Training the Force to Fly, Fight, and Survive
Aviation Mission Survivability / By CW5 Michael S. Kelley: When an aircraft in combat is engaged by enemy fire, the most important task is to immediately identify what threat system is being used. Threat system identification dictates the specific counter tactic or evasive maneuver used in order to achieve optimal survivability. Our current aviation force is well versed in some threat categories while other capabilities have atrophied over time. In the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, misidentification of threat systems being used exacerbated the situation, presenting Army Aviation with undesirable loss rates. CW5 Michael S. Kelley is the Branch...
Learn MoreROBD & Hypoxia Training
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By Dr. (LTC) Joseph Puskar: Q: Can we use the Reduced Oxygen Breathing Device (ROBD) for altitude physiology periodic “chamber card” training instead of going to an altitude chamber? The Joint Service Aircrew Mask-JSF integrates with the F-35 life support system and pilot flight equipment to provide combined chemical-biological and anti-gravity protection. / ARMY.MIL FS: Initial training is still being conducted in the altitude chamber, but soon even initial altitude physiology training will be done with ROBD for Army rotary wing crews. Fixed wing aviators will continue to use the chamber for initial training, but...
Learn MoreGeneral and Mrs. Martin E. Dempsey’s Interview with High School Students
AAAA Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: I was pleasantly surprised to be able to watch a live telecast from The Military Child Education Coalition’s (MCEC) 17th Training Seminar in Washington, DC on July 30-31. It featured a question and answer period with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Army General Martin E. Dempsey, his wife Deanie, and 5 high school students. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman GEN Martin Dempsey and his wife Deanie sing traditional Irish folk songs to and with military children (left to right) 15-year old, Raul Rosales IV from San Antonio, TX, 16-year old...
Learn MoreAircraft Survivability Trends
AMRDEC Tech Talk / By Mr. Frank McIngvale: Aircraft combat survivability relies on many factors such as threat avoidance, defensive measures, hardening of aircraft structures and components, redundant systems and repairable systems. Put simply, the goal is avoid the threats that you can avoid (tactics, situational awareness), defeat the threats you cannot avoid (countermeasures), and survive the threats you cannot defeat (hardening, redundancy, reparability). Aircraft survivability has been a formal design discipline since the 1970s, but has gained increased attention in the past decade with the emergence of more advanced threats to our aircraft. UH-60 Black Hawk dispensing countermeasures. /...
Learn MoreAdvanced Composite Training
128th Aviation Brigade / By CPT Tad Lefler and Mr. Glenn Johnson: The use of composites began early in aviation history when the Wright Brothers used muslin, a sturdy woven cotton cloth, and sealant to fabricate flight control surfaces. Composites are still used in aviation today, though they are a bit more advanced. 15G students applying heat and vacuum to an advanced composite repair. / 128th AVN BDE COURTESY PHOTOS The term Advanced Composites is considered by the industry as fabric with fibers of higher strength than that of fiberglass, such as carbon and Kevlar®. These fibers, combined with high...
Learn MoreBehind the Curtain…
Reserve Component Aviation / By COL J. Ray Davis: Greetings again from your Army National Guard (ARNG). It’s been a few months since I last wrote; I hope your summer was safe, enjoyable, and productive. 37 Black Hawk helicopters from 12th Cbt. Avn. Bde. arrive at Port Charleston, South Carolina, from Germany on Jul. 16, 2015./ U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD PHOTOS We’re all familiar with the exciting, high-profile, deployments and training events that dominate our calendars. But sometimes what goes on “behind the curtain” is just as impressive, if a bit less heart-pounding. Such an event recently occurred in Charleston,...
Learn MoreAccident Trends
Combat Readiness Center / By LTC James T. Donovan: Army Aviation units continue to do an outstanding job of mitigating risk to acceptable levels, thereby conducting missions safely in complex environments both at home and across the globe. Today’s aviation force is the most seasoned, dedicated and capable in our Army’s history, and without question the safest. Yet, we must ask ourselves, are we doing enough to proactively prevent the next accident? CH-47F on a low illumination NVG training flight contacted a sand dune during a dust landing approach. / USACRC courtesy photo Safety metrics are notoriously difficult to quantify,...
Learn MoreEducation is Only a Tool
Branch Command Sergeant Major / By CSM Eric C. Thom: Its Effectiveness Depends on the Workman Who Uses It. NCOPDSAs most of you are aware there are changes happening across the board when it comes to Professional Military Education (PME) and promotions for our enlisted Soldiers. So I am taking this opportunity to make sure that our entire enterprise knows what is happening and how it will affect our NCOs. To start with our Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES) is now our Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development System (NCOPDS), and the first course in the system has been renamed from Warrior...
Learn MoreWarrant Officers in the Army Profession
Chief Warrant Officer of the Branch / By CW5 Allen R. Godfrey: As outlined in Army Doctrine Reference Publication 1, the Army is a profession. As a military profession, our relationship with the American people is built on a foundation of trust, continuously reinforced as we contribute honorable service, demonstrate military expertise, provide faithful stewardship, and exhibit courageous esprit de corps. 2LT Saint Blanchard (3rd from left) leads key personnel through mission rehearsal on the terrain model prior to executing an air movement in the Aviation Leader Exercise. Pictured from left to right are: W01 Busen (flight lead), W01 Castro, 2LT Saint...
Learn MoreSurviving to Fight and Win
From the Aviation Branch Chief / By MG Michael D. Lundy: We must be ready to “fight tonight with what we’ve got.” That means we must ensure our leaders, Soldiers and equipment are up to the task. Potential adversaries strive to leverage aspects of the operational environment to create ‘niche’ overmatch capabilities against the U.S. military and counter areas of U.S. overmatch. Army Aviation is one of the areas of U.S. overmatch that adversaries are, and will continue to make efforts to counter. LTC Chris McKenna (2nd from right), commander, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, speaks...
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