Current Issue Articles
Aviation Professional Development Goes Virtual at USMA
By COL Rich Melnyk and CPT Jonathan Lunde: The Black Knights chapter at West Point has a mission to support the selection and development of the future leaders of our branch. The cadets at West Point were already on Spring Break when the pandemic started to shut down functions across the country, so Academy leadership made the decision to leave the cadets at home and continue academics remotely. To avoid having a class of Aviators leave without the branch-specific professional development normally provided to graduating classes, the AAAA team, in conjunction with the branch accession representative went virtual. The U.S....
Learn MoreUncertain Times – Preparing for Future Operations
USASOAC Commander / By BG Allan M. Pepin: A year ago, nobody predicted the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. It reinforces the reality we will not know with certainty all the conditions impacting our future missions. Soldiers board a C-27J aircraft from the USASOC Flight Company, U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command (Airborne), at Fort Sam Houston, Texas in April 2020. The UFC used its unique C-27J capability to transport Soldiers from the Medical Center of Excellence to their next duty assignment. Flight crews from the UFC have conducted numerous controlled air movements to maintain readiness and reduce the potential spread...
Learn MoreThe Team
Army Aviation Branch Chief’s Corner / By MG David J. Francis: I am extremely proud of our Special Operations Aviation and the close working relationship that exists between them and our conventional Army Aviation forces. This relationship that developed over many years of shared lessons learned in training and combat, established a common understanding and trust between the two organizations. Special Operations Command Pacific units from Naval Special Warfare, 1SFG, 160th SOAR and 353rd SOG conducted Exercise Tempest Wind 2019 (TW19). TW19 involved tactical training with weapons, close-quarter combat, helicopter insertions, maritime boat operations, mission planning, communications, and development. / U.S. NAVY...
Learn MoreThe ARSOA and Conventional Army Aviation Team
President’s Cockpit / By MG Jeff Schloesser, U.S. Army Retired: Our focus for June is Army Special Operations Aviation – ARSOA. From the outside looking in, ARSOA may seem to be much, much different than conventional Army Aviation. Those of us who have served in both know that ARSOA and conventional Army Aviation are in fact complementary. A Soldier with the 601st Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, conducts routine maintenance on an AH-64 Apache helicopter on May 6, 2020, at Fort Riley, KS. Soldiers with the CAB continue to support mission-readiness while simultaneously preventing the spread of...
Learn MoreMaking COVID-19 More Bearable!
Family Forum / By Judy Konitzer, MG (Ret.) Jeff & Patty Schlosser, Park City, UT: We decided to adopt a puppy since we are home and not traveling!!!! He keeps us very busy and laughing!! Also, I never thought I would clean so much. Although our ski season was cut short, we continue to go snowshoeing and hiking in the great outdoors—social distancing at its best! SGT Ted E. Bear, a Fort Rucker landmark, wears his AER inspired face mask while he tallies progress made in raising funds for this year’s AER campaign – Stop the Spread / PHOTO BY...
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