Current Issue Articles
General and Mrs. Martin E. Dempsey’s Interview with High School Students
AAAA Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer: I was pleasantly surprised to be able to watch a live telecast from The Military Child Education Coalition’s (MCEC) 17th Training Seminar in Washington, DC on July 30-31. It featured a question and answer period with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Army General Martin E. Dempsey, his wife Deanie, and 5 high school students. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman GEN Martin Dempsey and his wife Deanie sing traditional Irish folk songs to and with military children (left to right) 15-year old, Raul Rosales IV from San Antonio, TX, 16-year old...
Learn MoreAircraft Survivability Trends
AMRDEC Tech Talk / By Mr. Frank McIngvale: Aircraft combat survivability relies on many factors such as threat avoidance, defensive measures, hardening of aircraft structures and components, redundant systems and repairable systems. Put simply, the goal is avoid the threats that you can avoid (tactics, situational awareness), defeat the threats you cannot avoid (countermeasures), and survive the threats you cannot defeat (hardening, redundancy, reparability). Aircraft survivability has been a formal design discipline since the 1970s, but has gained increased attention in the past decade with the emergence of more advanced threats to our aircraft. UH-60 Black Hawk dispensing countermeasures. /...
Learn MoreAdvanced Composite Training
128th Aviation Brigade / By CPT Tad Lefler and Mr. Glenn Johnson: The use of composites began early in aviation history when the Wright Brothers used muslin, a sturdy woven cotton cloth, and sealant to fabricate flight control surfaces. Composites are still used in aviation today, though they are a bit more advanced. 15G students applying heat and vacuum to an advanced composite repair. / 128th AVN BDE COURTESY PHOTOS The term Advanced Composites is considered by the industry as fabric with fibers of higher strength than that of fiberglass, such as carbon and Kevlar®. These fibers, combined with high...
Learn MoreBehind the Curtain…
Reserve Component Aviation / By COL J. Ray Davis: Greetings again from your Army National Guard (ARNG). It’s been a few months since I last wrote; I hope your summer was safe, enjoyable, and productive. 37 Black Hawk helicopters from 12th Cbt. Avn. Bde. arrive at Port Charleston, South Carolina, from Germany on Jul. 16, 2015./ U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD PHOTOS We’re all familiar with the exciting, high-profile, deployments and training events that dominate our calendars. But sometimes what goes on “behind the curtain” is just as impressive, if a bit less heart-pounding. Such an event recently occurred in Charleston,...
Learn MoreAccident Trends
Combat Readiness Center / By LTC James T. Donovan: Army Aviation units continue to do an outstanding job of mitigating risk to acceptable levels, thereby conducting missions safely in complex environments both at home and across the globe. Today’s aviation force is the most seasoned, dedicated and capable in our Army’s history, and without question the safest. Yet, we must ask ourselves, are we doing enough to proactively prevent the next accident? CH-47F on a low illumination NVG training flight contacted a sand dune during a dust landing approach. / USACRC courtesy photo Safety metrics are notoriously difficult to quantify,...
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