Alcohol Awareness
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By Dr. (LTC) Joseph Puskar: Q: I have a history of an alcohol related incident. Is it possible to get a flying waiver for this? PHOTO: www.army.mil FS: A single episode of alcohol misuse will be filed as information only provided that a current Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) evaluation reveals no underlying problem with abuse or dependence. But for an active duty service member the flying waiver will likely be the least of the worries. The effects for example of a DUI will at a minimum be painful and difficult, and potentially disastrous, depending...
Learn MoreGround Based Sense and Avoid
AMRDEC Tech Talk / By Mr. Mike Foley and Mr. Adam Hendrickson: The Army’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Office is leading the way towards full integration of UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS) with the Aviation Engineering Directorate (AED) serving as the Airworthiness Authority. GBSAA installation at Fort Hood, Texas/PMO UAS COURTESY PHOTOS Since UAS do not have an on-board pilot looking through a cockpit window to “See and Avoid” other aircraft, an alternate means of compliance to this critical Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) is required. Ground Based Sense And Avoid (GBSAA) provides the missing airspace awareness to...
Learn MoreDepartment of the Army Civilians
128th Aviation Brigade / By SFC James Conover: Trust is the bedrock of the Army Profession. The 128th Aviation Brigade’s primary mission for the past 27 years has been to train and certify Aviation maintainers to perform their MOS. Mr. Gary Moore provides one on one instruction to an IET student on the AH-64D Sighting Systems./U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SSG VICTOR GONZALEZ, 128th AVN BDE The tour of duty for a uniformed Army Professional is three years, and mirrors most other assignments in Army Aviation with the force structure and mission as a key difference. The Brigade’s NCOs serve as...
Learn MoreHeliports – More Than Just Concrete and Asphalt
Reserve Component Aviation / By COL J. Ray Davis: One aviation training capability that may surprise some is the roster of ARNG-owned-and-operated Army airfields (AAFs) and heliports (AHPs). Sprinkled throughout the 54 States and Territories, these sites are most often not the bed-down locations of our Guard aviation units, but rather facilities where folks can come to train. 2-111th Airfield Operations Battalion, Florida ARNG, deals with a surprise snow storm at Blackstone Army Airfield, Fort Pickett, Virginia, during Exercise Southbound Trooper 12./ U.S. ARNG PHOTO BY GREG ALEXANDER Among this list of 47 airfields and heliports, 7 have manned air...
Learn MoreWelcome Home and End of an Era!
Branch Command Sergeant Major / By CSM Eric C. Thom: Always do your best at any job you do regardless of how menial it seems. Any job worth doing is worth doing right. – Michael Eddie Ryan Some members of the 597th Maintenance Detachment Forward’s Special Repair Activity are recognized during a welcome home ceremony on October 7, 2015 at Fort Rucker, AL./ U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY FORT RUCKER PUBLIC AFFAIRS Far too often when we talk about air traffic control we tend to focus on or talk about the controllers, or the equipment they use to keep our aviation...
Learn MoreAir Traffic and Air Space Management Warrant Officers
Chief Warrant Officer of the Branch / By CW5 Allen R. Godfrey: As the Army and therefore Army Aviation transitions to greater expeditionary operations, our aircraft and crews will operate in austere environments and locations. These environments and locations may not have established air traffic and airspace facilities and procedures. Soldiers from Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Task Force Viper, control air traffic from the AN/MSQ-135 Mobile Tower System, or MOTS, Feb. 20 at Forward Operating Base Wolverine, Afghanistan./U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SGT LUKE ROLLINS Additionally, there may be numerous aircraft, platforms, weapons, and other objects occupying and...
Learn MoreUnmanned Aircraft Systems in the Maneuver Role
Aviation Branch Chief / By MG Michael D. Lundy: The integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into combat aviation brigades (CAB) is fully underway as we continue to implement the Aviation Restructure Initiative. CW3 Adam Kozel, Company A, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, watches from the cockpit of his aircraft as an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter fires a Hellfire missile at a target that was laser designated by an MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system at the Multi-Purpose Range Complex on Fort Stewart, GA June 20, 2015. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY CW3 ADAM KOZEL, 3RD...
Learn MoreThrottles Wide Open!
President’s Cockpit / By BG E.J. Sinclair, Ret.: On behalf of the entire AAAA National Staff, we hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Please remember all we are thankful for and keep our Soldiers and their Families in your prayers. Soldiers and industry interact in the Networking Technology Center at the 2015 Luther G. Jones Army Aviation Sustainment Forum at the Solomon Ortiz Center, Corpus Christi, TX, Oct. 6-8, 2015 Things have certainly ramped up since the summer. We re-launched the Luther Jones Army Aviation Sustainment Forum in Corpus Christi in October after a two year hiatus. It was a...
Learn MoreFort Wolters Texas: Aviation Gateway to Vietnam
News Spotlight / By LTG Daniel J. Petrosky, Retired: Fort Wolters, Texas was the place where the Army Primary Helicopter Flight Center/School was conducted during the Vietnam War. Many, if not most, of the newly minted Vietnam helicopter pilots trained at Ft. Wolters. I was one of them. I graduated from Primary in August 1967. To this day Ft. Wolters remains a mystical place for me. It was a place where significant events in my life began. Former 101st Abn. Div. Vietnam veterans: (left to right) Stan McGowen, 2-327 Inf.; Jim Mitschke, Dan Petrosky, Rick Freeman, and Clint Miller, all...
Learn MoreAce: The Story of Lt. Col. Ace Cozzalio By Rex Gooch
Book Review / Reviewed by LTC Hugh L. Mills, Jr., U.S. Army, Retired: Ace Cozzalio was a friend of mine and I jumped at the chance to read and review Rex Gooch’s new book, “Ace: The Story of Lt. Col. Ace Cozzalio.” The similarities in our careers are amazing. Both raised on ranches, both Armor officer candidate school (OCS) grads from Ft. Knox, both commanded scout platoons in the Air Cavalry in Vietnam and both flew Cobras as well. We both went absent without leave (AWOL) from hospitals in combat, both captured enemy personnel by helicopter and both commanded attack...
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