Nonrated Crewmember Water Survival Training
128th Aviation Brigade / By CPT James A. Gleason: After completing Basic Combat Training, Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve Component Soldiers are assigned to the 128th Aviation Brigade for training in a wide range of Aviation Military Occupational Specialties. A Foxtrot Company Soldier demonstrates the proper trouser flotation technique. / 128th AVN BDE PHOTO BY 1SG MELISSA K. WHITE The 17 week 15U10 course provides Chinook helicopter maintainers with classroom instruction and valuable hands-on experience with the Army’s largest rotary wing aircraft. Upon successful completion of the course, some of these Soldiers will be assigned to maintenance units while...
Learn MoreThe Army National Guard Noncommissioned Officer Academies
Branch Command Sergeant Major / By SGM Jorge Rodriguez: The Eastern ARNG Aviation Training Site (EAATS) and Western ARNG Aviation Training Site (WAATS) have established themselves as premier helicopter-training resources for Army Aviation. The new Aviation Maintenance Instruction Building (AMIB) located on the EAATS campus, Fort Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA / U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO BY SFC NICHOLAS DAVIS The EAATS, located near Harrisburg, PA, was established in 1981 and the WAATS, located near Tucson, AZ, was established in 1986. These ARNG training sites are also home to two outstanding Army Aviation NCOAs. Their respective NCOAs were established in...
Learn MoreEnhancing Mishap Investigation Skills
CWOB / By CW5 Michael R. Jewett: AR 385-10 directs that all Active Army, ARNG, USAR, and DA Civilian employees will be provided the training and education to achieve the skills necessary to perform their safety related roles and responsibilities. The “Boneyard” is a hands-on exercise where attendees conduct an accident investigation. / U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO The United States Army Combat Readiness Center (USACRC) is the Army’s primary trainer in aviation and ground safety The Army National Guard (ARNG) has recognized the benefits of having an enhanced accident investigation training program. This training is necessary to provide ARNG...
Learn MoreMeeting the Challenges of the 21st Century
USAACE / By BG Timothy E. Gowen: The U.S. Army has been fighting hard since 2001. And while the ARNG and USAR have been engaged right there alongside our active component brethren every step of the way, today our Nation’s Army depends on the Reserve Components like never before. Evolution of the Army National Guard from post-Vietnam to the future / U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD GRAPHIC Today, the global environment is changing and the threats to our security are ever increasing. To combat these modern challenges our Nation’s Army will need the specific capabilities that the National Guard can provide much...
Learn MoreOn Final to Nashville
President’s Cockpit / By BG E.J. Sinclair, Ret.: Our premier networking opportunity for the entire Army Aviation Community, the 2017 AAAA Annual Summit, is almost upon us. We will be celebrating 75 years since the beginning of organic Army Aviation on June 6, 1942. Attendees at the 2016 AAAA Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit in Atlanta, Georgia wrap up the two-day event while enjoying the Soldier Appreciation Dinner/Concert. / AAPI PHOTO BY RENÉ BIDEZ It is amazing the transition of Army Aviation over those 75 years into the world’s premier fighting force. We also want to make sure that the...
Learn MoreThe Army Reprogramming Analysis Team: 25 Years of Transformation
By Jason M. Juliano and Joseph S. Skarbowski: December 2016 marked the 25th year of the Army’s Rapid Software Reprogramming (RSR) infrastructure that develops, delivers and sustains software for electronic warfare (EW) systems and other electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) capabilities to support commanders across the full range of military operations. The Aviation and EW Communities know this organization as Army Materiel Command’s (AMC) Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Software Engineering Center (SEC) Army Reprogramming Analysis Team (ARAT). The dispersion of aviation units during Operation “Desert Storm” highlighted the difficulties of ASE reprogramming./ PHOTO FROM DEFENSE.GOV ARCHIVE For 25 years, ARAT software and network...
Learn MoreAir Cavalry and the Aviation Restructure Initiative
By LTC Andrew M. Beyer: Early in the spring of 2015, 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry deployed to the National Training Center (NTC) as an aviation task force with 47 aircraft and a 500 trooper task force supporting 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team’s (ABCT) preparation to deploy to Iraq. In the months following this rotation, the Squadron would quickly shift fires to focus on the transition of the Squadron to the new Heavy Armed Reconnaissance Squadron (H-ARS) structure as part of the Aviation Restructure Initiative (ARI). OH-58 Kiowa helicopters from 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment., 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry...
Learn MorePreparing Now for Multi-Domain Battle
TRADOC Capability / By COL Jeffrey W. White: The emerging operational environment indicates future operations will be significantly different than those of the recent past. Multi-Domain Battle allows US Forces to outmaneuver adversaries physically and cognitively, applying combined arms in and across all domains. – Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC) Multi-Domain Battle Pamphlet An Army AH-64 Apache helicopter prepares to land on the flight deck of the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51). / U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS JUSTIN YARBOROUGH How can we leverage the hard fought lessons of the past and the extensive...
Learn MoreDelivering Partner Capability
Non-Standard Rotary Wing Aircraft / By COL Steven B. Clark: The mission of the Non-Standard Rotary Wing Aircraft (NSRWA) Project Management Office (PMO) is to procure, field and sustain non-standard rotorcraft for the Department of Defense (DoD), allied countries or as directed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense in support of Overseas Contingency Operations. Initially established in 2010 to procure and lifecycle sustain the fleet of Mi-17 helicopters in support of the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A), the portfolio has expanded to 315 aircraft representing a diverse fleet of Mi-17, MD-530, AH-6i, OH-58D, UH-1, Huey II, AH-1, Bell...
Learn MoreRotary Wing: Apache Helicopter
PM Update / By COL Joseph A. Hoecherl with COL (Ret) Robin D. Cofer: At the end of 2016, the Army took delivery of its 169th AH-64E Apache helicopter, which equates to 5 AH-64E battalions and almost 25% of the current Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) of 690 aircraft. Fielded units include 1-229th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB), 4-6 CAV, 1-101st ARB, 2-17 CAV, 7-17 CAV, and USAACE. The final technology insertion originally planned for the AH-64E production line, referred to as Version 6 (V6), provides the remaining technologies required to meet the approved requirements for the program. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO...
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