Current Issue Articles
Lessons 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...
Learn MoreThe Bedrock of Army Aviation
128th Aviation Brigade Instructors / By CPT Joseph R. Snoke and SSG Owen M. Cunningham: Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 210th Aviation Regiment, 128th Aviation Brigade provides world class CH-47 Chinook maintenance training utilizing state-of-the-art training devices, classrooms, and equipment. When Advanced Individual Training (AIT) Soldiers pass through the doors for the 17 week 15U10 training course, they will be taught fundamental maintenance procedures to prepare them for the responsibilities of their first assignment. They will receive training on how to navigate through the electronic technical manuals, how to use interactive software to demonstrate maintenance tasks, and how to use Cargo...
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