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 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...
Learn MoreThe Power of Data Analytics in Aviation Sustainment
Special Operations / By CW4 Jason Slusse: How can technology and data analytics improve mission readiness and reduce risk? We are entering an era where predictive data analytics, through Artificial Intelligence (AI), can improve Aviation sustainment. When it comes to data analytics, an organization cannot expect to have valuable, visualized information from their data without doing some work up front. ALL GRAPHICS COURTESY U.S. ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS AVIATION COMMAND What we see in the data analytics dashboards are just the “tip of the iceberg” in the process and it only depicts the visualization piece of this puzzle. Identifying data sources,...
Learn MoreAllergic Rhinitis
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By CPT (Dr.) Joseph R. Adams and Dr. Steven D. Harris: Q: My allergies have been acting up lately. I’ve been experiencing nasal congestion, runny nose, cough, sneezing, and itchy eyes. I also feel fatigued and easily irritated. Should I be concerned? FS: This is a classic description of allergic rhinitis. Common symptoms include episodes of sneezing, runny nose, congestion, itchy/watery eyes, cough, irritability, and fatigue. While this is a very common condition affecting anywhere from 10% to 30% of Americans, it can lead to significant impairment in aviators. Allergic rhinitis can be caused by...
Learn MoreArmy Special Operations Aviation – Seeking Innovators
By CW5 David F. Greenwood: Empowering innovation is the hallmark of Special Operations Forces (SOF). This fact is proven time and time again in the history of SOF and Army Special Operations Aviation (ARSOA). A quick review of our past is ripe with examples. The GenesisThe need for dedicated and specially trained Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) aviation support was identified because of the failed rescue attempt of American hostages during Operation EAGLE CLAW. The subsequent effort to improve joint and special operations warfare led to the formation of Task Forces 158 and 160, comprised of aviation companies from the...
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