration in support of specific, tailored mission sets. I was struck with the diversity of mission requirements...
Learn MoreSuccessful Aviation Warrant Officer Career Defined
ARSOAC CWOB / By CW5 Mark A. Meyer: There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. — Colin Powell As a senior warrant officer, I have been asked many times during leader professional development (LPDs), what is considered a successful career as an aviation warrant officer? I refer back to a mentor of mine, CW5(Ret.) Robert Huffman, who wrote an article when he worked at the aviation proponent in 2003. At the time I was a CW3 working as the chief of warrant officer recruiting for United States Army Recruiting...
Learn MoreProviding Strategy Value in a Complex World
ARSOAC Commander Update / By BG John R. Evans Jr.: Among those executing operations across the Global Combatant Commands (GCCs) tonight will be the men and women of Army Special Operation Aviation (ARSOA). 1SFG and Malaysian partner forces prepare to load up a combat rubber raiding craft in an MH-47G during amphibious assault training near Penang, Malaysia, March 10, 2017. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY CPT ADAM SWARTZBAUGH A member of the total Army Aviation Team, ARSOA units over the past 15 years have become widely known for their enduring commitments on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. Inextricably linked...
Learn MoreCleared for Take Off
President’s cockpit / By BG Steve Mundt, Ret.: It is hard to believe that it was over six years ago when I first became a member of the AAAA National Executive Group and began my journey to become your new AAAA President. New AAAA President, BG (Ret.) Steve Mundt (left), shares a laugh with outgoing president, BG (Ret.) E.J. Sinclair while presenting him with a Black Hawk pilot t-shirt following the passing of the gavel at the Annual Membership meeting on April 28, 2017 during the Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit in Nashville, TN. / AAPI PHOTO BY MIKE ULLERY...
Learn MoreArmy Aviation Photography Contest Winners
ARMY AVIATION Magazine is proud to present the winners of our annual photography contest. 48 qualified AAAA members, submitting 76 Army Aviation related photographs taken during CY 2016, competed for the top 12 places. We congratulate the winners and thank all of the contestants for their efforts and service. We invite all AAAA members to participate in our 2017 contest. Visit the AAAA website, quad-a.org for details and submission requirements. Bill Harris, Publisher First Place – “Battling Zeus” by Chief Warrant Officer Three Jeffrey A. Kennedy Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, Task Force Fighting Eagles, Wamego,...
Learn MoreSpouses Who SOAR – A Different Approach to Family Readiness
Family Forum / By LTC Reggie Harper, MAJ Mike Nguyen, Mrs. Karen Harper and Ms. Birgit Jones: The cornerstone organization for family readiness is the company-level Family Readiness Group (FRG). Members of 3rd Bn., 160th SOAR (A) Family Readiness Group discuss upcoming events. / ARMY PHOTO BY ARSOA STAFF MEMBER A well-functioning company FRG is the foundation through which spouses and family members access information and connect to a support network to overcome unique challenges faced by military families. This is certainly the case in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), and we anticipate that it will remain so...
Learn MoreU.S. Army Aviation in Europe – Back to the Future
By COL Christopher Waters, COL Clair Gill, and LTC(P) Bassey Bassey: Tank and motorized rifle divisions massed along the border. Terrorist attacks against Americans and their kasernes. U.S. Army units training alongside their NATO counterparts in deterrence. Welcome to West Germany, 1982. Welcome to Germany, 2017. Aviators from Bravo Company, 1st Bn., 3rd Avn. Regt., 12th CAB, “Warlords,” execute deliberate planning alongside the German Tiger helicopter pilots. The 1-3rd ARB, recently completed their combined combat aerial gunnery from March 16-April 5, at the Grafenwöhr Training Area, Germany. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY CPT JAYMON BELL, 12TH CAB While the global...
Learn MoreFlying Aircraft In “Brownout” Conditions
Degraded Visual Environment / By Mr. Mark A. Schauer: Takeoff and landing are the two most dangerous periods for any aircraft. The danger is compounded when a helicopter is caught in a degraded visual environment (DVE) such as a brownout. Caused by rapidly blowing sand and dirt thrown into a vortex by the rotor blades of a helicopter, a brownout’s swirling dust gives pilots the illusion they are moving even if they are hovering stationary. Hazardous in any situation, it is particularly risky when landing in a combat zone. A Black Hawk test aircraft performs a brownout landing to the...
Learn MoreArmy Special Operation Aviation in PACOM
Army Special Ops / By MAJ Robert McBride and 1SG Ted Sager: Mission Command is a very common term in today’s Army. However, if you ask a Soldier what mission command actually means, you are likely to receive a blank stare. So, what does the term really mean and how does it enable a unit to succeed in its operational requirements? Mission Command is the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations (ADP 6-0). MH-47G...
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