Current Issue Articles
Army Aviation Enterprise Sustainment Strategy
Aviation Maintenance / By COL K. Todd Royar and Mr. Thomas J. Barthel:There is a famous quote from writer Lewis Carroll, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” The Army aviation enterprise exists in an environment of constant change and perpetual motion. The methodologies used in developing, acquiring, maintaining and sustaining increasingly more complex aviation systems and the requirements to support those systems are numerous and often duplicative. Who decides their overall accountability or adherence to a common aviation sustainment goal, with specific objectives that make the entire aviation enterprise more efficient and...
Learn MoreUnified Action – Enabling Readiness at the Point of Need
Aviation Maintenance / By Mr. William P. Marriott and Mr. David L. Ward: In February 2016, in an effort to better enable unity of command, and provide improved support for our Warfighters, the Army Materiel Command (AMC) directed a major reorganization initiative. Published as OPORDER 16-189, AMC aligned the research, development, and engineering centers (RDECs) and contracting centers under the operational control (OPCON) of their associated life cycle management commands (AMCOM, CECOM and TACOM). For AMCOM, this meant that the Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) and the Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal (ACC-R) fell under...
Learn MoreSustaining Army Aviation in the Future: Readiness in a Complex World
Aviation Maintenance / By COL Shawn T. Prickett and Mr. Tod L. Glidewell: Army Aviation is deployed world-wide with simultaneous missions on several continents in support of Joint Forces. To win, Army Aviation forces must provide the commander with multiple options, integrate the efforts of multiple partners, and operate across multiple domains to provide solutions while presenting our enemies and adversaries with multiple dilemmas. As we seek to comprehend the environment of the Army Operating Concept (AOC), we must remain cognizant of what our leaders have challenged us to accomplish. That is, “to focus on big questions and not focus...
Learn MoreTobacco Cessation
Ask the Flight Surgeon / By MAJ Sonya Horwell, M.D: Q: Doc, I want to stop smoking. What resources are available? Can I use any medications and still remain on flight status? FS: You are making the right choice. More than 400,000 deaths in the United States are attributed to cigarette smoking every year. Studies have shown associations between smoking and coronary heart disease, lung disease, peptic ulcer disease, impotence, and pregnancy complications. It also has been shown to increase your risk of developing certain cancers within the lungs, head, neck, esophagus, pancreas, and bladder. In addition, smoking accelerates skin...
Learn MoreLiaison Engineers
Tech Talk / By Mr. Clarence Hitchings and Mr. Miguel Sanchez: You’re a maintainer performing a scheduled maintenance inspection on your UH-60M Black Hawk and you notice one of the main rotor blades has a small puncture on the upper honeycomb surface. You consult the current technical manual for this aircraft and to your surprise there is no repair for this area. Your production control and quality control come to the same conclusion so you ask your AMCOM Logistics Assistance Representative (LAR) who agrees with your assessment and tells you to contact your Liaison Engineer (LE). Liaison Engineers (LE) are...
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