Owning the Environment
Combat Readiness Center Update / By BG Jeffrey A. Farnsworth and COL Michael D. Higgenbotham: The UH-60L Black Hawk aircrew has one minute and forty-seven seconds to live. With the routine precision of countless iterations, the left and right crew chiefs clear the aircraft up and the pilot in command smoothly applies collective. The aircraft ascends into the dark night providing escort to the MEDEVAC aircraft en route to the assigned Category Alpha 9-line evacuation mission. Reported weather for the mission was skies clear, greater than 3 miles visibility, and zero illumination. The terrain surrounding the remote forward operating base...
Learn MoreA Culture of Standards
USASOC Command Sergeant Major Update / By CSM Gregory M. Chambers: Standards — the accomplishment of every Army mission, is grounded in the strict adherence to a task standard, and carried out by disciplined and responsible Soldiers and leaders. Although Army doctrine, Army regulations, unit regulations, programs of instruction, and unit standard operating procedures provide Soldiers and leaders with an understanding of the standard, it requires strong leadership to foster an environment where strict enforcement can be maintained. Regardless of the framework used, whether it’s time-on-target plus or minus thirty seconds, the Army Special Operations Promise, or the imperatives contained within...
Learn MoreA Profession Within a Profession
USASOAC Command Chief Warrant Officer Update / By CW5 Douglas M. Englen: An airline transport pilot certificate requires a pilot to be 23 years of age and have 1,500 hours total time as a pilot. Pilots with fewer than 1,500 flight hours may qualify for a restricted privileges airline transport pilot certificate beginning at 21 years of age if they are a military-trained pilot, have a bachelor’s degree with an aviation major, or have an associate’s degree with an aviation major. USASOAC COURTESY PHOTOS What does that mean with respect to our profession as Army Aviation Warrant Officers? What does...
Learn MoreArmy Special Operations Aviation (ARSOA) 2030
USASOAC Commander Update / By BG Erik C. Peterson and COL Dean Heitkamp: The Branch chief, MG Michael Lundy, has coordinated having the commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command, BG Erik C. Peterson, his command chief warrant officer, and command sergeant major provide this article. Army Special Operations Aviation (ARSOA) was born out of the failed attempt to rescue American hostages held in Tehran, Iran in 1980. The Holloway Commission investigation, and report that followed the failed mission, asserted that our nation required a dedicated aviation force to support growing ground and maritime special operations capabilities....
Learn MoreTaking Your Voice to the Capitol
President’s Cockpit: It has been a busy month indeed. Seems like I was meeting every week with our Executive Director in Washington, representing you on some key Army Aviation issues. Most importantly, on May 20th the National Commission on the Future of the Army asked AAAA to present our views on the future aviation force. AAAA President, BG (Ret.) E.J. Sinclair (standing) testifies before the National Commission on the Future of the Army, May 20th, in Washington, DC. Our comments were well received by the Commission. The main point we made was that the Army Restructuring Initiative (ARI) is a...
Learn MoreMore Summit Reflections
Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: This is part 2 of reflections from awardee family members from the 2015 Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit that I am honored to share with our readers. John J. Stanko Army National Guard Aviation Unit of the Year – MAJ Byron N. Cadiz and 1SG Keith I. Nakahara “As the spouse of a Soldier, I vowed to support Byron wholeheartedly in any endeavor that he sought out in his military career. When we started dating I wasn’t sure what kind of commitment this would entail, but over the years it became apparent that God,...
Learn MoreThe Afghanistan Special Mission Wing
By COL Donald G. Fallin and CPT Lisa Becker: The Special Mission Wing (SMW) is Afghanistan’s only Aviation Special Mission unit and is the premier night vision goggle (NVG) helicopter assault force in South Asia. The Wing, built around a fleet of Mi-17v5 and PC-12NG aircraft, provides the country’s lone NVG air assault capability and its only intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform. Supporting both the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Ministry of Interior (MoI), the SMW is an enduring U.S. counter-narcotic and counterterrorism partner, with its wing headquarters and four squadrons providing operational reach in support of more than...
Learn MoreLessons Learned for 2025
MEDEVAC Proponency / By COL Michael F. Breslin and Mr. Robert D. Mitchell: There is no question that the Army Air Ambulance fleet and its mission set have evolved into the best medical evacuation system with the most proficient aircrews in the world. This is due in large part to the management and synchronization between Army Aviation and the Army Medical Department. Numerous advancements are a direct result of more than 14 years of lessons learned in the Iraq and Afghanistan Theater of Operations. The Medical Evacuation Proponency Directorate (MEPD) at Fort Rucker, AL is aggressively coordinating multiple efforts across...
Learn MoreLife at the Bunkers
Enlisted Green Platoon Combat Skills / By CPT Lucas G. Harris: It is a Friday afternoon, and more than 60 students training to be members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (SOAR(A)) are standing in formation in front of two bunkers that date back to the 1940s. On one bunker hangs four placards dedicated to each of the individuals on Aircraft #185, an MH-60L that crashed in Afghanistan in January 2003. Between the two bunkers stands the original Night Stalker Memorial, which was dedicated in January 1990 shortly after the unit returned from combat operations in Panama. It...
Learn MoreGlobal Special Operations Forces Network
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) / By COL Michael J. Hertzendorf and MAJ Roger P. Waleski: On any given day the Regiment’s professional aircrews, support staffs, and maintenance personnel, operate around the globe in austere and uncertain environments accomplishing a multitude of diverse Special Operations Forces (SOF) missions. These dynamic full spectrum SOF operations support the Global SOF “Network,” a U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) initiative to globally link SOF, the Interagency, Allies, and our DoD partners. MH-60M Black Hawks assigned to the 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) prepare to extract Marines from the Marine Special...
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