Current Issue Articles
Carolina Thunder
News Spotlight / By SGT Leticia Samuels: The second annual Carolina Thunder exercise, a multi-component joint live fire event, exploded onto training sites across North Carolina July 31st through August 2nd. The exercise, consisting of nearly 850 Soldiers and Airmen, with a heavy emphasis on attack and assault aviation operations also including artillery, airborne and insertion events, provided units with opportunities for complex planning and execution of maneuver and lethal fires. An AH-64 Apache assigned to the 1-130th ARB NC ARNG departs for a fire mission during the second annual Carolina Thunder multi-state live fire training exercise hosted by the...
Learn MorePockets of Light
AAAA Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: I am always excited when our readers contact me and are willing to share their stories. The following is a recent submission from Lorie Hanna who said, Supporting her husband in uniform is a privilege, raising a patriotic thankful family is her joy, and serving our military families on the home front is her greatest honor. I hope you will enjoy Lorie’s article as much as I did. —Judy As the spouse of an Army aviator, I may be more prone to noticing the sky than the average wife. I pay attention to the...
Learn MorePM Air Traffic Control
Air Traffic Services / By Mr. John B. Traylor: While flying across the nation to your vacation or business location, have you considered the vast network of air traffic controllers that ensures your flight departs and arrives safely? The same air traffic control (ATC) is needed for Army aviation aircraft, and Army air traffic controllers must have the best systems available to ensure that all Army Aviation operations take off and return safely. The AN/TPN-31 Air Traffic Navigation, Integration, Coordination System (ATNAVICS) at FOB Wolverine, Afghanistan./PM ATC COURTESY PHOTO Army ATC is a critical enabler to all Aviation operations, providing...
Learn More3-58th Aviation Regiment
Air Traffic Services / By MAJ Archie L. Smith: With U.S. Army Europe’s (USAREUR) ongoing force structure transformation and the onset of Aviation Restructure Initiative (ARI), one would think executing a unit relocation from Europe back to the U.S. would be a simple operation. This operation would be all the easier, considering the unit has an authorized Modified Table of Organization & Equipment (MTOE) strength of only 71 personnel. However when the 3rd Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment (an airfield operations battalion) received orders to execute a unit relocation from Illesheim, Germany to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, it was anything but...
Learn MoreSomething Different in Advanced Individual Training
Unmanned Aircraft Systems / By LTC Daniel L. Isabell and CPT Justin M. Kuhlmann: Experience is often what separates the victor from the vanquished. As such, coordinating and resourcing realistic training that best replicates the adversities of combat will always be one of the cardinal objectives of any commander. The current situations in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere show us that the modern battlefield remains as dynamic and fast paced as always. Inexperienced or poorly trained armies have a tendency to approach combat reactively, practically ceding the position of relative advantage to their opponents. On the other hand, challenging, realistic...
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