Aviation Ground Support Equipment (AGSE)
Aviation Support / By Amanda Medley: The personnel within the AGSE Product Office are dedicated to fielding, modernizing, and sustaining the Right Tools, at the Right Time, in the Right Place, ensuring our Soldiers have the most effective systems to conduct aviation maintenance any-where at any time. AGSE recently completed a refresh of our “big three” Theater Provided Equipment (TPE) systems pre-positioned in Afghanistan: Standard Aircraft Towing Systems (SATS), Generic Aircraft Nitrogen Generators (GANG), and Auxiliary Ground Power Units (AGPU). Utilizing TPE for combat rotations rather than unit organic equipment unburdens units from packing and shipping these critical systems, significantly...
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Aviation Support / By COL Gerald R. Davis: The Project Management Office for Aviation Systems (AS) consists of over 50 product lines, spanning across four unique product offices: Aviation Ground Support Equipment (AGSE), Aviation Mission Equipment (AME), Aviation Network & Mission Planning (ANMP), and Air Traffic Control (ATC). Our dedicated team of Soldiers, Army Civilians, and Support Contractors daily manages both software and hardware that touches every aircraft in the Army’s aviation portfolio. The PM AS team is committed to the mission of developing and integrating a wide spectrum of world class aviation products and services to meet Soldier’s needs,...
Learn MoreA Small Team with a Big Mission
Aviation Survivability Development and Tactics (ASDAT)Team / By CW4 Mitchell K. Villafania: As the sun rose over the ridgeline, a flight of Army UH-60s threaded their way up the valley toward a growing purple cloud from a smoke grenade that had been tossed out by the ground security forces. The cloud was growing on the flat open terrain of the valley floor, and it helped mark the landing zone (LZ) and wind direction for the inbound aircraft. After the aircraft landed, three Army warrant officers jumped out and quickly moved to meet with the security forces on the LZ. After...
Learn MoreTraining 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 MorePlanning for ATL in April
President’s Cockpit / ByBG E.J. Sinclair, Ret.: The 2016 AAAA Mission Solutions Summit 28-30 April 2016 in Atlanta is on the horizon and approaching fast!! We opened registration and housing on 1 October and are well on the way to a successful event already. The response has been phenomenal! Key Army Aviation leaders like BG Bob Marion, PEO Aviation, and his project managers, shown here during a Q&A during the 2015 Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit at the Opryland Hotel, Nashville, TN, March 29-31 will once again be available at the 2016 Summit in Atlanta. /AAPI PHOTO BY RENÉ BIDEZ...
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,...
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