As I scribe my last message as your AAAA National President, all indications are that we will have an exceptional Summit, just given the level of attendee registration and the record exhibit commitments from industry and our other partners; and the strong support from our Army and Aviation Branch leadership to develop and deliver a comprehensive and meaningful agenda and program of activities which showcase the strength of the entire Army Aviation community and family. In addition, we will also induct our newest Army Aviation Hall of Fame members, recognize our many outstanding individual and organizational Aviation awardees, and importantly, simply spend time together socially and professionally as a committed community.

This is what the AAAA Missional Solutions Summit is all about, the sole Army Aviation event that brings together our entire community to engage on how best to support our Army, our Branch, and most importantly, our Army Aviation soldiers and families. “Army Aviation: Ready to meet Tomorrow’s Challenges Today” is a most appropriate theme and I want to thank our Branch Chief, MG Clair Gill, for all his support and guidance, along with all the other members of the Aviation General Officers Steering Committee, in the lead up to this years Summit.

I also would like to thank the Branch Chief and the other Aviation GOSC leaders for joining MG (Ret.) Todd Royar, Mr. Bill Harris, and myself at the April 9 ‘re-boot of the Congressional Army Aviation Caucus on Capitol Hill. Well over 125 folks attended the networking reception in the Rayburn Building, to hear from our Caucus Co-Chairs, Ranking Member on Appropriations, Hon. Rosa DeLauro, (D-CT-3), and Hon. Dale Strong, (R-AL-5) along with MG Gill who laid out the Branch priorities, along with remarks from each of the Aviation GOSC leaders.

Well, as I alluded to above, “commanders come and go, and it doesn’t hurt the organization any!” Hard to believe that my term as your AAAA President is ending… time goes by in the blink of an eye. What a privilege it has been! I want to thank the National Executive Group (NEG) team; we could not have a more dedicated, engaged, and supportive group of committed, ‘Soldiers for Life.’ MG (Ret.)Wally Golden, our Senior VP (about to become your AAAA President), thank you for everything and especially for stepping in for me at last year’s event in Denver. BG (Ret.) Tim Edens our Treasurer, and MG Todd Royar our National Secretary, thank you also for all your efforts in keeping this great organization focused, successful and relevant. CW4 (Ret.) Becky Chambers our VP for Membership has done a record-setting job driving us to over 20,000 members and LTC (Ret.) Jan Drabczuk, our VP for Chapters, has managed his own record by growing our AAAA chapters to an all-time high of 83. Amazing results from an amazing team. Again, thank you all… and that goes to the entire AAAA National Executive Board which includes our many Committee Chairs … your committed service to the Association is remarkable!

And finally, my personal thanks to Mr. Bill Harris, our Executive Director, Janis Arena, CW4 (Ret.) Joe Pisano and the entire AAAA professional staff. You all are the Association’s center of gravity and heartbeat… the reason that ‘we are who we are’…completely committed and dedicated to the mission of our great Association and making things happen! Thank you!

As a soon to be a Past AAAA President at the conclusion of this Summit, I will remain engaged as Chairman of the Nominating Committee and look forward to contributing however I can to this great organization whose sole focus is “Supporting the U.S. Army Aviation Soldier and Family”

Above the Best!

MG Walt Davis, U.S. Army Retired
36th President, AAAA
walt.davis@quad-a.org

As we enter the final days of preparation for the AAAA Annual Summit in Nashville May 14-16, 2025, we recognize the importance of your Association to serve as THE catalyst and enabler for the gathering of our entire Army Aviation Community. So grateful to be able to report that we are looking at our largest annual gathering ever in terms of attendee registration and Industry commitment and sponsorship. The Gaylord Opryland is sold out (with over 800 folks on the waiting list), exhibits are sold out, and we are opening a second exhibit area to accommodate the incredible support and commitment from our Aviation Community. Our Chief of Staff of the Army, GEN Randy George, is working around his Congressional testimony to make every effort to attend and deliver the Keynote address. And with the current world situation dramatically increasing foreign Defense budgets, International interest in meeting our exhibitors is the highest it has ever been.

Building on our ‘Four Pillars’ of actualizing our mission statement to Support the Army Aviation Soldier and Family, the Summit provides our greatest annual opportunity for realizing those Pillars – Networking, Recognition, Voice, and Support. From interacting with our Industry Partners, to attending the Aviation Hall of Fame inductions and awards ceremonies honoring our legacy and current Aviation patriots, to our closing Soldier Appreciation Concert featuring the great Craig Morgan, a committed Army Veteran, the Summit is truly the premier Army Aviation Family gathering.

Having just gathered in Huntsville, AL for AUSA Global, I again thank GEN (Ret.) J. D. Thurman and the other members of our Senior Executive Associates for their support and enduring leadership. What an impactful discussion with our Aviation General Officer Steering Committee leadership about the critical Aviation Branch priorities and challenges to determine how best to support our Army and Branch. Additionally, as I write this, we are looking forward to our Congressional Aviation Caucus event on 9 April that will help ensure key Congressional decision makers understand the posture of our Army Aviation force… and I will have had the honor to be among the AAAA Morning Calm Chapter in Korea for their annual Formal, and to be part of the GOLD Order of St. Michael presentation to one of our incredible Army and Aviation leaders, MG Hank Taylor.

There is a lot going on in our Army and especially in our Army Aviation Branch. We could not have a more dedicated, invested, and capable Army Aviation Leadership Team and we truly look forward to working with them and you together at the Summit and beyond, to ensure we know how best to support our U.S. Army Aviation Soldier and Family. Hope you all have a productive and FUN Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit! Know for sure your AAAA Team will always be there for you and our entire Army Aviation Family!

Above the Best!

MG Walt Davis, U.S. Army Retired
36th President, AAAA
walt.davis@quad-a.org

We are certainly entering our prime season with the recently executed Luther Jones Depot Maintenance Forum in Corpus Christi, TX, now in the rear-view mirror, and on the horizon… our AAAA Annual Summit in Nashville, 14-16 May. You can see the full Luther Jones wrap up on page 36. We very much appreciated the tremendous coordination and integration with the Corpus Christi Army Depot Commander COL Kevin Considine and his team to plan, develop, and support the Forum. We had a solid two days of dynamic and impactful presentations and discussions on topics ranging from Supply Chain challenges in Large-Scale Combat Operations to Contested Logistics.

Especially effective were the panels that included our key Industry partners; there was a lot of spirited engagement with the audience in the Q&A sessions that were imbedded in those panel discussions. MG Lori Robinson, Aviation and Missile Command Commanding General, as always, did a terrific job of highlighting vital issues like Artificial Intelligence, block-chain potential, and the overall “data strategy”. Bottom line, if you missed our Luther Jones Depot Maintenance Forum this year, you missed a LOT!

At the completion of Luther Jones, we (Janis, Bill, Art, and I) diverted to Fort Campbell, KY to attend CW5 Adam Jarvis’ retirement ceremony conducted at the GEN Brian “Doug” Brown compound. Adam was the ‘Air Boss’ for years at the AAAA Annual Summit, is a bonified legend in the Special Operations MH-60 Direct Action Penetrator community, and an associate editor of Army Aviation Magazine.

It was a singular honor for me to represent our Association and induct Adam into the Gold Order of St. Michael in recognition of his incredible 35½ years of selfless and committed service to our Nation, the Army and Army Aviation, and the Night Stalkers.

The latest Army Aviation Caucus news is that we will be holding a kickoff Reception on the evening
of April 9, 2025 on Capitol Hill.
This is the first event of the re-organized Army Aviation Caucus for the 119th Congress that AAAA supports through sponsorship of their events throughout the year.

We look forward to sponsoring the subsequent ‘formal’ meetings between the Caucus and our Army Aviation leadership that enable visibility and understanding of Army Aviation priorities, challenges, and opportunities.

Finally, please make sure you are all registered for the events and housing at the 2025 AAAA Annual Summit, May 14-16, at the Gaylord Opryland. We have strong support setting new ‘bests’ again this year for registered attendance to date and Industry exhibit commitment, as we embrace the event’s theme, “Army Aviation: Ready to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges Today!”

We look forward to what will be a fantastic Summit….see you there!

MG Walt Davis, U.S. Army Retired
36th President, AAAA
walt.davis@quad-a.org

Story by Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska —During the culminating training event of exercise Special Operation Forces Arctic Medic 2025, Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 211th General Support Aviation Battalion landed a HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter on the platform of an Alaska Railroad rail car that was staged on a bridge above the Chena River, in the vicinity of Fairbanks, Alaska, Feb 20, 2025.

The two-wheel touchdown on a rail car had never been attempted by an AKARNG aviator and was a unique training experience for the entire crew. Dissimilar to runway landings or placing the entire aircraft down in an open space, the narrow rail car platform presented additional risk factors like loose debris and the need to precisely calculate the avenue of approach to hover on the rail car, while ground crews unloaded medical equipment and supplies.

The crew also lowered their critical care flight paramedic Staff Sgt. Steven Gildersleeve successfully onto the train to hoist a patient and medically evacuate them using a state-of-the-art hoist approved Patient Isolation Unit called the Operational Rescue Containment Apparatus, used exclusively by the U.S. Coast Guard. The hoist was executed right on target on the narrow landing strip of the rail car. Members of the USCG participated in the collaborative, medical exercise to field this innovative equipment and demonstrate its use cases.

“I am absolutely inspired by the Alaska National Guard team, their knowledge, professionalism, willingness to solve problems with minimal guidance to plan any given mission,” said Col. Manuel Menendez, Command Surgeon with Special Operations Command North and one of the lead planners for the exercise. “The flight crew that landed on the train was not just good, they were amazing and I’m looking forward to my next trip to Alaska to work with them again soon.”

The concept for a rail car operation was to evaluate how traumatically injured and chemically or biologically contaminated casualties could be moved, following decontamination and initial stabilization, via a hospital train.

Historically, the U.S. and NATO forces utilized hospital trains, and this exercise is an early effort to evaluate how this system of casualty movement could be applied to future large scale combat operations where there would be an overwhelming number of casualties coming back from combat. Recognizing that hospital trains would require enroute care, AKARNG flight surgeon, Maj. Titus Rund and Director of Experimentation worked with SOCNORTH to develop an augmented reality system that could be utilized on a mobile platform in austere locations.

This augmented reality system enabled a paramedic known as a “TeleDelgate” to work under the direction of a “TeleMentor” anesthesiologist, surgeon or other specialist to include documenting care. These “TeleMentors” were located at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio,Texas.

The AR system was able to transmit “TeleDelegate” and casualty vital signs in real-time while the subject matter experts as BAMC provided guidance and supervision for anesthesia and airway management, damage control surgical procedures and intensive care measures to patient aboard the moving train.

TeleMentor monitoring of remote vital signs could someday allow a “TeleMentor” to better guide the “TeleDelegate” and make sure that they are providing the best instruction and feedback in real time which would help ensure that a “TeleDelegate” is not overwhelmed during the assigned task(s) and future research efforts should be evaluated looking at this technology.

In this scenario, a train carrying a simulated casualty who was exposed to a potential biological or radiological agent underwent treatment from an isolated railcar. This necessitated “ambulance backhaul” of medical supplies, Low-Titer O whole Blood and chemical countermeasures be delivered by the helicopter to get to the treatment and containment areas.

The combined air and ground mission bolstered a joint effort between NORTHCOM executed through SOCNORTH, SOCOM, U.S Customs and Border Protection – BORSTAR, the FBI, the U.S. Army, USCG, U.S. Air Force Reserves, AKNG, Alaska Railroad Corporation and University of Alaska Fairbanks Drone Program for all air and ground assets involved. Exercise planners brought the respective branches and agencies’ best equipment and practices to the fight.

The aviators supported the exercise from Feb.18-21 and transported simulated casualties to collection points while providing hoist capabilities to exercise participants. SOFAM 2025 saw some of the nation’s most elite warriors and field surgeons converge on Yukon Training Area near Ft. Wainwright to train on extreme cold weather medical care.

The AKARNG crew included pilot in command Chief Warrant Officer 3 JD Miller, support pilot Chief Warrant Officer 2 David Berg, crew chief Sgt..1st Class Brad Mckenzie, and flight medics Staff Sgt. Steven Gildersleeve and Staff Sgt. Michael Crane.

Miller, the company standardization pilot for the 2-211 GSAB worked with Rund as they prepared for successful mission execution. Berg, who is based out of Juneau, took this opportunity to fly this mission to enhance his core competencies and skills.

“I think a big part of what we brought to the fight here was our depth of experience working in these cold weather conditions and our ability to work with and coordinate with a multitude of different units to include active-duty troops, federal, state and local agencies,” said Berg. “We really want to push that we’re open for business in working with all of our training partners to hone our skillsets and relationships.”

Rund coordinated with the Alaska Railroad Corporation to provide the U.S. Army with railcars for the training event which included the Black Hawk landing, hoisting and enroute testing of the Augmented Reality TeleDelegated system on a moving train.

“We’re honored to be able to serve our communities and military,” said Tom Covington, Director of Safety for the ARRC. “We’ve been able to observe the military’s approach to utilizing these railcars over the course of this exercise and it’s given us insight into how we can improve our cold weather survival capabilities as an organization.”

This medical training and experimentation centered exercise enhanced casualty care and medical evacuation proficiencies with standard, nonstandard and experimental equipment from across the U.S. military and its NATO partner forces. Rund and his team coordinated with exercise leaders to get the AKARNG crew involved and to be part of the next era of warfighting in the Arctic as the SOCNORTH team work to establish medical requirements for operations in arctic or extreme cold environments.

“It’s fantastic being able to work with team leadership like Doc Rund and see the work that he’s put in and the people he’s surrounded himself with to accomplish this,” Berg said. “He talked about this training evolution and told us he sees us having an integral part in it. It’s the way of the future and a good test of expanding our horizons and opportunities for what we can achieve together.”

Story by Vanessa Schell

Efforts to increase U.S. Army warfighter capability and repair efficiency in theater were strengthened with the recent inception of an aviation engine repair shop.

Over a year ago, an aviation logistics officer with the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Codi Walker, brought forth a plan for an expeditionary engine shop in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

This plan was pitched to the 1st TSC commander, Maj. Gen. Eric Shirley, by the Aviation Field Maintenance Directorate at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The plan was approved and would proceed as a three-phase project.

Helming the project is the 1100th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group, a National Guard unit from Edgewood, Maryland, and the 1st TSC forward aviation pillar in theater.

The 1100th worked directly with Department of the Army civilians in Logistics Readiness Center-Alpha, Ainsley Vickers, LRC-A CENTCOM chief, and Valkeith Williams, logistics management specialist.

Col. Jeremy Chiglo, commander, 1100th TASMG, moved from Alabama to Maryland to serve as the Maryland State Aviation Officer, shortly before the unit deployed overseas. He brought with him three Soldiers from Alabama, who also deployed.

“The National Guard has five TASMGs that support both the U.S. Aviation Missile Command and the 1st TSC. The TASMGs rotate through theater every 9 months and all TASMGs share this responsibility,” said Chiglo.

In addition to the Maryland TASMG, there are four throughout the continental U.S.; the 1106th from California, the 1107th from Missouri, 1108th from Mississippi, and the 1109th from Connecticut.

“We’ve been here about four months,” continued Chiglo. “When we first arrived, the engine shop had been conceptualized, there was a plan passed down to us from our predecessors, the 1108th. LRC-A and Chief Walker had secured the budget, as well as the containers.”

The containers are military-owned expandable containers similar to a shipping container, were already present in theater and roughly placed before the 1100th TASMG took command. These containers were acquired and sent by AFMD and came equipped with basic tools for engine repair.

Chiglo shared that, within the force structure of the TASMG, the Soldiers focus on routine and unscheduled aviation maintenance, and the bulk of the engine repair is done by contractors with Amentum, an aviation maintenance company, who are overseen by the DA civilians in LRC-A.

The 1100th were tasked to stand up the shop in four or five months, and they were able to complete it in half the time. “My biggest worry were the technical experts,” said Chiglo. “Once LRC-A secured the Amentum contractors for us, we were able to get the containers lined up and get power to the shop. It took us about a month just to procure the necessary parts.”

The first phase of the project was finalized with the engine shop’s inaugural ribbon-cutting, October 31, 2024. The shop is currently housed in two adjacent SPAMS and services two helicopter engines, the T-701, which seamlessly fits both the AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk, and a T-55, for the CH-47 Chinook.

The next two phases include moving to a larger hard structure and acquiring a Modernized Flexible Engine Diagnostic System, a large machine capable of fully testing and verifying engines.

Chiglo explained that although theoretically an engine could be tested and verified by hanging it back on the aircraft, the risk of compromising the safety and readiness of warfighters is too high.

“What we’re doing now is bridging the gap. The contractors will repair the engine, then, as a temporary measure, it will be routed to the Theater Aviation Sustainment Management – OCONUS (Outside Continental U.S.), for a final test run of the engine.”

An MFEDS is not always required to repair an engine back to full functionality, but Chiglo clarified that it could still save valuable time up front by diagnosing the problems. Without an MFEDS, technicians must dismantle an engine for diagnosis before they can begin the repairs, a process that is both timely and costly.

Since opening, the engine shop has already repaired a T-55, which did not require an MFEDS, and has returned it to its aviation unit. The shop is currently awaiting the final part for the cold section of a T-701, before the engine will be sent for testing on the TASM-O’s MFEDS.

“Our goal is to have everything we need here in theater – to fix engines, test them, and return them, while also being fiscally responsible,” concluded Chiglo.

The engine shop ultimately aims to expedite the repair and return of fully functional engines to the warfighter and aviation units, while saving the Department of Defense funds by reducing the expenditure of repair, maintenance, and new equipment.

As a new cornerstone of the Army’s aviation maintenance efforts, the shop plays a crucial role in ensuring readiness of Army aviation capabilities in theater.

Your AAAA National Executive Group, plus Executive Director, Mr. Bill Harris, have just returned from the annual Aviation Leaders Conference at Fort Novosel, AL.

Many thanks to our great Branch Chief, MG Clair Gill, for including the Aviation ‘Gray Beard’ cohort in this really impactful gathering of our Army Aviation leadership teams from all components and organizations. It truly is an invaluable opportunity to engage with our Army and Aviation leaders to understand the current state of the Branch, and importantly the vision for the future. AAAA exists to support the Army Aviation Soldier and family, and the broader Army Aviation community, and it is vital to understand the Branch’s activities, initiatives, and challenges so we can best shape your Association’s efforts, events, and advocacy on behalf of Army Aviation.

Another important feature of the Leaders Conference is the Annual Awards Dinner conducted at the Army Aviation Museum… a timely opportunity to present AAAA “Functional” awards to our outstanding and deserving Aviation Soldiers in the areas of Air Traffic Control, Medicine, Air Sea Rescue and Training, done in conjunction with the LTG Ellis D. Parker ‘Organizational’ awards presented by the Branch Chief. We featured the AAAA Functional award winners in the January issue and will feature the Parker awards in the March issue. It is always such an honor and pleasure to meet and visit with the awardees and their families the evening before the Annual Awards Dinner, at a private awardee dinner we host each year at AAAA Past President BG Rod Wolfe’s country club in Enterprise. There is no doubt that the strength of our Army and Army Aviation is embodied in those soldiers and their families!

Of note, the week prior to the Aviation Conference, our Executive Director and Deputy Director, Bill Harris and Art Agnew, hosted a joint dinner meeting for the boards of the Central Florida Chapter of Orlando (and thanks to our AAAA Vice President for Chapter Activities, Jan Drabczuk) and the Embry Riddle Chapter of Daytona Beach, FL. Bill and Art report out that it was a dynamic discussion ranging from the ROTC Cadets view of recruiting challenges among their peers to emphasis on the “Sacred Trust” between the Aviation Branch and the Troops on the ground. The meeting featured a diverse breadth of experience and perspectives – from combat veterans to ROTC Cadets, civilian industry executives representing aviation simulation and AI capabilities and even a couple of Marines thrown in for good measure. Many actions fell out of the meeting, and we look forward to using these two Chapters (that represent differing demographics) as a sounding board for AAAA initiatives going forward.

Finally, hopefully by now you have made your plans to join us at the AAAA Annual Summit May 14 -16, 2025 at the Gaylord Opryland, Nashville TN. Currently, registrations, exhibit sales, and all other metrics are at really strong levels. The agenda and program(s) are being finalized with our Aviation Branch leadership, and it is certainly shaping up to be another world-class Summit. See you there!

MG Walt Davis, U.S. Army Retired
36th President, AAAA
walt.davis@quad-a.org

Story by Kelly Morris

FORT NOVOSEL, Ala.–The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence announced the winners of the 2024 Lt. Gen. Ellis D. Parker Awards Jan. 29, 2025.

The multi-component Department of the Army level awards, which recognize excellence at the battalion level, were presented during the annual Aviation Senior Leader Forum here.

The award’s namesake is a former Army Aviation branch chief. A true Army Aviation pioneer, Parker provided the vision, the masterful leadership, and the commitment necessary to consolidate and modernize Army Aviation during its formative years.

Parker assumed command shortly after the branch’s formation, and skillfully led a fledgling branch into its rightful place within the Army. As commanding general, Parker consolidated and modernized Army Aviation hardware, doctrine, training and logistics, making possible the Army’s transition from the Cobra helicopter to the Apache.

For the award, Aviation battalions are nominated annually across four categories—Combat Support, Table of Distribution and Allowances, Combat Service Support, and Combat–and are initially boarded against category peers.

They undergo an evaluation against four primary criteria, including safety, leadership, training and maintenance. The winners then compete for the top aviation battalion of the year award.

The 2024 Lt. Gen. Ellis D. Parker Award winners are:
• The Combat Support category, and overall Top Aviation Battalion of the Year winner is 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment (GSAB),12th Combat Aviation Brigade, V Corps, United States Army Europe.
• The Table of Distribution and Allowances category winner is Special Operations Aviation Training Battalion, U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.
• The Combat Service Support category winner is 404th Aviation Support Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.
• The Combat category winner is 3rd battalion,160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, AVCOE and Fort Novosel commanding general, who serves as the U.S. Army Aviation branch chief, lauded the individuals and organizations who have excelled across the Army Aviation enterprise.

“These exemplars embody the culture of what we all emulate and champion to make our Army the decisive land force to defeat tyranny from oppressors,” Gill said.

“It’s on all of us to hone that warfighting culture in our branch. We owe it to our Soldiers to train them to be resilient, proficient, unrelenting and ready to fight on today’s battlefield.”

“I want to congratulate the award recipients and reaffirm that the actions that earned you this recognition are the mettle that enables Army Aviation to remain the decisive element of our combined arms team, ready to meet tomorrow’s challenges, today,” he said.

For more information about Lt. Gen. Ellis D. Parker and the awards process visit https://home.army.mil/novosel/usaace/edpaward .

Story by Kelly Morris

FORT NOVOSEL, Ala.–Aviation leaders across all Army components gathered at the home of Army Aviation at Fort Novosel, Ala., to focus on current and future operations, training and leader development Jan. 28-30.

With a theme of “Army Aviation–Ready to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges Today,” the event included a three-day lineup of guest speakers and breakout working group sessions.

Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, Army Aviation branch chief, said Army aviation must prepare to defeat an enemy that is evolving at the rapid pace of technology and also maintain the readiness to be able to “fight and win tonight.”

“We have to have a sense of urgency and purpose about our collective readiness,” Gill said. “We have to adapt to the challenges of the future, while we are tethered to the reality of the here and now.”

History repeats itself, and Gill said the branch has been here before:

“We’ve seen belligerent nations and non-state actors, we’ve weathered changing administrations and inconsistent funding, and we’ve pushed through recruiting challenges as the economy has ebbed and flowed,” he said.

“So we find ourselves in another interwar period again. Once again our Army is in transition–transformation, in fact. We have clear guidance from our leadership to enhance warfighting readiness, deliver combat ready formations, transform at scale/pace, and continue to foster our profession of arms” as the Army shifts its focus to Large Scale Combat Operations, he explained.

Key topics included the changing nature of modern warfare, including drones, human-machine integration, additive manufacturing, machine learning, autonomous systems, AI-enabled maintenance conditions, resilient networks, rotorcraft with an open architecture and modularity.

“Our ‘Big Five’ is rapidly being fielded across the entirety of our Army right now,” he said. “The Future Long Range Assault Aircraft is bringing a generational leap forward in range and speed we haven’t seen in our lifetime. Army Aviation is the proponent for integrating UAS at every echelon while also serving as the trail boss for synchronizing airspace management in a complex operating environment.”

Dependence on legacy systems cannot be neglected though.

“We will always fight with what we have,” he said.

This makes the Army’s partnership with industry even more vital.

“Not only must our industry partners provide the technology for the future, they also must ensure that our legacy systems are sustained and can keep pace to fight and win today,” he said.

He also said the leaders at the event shared the same passion “for how we leverage the talent that emulates from training right here on Fort Novosel, and graduates to our warfighting formations to create war-winning advantage for our Army and the Joint Force.”

In his update about the state of the branch, Gill covered topics including flight school, unit aircrew experience, aviation and transformation, unmanned aviation, airspace, safety trends, professional military discourse and aviation warfighter culture.

Gen. Gary M. Brito, who commands U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, greeted industry partners, legacy leaders, experts and Army aviation leaders, and spoke about TRADOC’s ongoing efforts to help brigade commanders in the field to build warfighting readiness as they continue to focus on transformation.

“Aviation has always been extremely relevant,” he said. “I sense it’s going to be even more relevant as we transition…and maintain overmatch in LSCO and MDO. Fires, sensor to shooter, support to casualty evacuation, deliver of our troops, long range fires, you name it. That’s no different than what we’ve done before, but it speaks to the relevance (as we transform) the types of aircraft and the way we train.”

This includes adapting Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training, to ensure they are learning what they need in the future, which includes understanding what it means to be a member of a cohesive team and squad.

As to the speed of institutional transformation to accommodate commanders’ warfighting readiness, Brito said it’s not perfect but it will enable commanders to train their forces and meet the warfighting demands that the Chief of Staff of the Army has laid out in his Army priorities.

Participants heard from Army aviation branch senior leaders and experts, the director of Army Aviation, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-3/5/7; Program Executive Office for Aviation; Army Futures Command including the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team; U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center; and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command.

The forum included multiple scheduled breakout working group sessions focused on a variety of topics including mission command, extending operational reach, combat aviation brigade as division reconnaissance, and aviation sustainment.

Gill said the feedback from the working group sessions will feed into how he envisions the future of the branch.

Story by Christopher Hurd

WASHINGTON — Almost seven years into his Army aviation career and Capt. Phillip C. Fluke, AH-64 Apache pilot, was looking for a new assignment last year following his time with the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade.

“I really wanted something different, intellectually challenging and stimulating,” he said.

He said his unit leadership at the 601st Aviation Support Battalion, thought he would be a good candidate to support the Harding Project, a chief of staff of the Army initiative started in 2023 to renew the service’s professional publications.

The opportunity, a Harding Fellowship, would allow Fluke to serve as an editor for Aviation Digest and make an impact by spreading Soldiers’ ideas in the aviation community.

“I think some people [in the Army] think they don’t have a way of making their voice heard about topics that impact them professionally,” he explained. The journals are a way of offering solutions and making others aware of new tactics and technologies that may make their jobs easier.

The Army selected Fluke and several other Soldiers as the first group of Harding Fellows. Each is assigned to a center of excellence, serving as editor on their respective branch journals for two years.

There are 17 different publications: Special Warfare, Army Sustainment, Military Police, Engineer, Chemical, Infantry, Air Defense Artillery, Armor, Field Artillery, Association of Army Dentistry, U.S. Army Chaplain Corps Journal, Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, Applied Language Learning, The Army Lawyer, The Medical Journal, Army Communicator and Aviation Digest.

Shortly after arriving at the Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Novosel, Alabama, last summer, Fluke joined his fellow editors for a job training workshop in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The group worked on learning their new roles.

In the months that followed, the Soldiers routinely held group discussions with the Harding Project director and the deputy director of the Army University Press to get a better understanding of how to move the modernization project forward.

“For the first cohort, it’s been more of a learn-as-you-go,” Fluke said. “I enjoy the job; it’s a lot of problem-solving you wouldn’t normally encounter in the day-to-day force.”

Those problems include increasing readership of the journals and encouraging Soldiers, Army civilians, and contractors to contribute by writing and submitting their ideas for articles.

“Their thoughts, perspectives, and ideas don’t do a lot of good if no one has access to them,” he said. “By contributing, hopefully, we can move the knowledge base across the Army forward.”

To start that push, the Army moved each journal online to a centralized website called Line of Departure. Here, people from across the service have access to articles from every branch publication.

The Harding Project also started a noncommissioned officer journal in October called Muddy Boots and is working on podcasts and audio articles. These changes are part of the project’s modernization initiative to bring the journals into the future and create a tool for information sharing amongst Army personnel.

“I hope by the time I leave this assignment the Aviation Digest serves as the primary outlet for discussing important topics,” Fluke said. “I also want the community to weigh in, so we can figure out problems together and make the digest a vehicle for change in the Army aviation branch.”

Anyone wishing to submit an article can contact the editor for their respective branch journal. Their information is available on the journal’s Line of Departure website.

Last month, the Army announced the selection of the second group of Harding Fellows. They will be the first cohort to attend a year-long accelerated master’s degree program for journalism and mass communications at the University of Kansas before serving as editors-in-chief for their branch journals.

Story by Brooke Nevins

FORT CARSON, Colo. — In a recent exercise involving U.S. Army Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s 1st Space Brigade, 4th Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Space Command demonstrated rapid deployment of personnel and tactical space systems to provide close space support on the battlefield.

Soldiers with 18th Space Control Company, 1st Space Battalion, conducted the joint air assault and medevac training at Fort Carson on Jan. 31 to validate expeditionary deployment and delivery methods of Army space forces and equipment. Capt. Anthony Portuesi, 18th Space Company officer-in-charge, organized and led the exercise.

The 18th Space Control Company supports Army and joint force commanders by deploying platoons and crews into positions of advantage to seize and retain key terrain in the electromagnetic spectrum. These platoons deploy on land to monitor friendly satellite communications and report on sources of electromagnetic interference.

More than two dozen Soldiers and two MARFORSPACE Marines practiced loading and unloading a CH-47 Chinook helicopter before being flown to a landing zone near compound buildings, where they received lessons on area reconnaissance. Following the transport of troops, a second Chinook carried a small form factor kit, the tactical vehicle used to move the kit, and its crew to the landing zone.

“As a space control company, we are exercising our proficiency to conduct rapid deployment into a theater with our space-enabled assets,” said Capt. Daniel McGee, 18th Space Control Company. “It’s important for our space operators to understand the bigger picture in how Army Space contributes to the maneuver force. We are not directly supporting maneuver battalions or brigades, but really several corps within a field Army or a larger element in the corps’ close and deep fight. This air assault mainly focused on our ability to conduct an area reconnaissance, electromagnetic reconnaissance and forward observation, and a site survey for follow-on space control operations.”

Though not the first time 18th Space Control Company has partnered with 4th Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade – the two units conducted an air assault and medevac training using UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in May 2024 – it was the company’s first exercise in deploying its tactical vehicle and small form factor system via rotary-wing assets.

Such training is an example of efforts to further integrate space capabilities with more expeditionary special operations forces units, joint forces like MARFORSPACE, or adjacent aviation units within the 4th Infantry Division on Fort Carson to enhance those partnerships’ ability to enable movement and maneuver of the joint force and allow space Soldiers deeper physical access into austere operating environments.

“This was my first training mission at the company,” Spc. Ireshia Paige said. “It was interesting working with service members of different branches and mission sets in a tactical environment. I was tasked with calling in a nine line to retrieve an urgent casualty, which was made to feel accurate to a real-life scenario.”

Spc. Fernando Barroso said the hands-on training in safely boarding and exiting aircraft, securing a casualty in a stretcher to prepare for air evacuation and properly hoisting the casualty to the Black Hawk “instilled a strong sense of confidence” in his operational capabilities.

“Beyond enhancing my technical proficiency, this training underscored the vital importance of teamwork, precision, and decisive action in high-pressure environments,” Barroso said. “As a future sergeant, I will leverage these capabilities to train and mentor the next generation of Soldiers, ensuring they are well-prepared for air assault operations. By passing on these lessons, I will contribute to the effectiveness of individual Soldiers and strengthen the overall readiness of the unit. This training has not only enhanced my confidence but has also deepened my motivation to continue developing as a Soldier.”