Transforming for the Future
U.S. Army Reserve Aviation / By BG Troy D. Kok: 2025 may be ten years away according to a calendar, but in terms of force modernization, it is right around the corner. In preparation for an unknown and ever evolving geopolitical landscape, the United States Army Reserve’s sole operational Aviation command is posturing itself for continued success in the upcoming decade. SGT Robert Self, an AH-64 Armament Electrical Avionic Systems repairer with Company D, 1st Bn., 158th Avn. Regt. “Ghost Riders,” loads rockets into an AH-64 Apache during a gunnery range at North Fort Hood, Texas, June 2, 2015. The...
Learn MoreTraining to Task in Varying Conditions
Branch Command Sergeant Major / By CSM Eric C. Thom: There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. – Colin Powell The Army’s Training Concept (ATC) 2012-2020 was designed to strike a balance between operational and institutional training, and offers flexibility, efficiencies, and a broad range of training capabilities for leaders to maintain an agile, ready Army in a period of reduced resourcing. Soldiers from Delta Company, 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, assess casualties while recovering a downed aircraft during Decisive Action Rotation 15-03...
Learn MoreSimulation Integration
Aviation Warrant Officer Advanced Course / By CW5 Allen R. “Randy” Godfrey, CW4 Shawn N. Paris, and CW3 Charles L. Brown: The current Aviation Warrant Officer Advanced Course (AWOAC) is a distinct improvement from AWOAC past. There are now two distinct resident phases. Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Master Control Station operations during an exercise at the Seneff building, Fort Rucker, AL. The first is the warrant officer mid-grade learning subjects required for all warrant officers. The second is the technical specific track phase. This phase allows our aviation warrant officers to build on training and education received in...
Learn MoreTraining Leaders Who Thrive
From the Aviation Branch Chief / By MG Michael D. Lundy: As we continue to prepare to fight in unknown and unknowable conditions and threats, leaders who thrive in uncertainty are our primary weapon system. Tough, realistic, performance based training is how we prepare our leaders to operate in these environments. Simulators, such as this CH-47 Chinook simulator at the Southeast Regional Flight Simulation Training Center on Simmons Army Airfield at Fort Bragg, NC, replicate the complexity of current and future environments and provide the rigor and repetitions necessary to present tough training. / U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SSG APRIL...
Learn MoreTurning Up the Heat
President’s Cockpit / by BG E.J. Sinclair, Ret.: Summer is in full swing, but the Army Aviation Branch and AAAA remain very engaged. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter promotes LTG Ron Lewis in a private ceremony in the Secretary of Defense’s Office in the Pentagon on July 2nd, 2015. / AAPI PHOTO I had the great pleasure of visiting the Aloha Chapter last month and getting to know some outstanding Americans who were honored with The Order of Saint Michael (OSM). The Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA) from Hawaii and Gold Star father Alan Hoe, and...
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...
Learn MoreInsomnia and Fatigue
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By Dr. (LTC) Joseph Puskar: Question: I’ve been having a hard time sleeping the past two months, and feel fatigued most days now. What can I do to get some decent sleep? FS: Chronic insomnia affects approximately 10-15% of the U.S. population. It is defined as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or non-restorative sleep for longer than one month resulting in impairment such as cognitive dysfunction and irritability. Advancing age, and medical conditions such as chronic pain, shortness of breath, heart conditions, polypharmacy, and low socio-economic status are considered risk factors. Mental health conditions can...
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