2016-2017 ARMY AVIATION Photography Contest
1st Place – “Black Thunder” by John M. Dibbs, Redmond, Washington, June 16, 2015; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington A mighty Guns-a-Go-Go MH-47 trains in the twilight near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. 2nd Place – “Help Has Arrived” by Sergeant Jose D. Ramirez III, 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas, November 9, 2016; Fort Bliss, Texas Soldiers from 1st Armored Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade conduct 9-line medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) training at Fort Bliss, Texas. 3rd Place – “Approach into Diamond Head Crater,” by First Lieutenant Clayton C. Gorton, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, Wheeler Army Airfield,...
Learn MoreDAMO-AV – Back from the Brink
Aviation Leadership / By COL John J. Lindsay and MAJ Stephen T. Schmidt: Due to a series of efficiency initiatives and budget-driven headquarters reductions, Department of the Army G-3/5/7 Aviation (DAMO-AV) began FY15 with its back against the wall. As of 1 October 2015, the TDA had been cut to zero and the directorate was kept afloat through a G1-signed memorandum authorizing 16 directed military over-strength positions. From the outside, the Directorate of Army Aviation appeared to be “business as usual” but the future was far from certain. The Pentagon / U.S. ARMY PHOTO; Below: General Hamilton H. Howze, the...
Learn MoreEquipping as a Pillar of Readiness
PEO Aviation / By BG Robert L. Marion: Without question, Aviation is recognized as a critical enabler and maneuver capability when executing effective combined arms operations across the full spectrum of operations. In a similar vein, Equipping is recognized as one of the Army’s four pillars of readiness, and a critical enabler of the Army’s number one priority. Where some might see modernization and readiness as competitors in a resource constrained environment, it is more important to understand how modernization and readiness go hand-in-hand. Our ongoing modernization efforts guarantee that our Soldiers are best equipped and ready to defeat hybrid...
Learn MoreCanadian Chinooks Provide Heavy Lift Support
By CPT Renner H. Hall: During the fall of 2015, two CH-147s and 40 airmen from the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) 450th Tactical Helicopter Squadron (THS) partnered with 3rd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment, the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade’s (CAB) general support aviation battalion (GSAB) for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division’s Joint Operation Access Exercise (JOAX) 16-01 at Fort Bragg, NC. The operation was unique as 3-82 GSAB’s organic Chinook company – save one lieutenant, two instructor pilots and a couple of maintainers – were deployed to the Joint Readiness Training Center. Essentially, America’s Guard of Honor...
Learn MoreA Historic New Chapter at Fort Rucker
News Spotlight / By CPT Matt E. Hayden and CPT Ronald W. Braasch III: Fort Rucker made history on January 8th, 2016. As flight school class 16-005 woke up and drove to their designated parking spot in the darkness, waiting for their bus to pick them up and take them to Cairns Army Airfield (AAF), it was like every other morning for primary students for the past 20 years. Once the students went to their classroom, completed morning questions, and confirmed performance planning and weather, they grabbed their flight gear and signed for the aircraft keys. The difference is these...
Learn More2016 Army Aviation Hall of Fame Inductees
CW5 Ned Hubard’s 31-year career in Army Aviation combined a unique mix of operational, research and development, and command and staff assignments with over 20 years in special mission units (SMUs), flying an amazingly diverse range of aircraft from UH-1s in Vietnam to piloting the first mission into Afghanistan in a Russian Mi-17. In fact, Hubard has over 13,000 flying hours in over 150 types of aircraft and helicopters, is basic airborne qualified and trained as a high-altitude-low-opening / high-altitude-highopening (HALO/HAHO) jumper. In the early 1980s, following the failed DESERT ONE Iranian hostage rescue mission, Hubard was recruited into Operation...
Learn MorePriorities
Branch Command Sergeant Major / By CSM Gregory M. Chambers: Service in today’s Army should not be taken as a job but as a profession. As the Army changes its structure, fields new equipment and establishes new programs to develop leaders in order to meet a sustainable readiness posture, professional Soldiers are essential for the Army to win in the complex environments of the future. A flight of six Black Hawks departs Lowe Army Heliport, Fort Rucker, AL, Feb. 12, 2015 to support the Ranger School at Fort Benning, GA./ U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY CPT KEN DOUGHER, 1-212TH AVN. It...
Learn MoreMilitary Spouses: Connecting Without a WiFi Connection
AAAA Family Forum / By Paula Lundy: When we reflect on what life was like for past military spouses, our concerns now really aren’t much different than the concerns of spouses from many years ago. We all want to feel supported and connected to our military community – that is how we truly create the sense of being “home,” despite being far away from where we’re from. The author, Paula Lundy (left), wife of MG Michael D. Lundy, heads the receiving line at a farewell event March 1, 2016 for (l to r) Samantha Thom and Deborah Godfrey, spouses of...
Learn MoreSoldiers Learning to Become Leaders
128th Aviation Brigade / By Mr. Mark S. Jones: Army Aviation is unique in that the majority of enlisted Soldiers in the branch begin as technicians and evolve into senior leaders of operational units. So where does structured leader training begin? Company A, 1st Battalion, 222nd Aviation Regiment student leadership taking accountability before beginning training./ U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY CPT ANDREW J. BLIK, CDR, A/1-210 AVN. NCOs would tell you that this is what they do all of the time, every day and most would agree. But where is the foundation laid where a young man or woman who joins...
Learn MoreRacing Against Technology
Tech Talk / By Mr. David B. Cripps: We in Army Aviation are engaged in a consumer electronics technology footrace, and we’re falling further behind. The pace that new products with creative functions & capabilities come to the market by far exceeds the pace that “the system” can formally assess and authorize their use. And sometimes these new electronic devices may have functionality that might be attractive to bring aboard aircraft to add to or enhance mission capability. Examples include tablet computers with clever applications, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, compact digital video cameras, Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B)...
Learn More
