AAAA National President, MG (Ret.) Wally Golden, pauses for a Kodak moment with the presidents of the MacArthur, Mohawk and Empire Chapters, (left to right, respectively) MAJ Salvatore Garcia, COL Paul Bailie, and LTC Eric Fritz on Sep. 9, 2025, at the 3-142nd Assault Helicopter Battalion dining out. AAAA MacArthur Chapter Photo
AAAA is fast approaching our busiest period of the year. By the time you read this, we will have completed our annual Cribbins Symposium, almost be on top of Thanksgiving, be preparing for Christmas and the holidays, be coordinating the Army Best Drone Warfighter Competition at Huntsville, AL in February, and of course, be getting everything in order for our keystone event, the Summit in April.
The MacArthur Chapter hosted a spectacular Dining Out in September at the Long Island, NY Hyatt. I had the pleasure of joining the Chapter leadership of the MacArthur, Empire and Mohawk Chapters for a very memorable and well attended event. We always say that our 81 chapters are the “life blood” of AAAA. These visits always renew my passion for AAAA and emphasize how important our mission statement to Support the Army Aviation Soldier and Family truly is. My thanks to the Chapter President, MAJ Salvatore W. Garcia; Secretary, CW4 Timothy Scott Dahlen; Senior VP, MG Jack A. James; Treasurer, CPT Richard Siracusano; and Scholarship VP, CW5 James G. Freeman for their leadership, making this a truly great event, and making me feel welcome.
Dedication of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association Memorial Monument, honoring the thousands of aviators and crew members who served during the Vietnam War on Sept. 10 at Veterans Memorial Park, Fort Rucker, AL. Pictured (l to r) AAAA National President, MG (Ret.) Wally Golden; VHPA President, Jim Crigler; CW4 (Ret.) Dave Shepard, Friends of Army Aviation; former commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, GEN (Ret.) Doug Brown; and BG Ken Cole, deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. AAPI Photo by Bill Harris
Next, our Executive Director, Bill Harris, and I traveled to Fort Rucker to help celebrate the dedication of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) memorial at the Veterans Memorial Park outside the Army Aviation Museum on September 10, 2025. What a great ceremony this was with hundreds in attendance. The result of over two years of work by Past VHPA President, Art Jacobs, VHPA’s current President, Jim Crigler, did a masterful job MCing the event. Art was unable to attend due to a medical issue so Jim read Art’s opening remarks which could not have been more impactful, starting with… “Welcome home.”
The keynote speaker was GEN Doug Brown, former SOCOM commander and a Vietnam veteran himself. GEN Brown perfectly tied the past heroics of our Vietnam aviators and their incredible dedication, innovation and fearlessness with current developments in Army Aviation, including the integration of unmanned systems. There is no doubt we all stand on the shoulders of these great men who literally changed the course of modern warfare.
Speaking of modern warfare, AAAA continues to embrace the Army Chief of Staff’s vision of “Continuous Transformation” by doing everything we can to help support the process through our events and various platforms.
Our AAAA National Secretary, MG Todd Royar, is spearheading a major effort for AAAA on this front. Specifically, he has worked with the AAAA staff, the Army, and the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH) to coordinate the first Army Best Drone Warfighter Competition, February 17-19 in Huntsville, AL. The competition itself will take place at the 2,300 acre UAH drone range, and workshops will be conducted in the afternoon each day back at the headquarters hotel. We have already held two onsite visits and one IPR meeting with stakeholders and are pressing ahead to make sure this is a memorable and valuable experience for the Army and our Soldiers. More to follow as we refine the registration, housing, and Army team invites.
Finally, we have opened registration and housing for the April 15-17, 2026, AAAA Annual Summit in Nashville. Housing sold out in the Opryland Hotel in minutes but we do have a number of overflow hotels still available with plenty of capacity. Exhibits are almost sold out, and it looks like another great event with the Hall of Fame and closing Soldier Appreciation Dinner concert featuring Dylan Scott.
Hang on tight, AAAA is moving out smartly. Hope to see you soon at one or all of these events.
On behalf of Jo Ann, myself and the whole AAAA Team, we wish you all a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!
MG Wally Golden, U.S. Army Retired
37th President, AAAA
walter.golden@quad-a.org
