AAAA President, MG (Ret.) Walt Davis inducts Mr. Ralph Troisio into the Silver Honorable Order of St. Michael following his panel presentation at the Army Aviation Survivability Forum on Sep. 17, 2024. Ralph retired at the end of September after devoting his entire professional career of 38+ years as an Army Civilian/Science & Technology (S&T) Engineer in the field of Electronic Warfare, Aircraft Survivability Equipment/Platform Protection and Aviation Sensors. As a life-long member of AAAA, he has served as the “Future Work” Technology Panel Chairman for the forum since 2007. He has also contributed annually as author/co-author to the Army Aviation Magazine Aircraft Survivability issue since 2013. AAPI PHOTO BY ART AGNEW
It is great to be back into the rhythm of the events that showcase Army Aviation’s essential capabilities, and your Association’s contribution to enabling the pillars of Networking, Voice, Recognition and Support.
First was the Association of the United States Army Hot Topic on Aviation, which occurred in early September at AUSA Headquarters in Arlington VA. Bill Harris, our Executive Director, and I were invited to participate in this important event; I was honored to chair the opening panel on “Army Aviation in the Air-Ground Littoral of 2040,” while Bill introduced all the day’s speakers and panels. Our Branch Chief MG Clair Gill, BG Cain Baker, our Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team director, BG David Phillips, Program Executive Officer Aviation, GEN JD Thurman, Ret. (our AAAA Senior Executive Associates Chair), and COL Tom Von Eschenbach, Ret., Senior Vice President for Air and Space Systems, Parry Labs, were exceptional in their articulation of the criticality of Army Aviation capabilities and their contributions to the future fight. Our Branch is simply in great hands with not only our incredible Aviation General Officer Steering Group leaders, but also with our exceptional Industry Partner leaders that are so committed to the Branch.
At the end of September, we hosted the AAAA Army Aviation Survivability Forum in Huntsville. It was a dynamic event with great questions being raised for the speakers and panel from the many Aviation Mission Survivability Officers (AMSO) in attendance. A huge thanks to COL Brock Zimmerman, Project Manager Aircraft Survivability Equipment, and our Program Executive Officer for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, BG Ed Barker, whose support ensured the attendance and participation of unit AMSOs from all components for both the classified and unclassified Forum sessions. Industry feedback was also critical and reinforced how your AAAA is a vital enabler and platform for lateral discussions among the entire Aviation community to explore solutions that have a real-world impact for our force.
As always, a key highlight of the Forum was the recognition of our outstanding awardees both on stage and at the Awardee Dinner the night before the presentations. We are so fortunate to have these great Soldiers in our formations. See page 44 for photos and a more detailed wrap up of the event.
Finally, we will have held our Senior Executive Associates Dinner which occurs after the conclusion of the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Conference, in mid-October. This is the group of our retired, non-Aviation Flag Officers, who volunteer their time to help generate understanding of Army Aviation capabilities, priorities, and challenges outside of the Army Aviation community. We were fortunate indeed to have had Army Chief of Staff, GEN Randy George and the Aviation General Officer Steering Committee (A-GOSC) join us again this year at that dinner.
In support of our AAAA Support pillar, remember that the Scholarship Foundation’s application process is now open. See the website for application process details quad-a.org/scholarship. This incredible program grants over $600,000 each year to our Soldiers and Families for higher education. It is certainly one of our greatest AAAA membership benefits.
And remember, the Cribbins Readiness Conference is coming up in Huntsville, AL, in November and the Luther G. Jones Army Aviation Depot Forum in December in Corpus Christi, TX. We hope to see you there!
MG Walt Davis, U.S. Army Retired
36th President, AAAA
walt.davis@quad-a.org
