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October 31, 2020

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ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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October 31, 2020

36

Contents
October 31, 2020, Vol. 69, No. 1 0

18

TO THE FIELD
10

Army Aviation Branch Chief's Corner
By MG David J. Francis

14

AMCOM Commander Update
By MG K. Todd Royar

18

Aviation Branch Maintenance Ofﬁcer Update
By CW5 Michael D. Cavaco

22

AMCOM Command Sergeant Major Update
By CSM Mike Dove

26

Combat Readiness Center Update
By COL Ronald L. Ells

28

Reserve Component Aviation Update
CPT Carlo Aragoncillo

30

128th Aviation Brigade Update
By SFC Christopher N. Wilmot

32

AMRDEC Tech Talk
By Mr. Phuc Nguyen

34

Ask the Flight Surgeon
By CPT (Dr.) Gurdeep Buttar

26

22

SPECIAL FOCUS — Aviation Sustainment
36

Army Aviation Policy for Advanced Manufacturing
By Ms. Cassandra Moore

SPECIAL FOCUS — Aviation Support
38

Aviation Mission Systems and Architecture (AMSA) –Continuing to Evolve
By COL Johnathan Frasier

SPECIAL FOCUS - Aviation Soldier Support
44

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

44

Product Manager Air Warrior 2020: Update to the Field
By LTC Bryan Bogardus

3

October 31, 2020

Contents
October 31, 2020, Vol. 69, No. 1 0

54

SPECIAL FOCUS – Aviation Survivability
50

Project Manager Aircraft Survivability Equipment Update
By COL Kevin S. Chaney

54

Survivability: Army Aviation Tactics within Strategy
By CW5 Casey W. Peterson

58

Survivability – Outlook for Today and Tomorrow from the
Perspective of Aviation Survivability Development and Tactics
By CW3 Paul Olson

62

Always On: ARAT’s “Sharp Axe” Supports Army Mission
Readiness Through a Year of Challenges
By Mr. Eric Bowes, Mr. Brian McFadden and Mr. LaMarr Hill

66

S&T Advancements in Threat Detection
By Mr. Ralph Troisio, Dr. Frances Bodrucki, Mr. Thomas Z.
Provencher and Mr. Paul Restine58

SPECIAL FOCUS – AAAA Awards
68

2020 AAAA National Functional Award Winners

FROM THE FIELD
72

70

Army Capability Manager for Reconnaissance and Attack
Changes Charter, Continues Mission
By COL Ryan K Welch

72

Army Aviation and the Need for Standardization of Electronic
Flight Bags
By CPT Robert Wright

DEPARTMENTS

78

80

AAAA NEWSAAAA President’s Cockpit.......................................................................................................8
AAAA VP Chapter Affairs ...................................................................................................... 76
Chapter News OSMs.......................................................................................................... 77
AAAA VP Membership .......................................................................................................... 78
New Members ...................................................................................................................... 79
AAAA Family Forum ................................................................................................................80
AAAA Legislative Report .......................................................................................................82
AAAA Scholarship Foundation...........................................................................................85
ARMY AVIATION COMMUNITY NEWS
Advertisers Index .....................................................................................................................83
Art’s Attic ......................................................................................................................................90
Brieﬁngs ..........................................................................................................................................6
Enlisted Soldier Spotlight ......................................................................................................24
Hall of Fame .................................................................................................................................91
Historical Perspective ............................................................................................................ 74
Industry News............................................................................................................................83
People on the Move ...............................................................................................................86
Spotlight ........................................................................................................................................81

ARMY AVIATION is the ofﬁcial journal of the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA). The views expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors, not the Department of Defense or
its elements. The content does not necessarily reﬂect the ofﬁcial U.S. Army position nor the position of the AAAA or the staff of Army Aviation Publications, Inc., (AAPI). Title Reg® in U.S. Patent ofﬁce.
Registration Number 1,533,053. SUBSCRIPTION DATA: ARMY AVIATION (ISSN 0004-248X) is published monthly, except May and September by AAPI, 593 Main Street, Monroe, CT 06468-2806.
Tel: (203) 268-2450, FAX: (203) 268-5870, E-Mail: aaaa@quad-a.org. Army Aviation Magazine E-Mail: magazine@quad-a.org. Website: http://www.quad-a.org. Subscription rates for non-AAAA
members: $30, one year; $58, two years; add $10 per year for foreign addresses other than military APOs. Single copy price: $4.00. ADVERTISING: Display and classiﬁed advertising rates are listed in
SRDS Business Publications, Classiﬁcation 90. POSTMASTER: Periodicals postage paid at Monroe, CT and other ofﬁces. Send address changes to AAPI, 593 Main Street, Monroe, CT 06468-2806.

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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October 31, 2020

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ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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October 31, 2020

Brieﬁngs
POTUS Awards DFC to
CAARNG Crews

Editor / CW4 (Ret.) Joseph L. Pisano Sr.
editor@quad-a.org

Director of Design & Production
Anne H. Ewing
magazine@quad-a.org
Web Edition / Trudy Hodenﬁeld
trudy@quad-a.org

President Trump poses with members of the
California Army National Guard, Sept. 14,
2020, at the Cal Fire Hangar at the Sacramento
McClellan Airport prior to presenting them with
the Distinguished Flying Cross for their heroic
rescue of over 240 campers trapped by the
Creek Fire starting the evening of September 5
into September 6. Pictured behind the President
are (left to right): MG Matthew Beevers, Deputy
Adjutant General, California; WO1 Ge Xiong,
CW2 Irvin Hernandez, and CW5 Kipp Goding– the crew of the UH-60M Black Hawk from
Fresno; and CW5 Joe Rosamond, CW2 Brady
Hlebain, SGT Cameron Powell, and SGT George
Esquivel the crew of the CH-47 Chinook, from
Stockton. For more information and photos see
the Army Aviation Spotlight feature on page 81
of this issue. Well done and congratulations toeach of these citizen warriors.

Contributing Editor / Mark Albertson
mark@quad-a.org
Family Forum Editor / Judy Konitzer
judy@quad-a.org
Advertising Director / Robert C. Lachowski
bob@quad-a.org
Advertising Manager / Erika Burgess
erika@quad-a.org
Marketing Director / Jennifer Chittem
jenn@quad-a.org
Social Media Manager / Chelsea Jarvis
chelsea@quad-a.org
Circulation Department
Deb Cavallaro
Debbie Coley
Joanne Hansrote
Jackie Harris
Elisabeth Mansson
Sue Stokes

Editorial Address
593 Main Street, Monroe, CT 06468-2806
Tel: (203) 268-2450 / Fax: (203) 268-5870

ARMYAVIATIONmagazine.com

On The Cover
PAID ADVERTISEMENT: Collins Aerospace’s
open system avionics architecture for Future
Vertical Lift (FVL) is the trusted solution
for Army aircraft, today and tomorrow. Ouradvanced approach breaks vendor lock, enabling rapid third party integration of mission
critical capabilities. A battle-proven family of subsystems developed from working
alongside the Army for almost two decades,
through multiple conﬂicts, Collins has thesolutions for the future of Army Aviation.
Caption provided by the advertiser.
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

USASOAC Change of
Responsibility
U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY MSG SHANNON BLACKWELL, USASOAC

Web Master / Mary Seymour
mary@quad-a.org

Colonel’s Command
Assessment Program

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY SHEALAH CRAIGHEAD

Associate Editor / CW5 Adam Jarvis
adam@quad-a.org

sergeant major and company ﬁrst sergeant.
Wilson heads to Fort Rucker, AL and his next
assignment as the command sergeant majorof the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence.

CSM Rob Armstrong (left), incoming command sergeant major, U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command, receives the USASOAC colors from COL Phil Ryan, USASOAC
commander, during a change of responsibility
ceremony at Fort Bragg, NC, Sept. 25. Armstrong takes over from CSM James (Jimmy)
D. Wilson (right) as the sixth command sergeant major of USASOAC, commonly referred
to as ARSOAC. Armstrong most recently
served as the as command sergeant major
for the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and previously held positions
within the 160th Special Operations Aviation
Regiment (Airborne) as a battalion command
6

U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY ERIC PILGRIM

Publisher / William R. Harris Jr.

Lieutenant colonels and colonels attending the
new Colonel's Command Assessment Program (CCAP) will be judged for their command
potential solely on how they perform during
the ﬁve-day course, which evaluates leadership strengths and weaknesses and forcesthem to use higher-level thinking and communication skills. CCAP is similar to the new
Battalion Commander Assessment Program(BCAP)(pictured) and part of a larger effort
to overhaul how the Army selects ofﬁcers forimportant command positions. Currently, senior ofﬁcers select battalion and brigade commanders in special boards, where they review
and rank hundreds of personnel ﬁles. Now,
Army ofﬁcers will be judged on their performance in a series of tests designed to assess
their physical ﬁtness, intellect, psychologicalmakeup and communications skills; and will
have to demonstrate their ability to wrestle
their way through complex problems during a
Strategic Leader Exercise.

Temporary Pay Hike for
Many – But There’s A Catch
Military members earning $8,666.66 or lessper month began seeing their paychecks
increase by 6.2 percent of their basic
pay beginning with the mid-September
paycheck, but they’ll have to pay it backstarting in January. This affects all enlisted
members, virtually all warrant ofﬁcers andmany ofﬁcers, to include everyone up throughthe grade of O-4. The increase comes froma Social Security payroll tax deferral put into
place by President Donald Trump’s Aug.
8 memorandum, and subsequent Internal
Revenue Service guidance in an effort toease some economic problems caused by
the COVID-19 pandemic. But as of Jan. 1,
service members will repay the money overa four-month period ending April 30. Military
members and civilian employees cannot opt
out of the deferral, according to the Defense
Finance and Accounting Ofﬁce.
October 31, 2020

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XPresident’s Cockpit

Sustainment and Ensuring
Army Survivabilitys a young combat engineer and later as an
Army Aviator, I dwelled in a world focused ontactics, maneuver, and taking the ﬁght to the enemy.
Maintenance and sustainment were important to me,
but it was often somebody else’s problem.

AAPI FILE PHOTO

A

Dr. F. Harold “Hal” Kushner
VP Member & Family Wellness

What a rude awakening I got as a newbattalion commander. Sustainment was
MY responsibility, and I had lots to learn!
Later as a brigade and division commander at war, I found myself often
consumed with battlefield logistics andmaintenance as well as future sustainment of my formations and their equipment. I came to realize the truth of that
old axiom: in war, armchair warriors use
little hands on big maps to spout off
tactics and strategy; true masters at the
profession of arms focus first on logistics
to ensure success.
In this issue we provide that neededfocus on sustainment. AMCOM Commanding General MG Todd Royar
delves deep into the data challenges wehave in Army Aviation – almost a caseof too much of a good thing. He indicates how three initiatives will help us
sort through the unimportant to findthe critical data to improve readinessand long term sustainability: ACN to
GCSS-Army linkage, Modular Open
System Architecture, and Digital Thread
and Advanced Manufacturing. Aviation Branch Maintenance Officer CW5
Mike Cavaco dives even deeper into thedata issue by discussing the capabilities
and challenges of two current systems
in place now: the U.S. Army Aviationand Missile Command’s (AMCOM’s)
WebDesk and the AMCOM Message
Tracking System (AMTRACKS) software applications. As he notes, “bothprovide valuable situational awareness at
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

the enterprise level providing units input to timely and accurate information,
however both are extremely stove-piped.”
And as he concludes, we need to ensure
any new data system should supply information to enterprise levels as well as provide relevant and valuable information
for unit level leaders to make sustainment decisions with. Finally, AMCOM
CSM Mike Dove gives us the why, what
and how of the “digital twin.”
We also provide focus on survivability
in this issue, and our Branch Chief, MG
Dave Francis leads off with a discussion
on achieving survivability against a nearpeer threat through a combination of
aircraft survivability equipment, TTPs
and fighting as a combined arms team,a force very familiar with synchronizing
lethality across a multi-domain environment. He receives supporting fires
from the Aviation Mission Systems andArchitecture team as well as the USAACE Aviation Mission Survivability
and ASDAT teams.
Both sustainment and survivability
are particularly appropriate for this issue
as we continue to optimistically plan tohold our “live” Cribbins Training, Equipping and Sustainment Symposium atHuntsville, Alabama 16-18 November,
followed by our annual AAAA Aircraft
Survivability Equipment Symposium
7-8 December in Kissimmee, Florida.
We have some important recognitions that we make in this issue: Army
Aviator Brigadier General Joseph Ed8

wards II departs division command of
the 104th Division to assume duties
at Headquarters, Department of theArmy, G-9. Congratulations General
Edwards! And we also highlight the incredible flying and accomplishments ofseven aviators and crew members of the
California National Guard, who recently were awarded Distinguished Flying
Crosses by the President of the UnitedStates. Their story is truly amazing!
We at AAAA are always doing ourbest to remain relevant to our membership and our branch. Last month I
formally announced the appointmentof Colonel (Retired) and Doctor Hal
Kushner, Army Aviation Hall of Fame
inductee and former POW, as our very
first AAAA Vice President for Member
and Family Wellness. Doctor Kushnerwill provide advice to the AAAA board
on how to safely conduct AAAA planned
events and adopt best practices in accordance with national, state, and local protocols and procedures to help contributeto the health and safety of the Association
members and families. He will also serveas the professional medical liaison to outside organizations, activities, and agencies.
Stay healthy! As always, I pledge
to ensure that AAAA does its part tohelp YOU: our soldiers, families, andsenior leaders!
MG Jeff Schloesser, U.S. Army Retired
34th President, AAAA
jeff.schloesser@quad-a.org
October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

9

October 31, 2020

X Army Aviation Branch Chief's CornerSurvivability: A Combined Arms Discussion

U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY MAJ ROBERT FELLINGHAM

By MG David J. Francis

urrent and emerging threat capabilities provide
our adversaries stand off from U.S. and coalition
forces, which sets the basis for U.S. Army and Joint
Force discussions on Multi-Domain Operations.

12th Combat Aviation Brigade staff members
brief battle plans during a combined arms
rehearsal for Saber Junction 20, Aug. 5, at
Hohenfels, Germany.

Our consensus on how we will fightacross all domains, drives the U.S. Armymodernization strategy to give us theability to penetrate, dis-integrate theIntegrated Air Defense Systems (IADS)
and Integrated Fire Control (IFC),
exploit the freedom of maneuver andreturn to competition on terms morefavorable to U.S. and coalition forces.
Survivability
results
fromacombination of Aircraft Survivability
Equipment (ASE), Tactics Techniques
and Procedures (TTP) and fighting
as a combined Arms Team. This

how we employ and fight over the pastdozen years plus. Even though that fightwas not Large-Scale Combat Operations, our adversaries realized that theyneed to create a buffer zone – standoff– against us at every level. Their primary
standoff against the Army Aviation force
is a modernized version of the Cold War
era concept of Integrated Air Defense
System (IADS) and the reintroduction ofRadio Frequency (RF) systems. However,the same agencies that work to define
the threat capabilities and tactics are thesame ones who work hand in glove withC

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

methodology insures the survivability ofaviation assets as well as other membersof the Combined Arms Team.
The Enemy
Everything we do tactically, operationally and strategically, is driven by thethreat. We have phenomenal people andagencies across DOD, and many otherentities that focus on identifying and understanding the functionality of enemy
systems and how they are arrayed against
us. We clearly recognize that the enemy
continues to take detailed notes about
10

October 31, 2020

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ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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October 31, 2020

our folks who create the requirements to modernize current aircraft and build new aircraft, specifically the Future Vertical Lift
(FVL).
The Aircraft
As we design new aircraft and modernize the enduring fleet,
there is always an abundance of discussion. Discussion aboutcapabilities such as speed, range, maneuverability, payload,
weapons systems, sustainability and numerous other areas
were there can be tradeoffs in order to tailor an aircraft for acertain mission set the Army needs us to do. We always strive
to build multiple layers of survivability into our aircraft so thatthey can face the many challenges our adversaries throw at us.
However, no aircraft, or ground vehicle for that matter, can be
invulnerable to every weapon system on the battlefield and still
execute their mission. Within the survivability bin there has tobe a very refined process to match systems to the most probablelethal threat to the mission.
The Training
While aircraft play a large part in survivability,
understanding the enemy’s tactics techniques and procedures
and then correctly employing the aircraft to frustrate theenemy’s efforts can only be accomplished through tough,realistic training. Training one crew in one aircraft can becomplex, but in Large Scale Combat Operations we will not
be flying operations in teams of two, but will be flying multicompany, battalion, and brigade level operations. To that end
we are orienting how we train everywhere from home station
to the combat training centers.
As we evaluate future threat systems, we know that we will
adjust our flight profile and need to do this in a deliberate manner. A current example is the threat’s RF systems, by runninghigh fidelity testing and countless hours of live testing, we developed Low Level Training Support Packages for the field
which exploit weaknesses in the threat systems. Additionally,
we implemented the Emergency Response Methodology, a
training approach that that teaches crews to evaluate and react
to emergencies when flying at low flight profiles in the grown
clutter, all of this well help drive them be decisive in LSCO.
The most significant aspect of our training, like ourfighting, is that we do not do it alone.

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Combined Arms Operations
Large Scale Combat Operations in a multi-domain
environment against a near peer is a significantly different
approach to fighting than what we have been involved in thelast two decades. To defeat a near peer threat our most capable
tool is the Combined Arms Team, a force that is very familiar
with synchronizing lethality across multiple domains. As amember of that team, Army Aviation has merged relevant
TTPs and Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE) which
not only equates to being a more dominate platform, butwhen combined with the other elements of the Combined
Arms Team becomes an even more survivable and deadly
system that will play a significant part in the fight on any
battlefield – because winning matters.
Above the Best!

YULISTA.COM
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

MG David J. Francis is the Army Aviation branch chief andcommander of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence andFort Rucker, AL.
12

October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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October 31, 2020

X AMCOM Commander Update

U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY CHARLES ROSEMOND



Aviation Sustainment Data –Why It’s Important By MG K. Todd Royarn the April/May issue I discussed the Army Aviation
Enterprise Sustainment Strategy which is focused on
ﬁve enduring sustainment objectives: Expeditionary
Aviation Force, Reduced Logistics Footprint, Increased
Organic Capability, Improved Operational Availability,
and Decreased Total Life Cycle Costs.

SPC Damian Murry from C Company, 2-227th
Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade from
Fort Hood, Texas conducts main rotor system
maintenance on an HH-60 MEDEVAC helicopter,at Katterbach Army Airﬁeld in Ansbach, Bavaria,
Germany.

Underpinning the success or failureof every one of those objectives is data.
Make no mistake, we have a lot of data –a whole lot. However, if we want to fully
realize the potential gains associated with
our sustainment objectives, I submit that
we as an enterprise must adapt our approach to how we collect, store, and process our current and future data sets.

Data is also too often stored in silos.
The aviation enterprise works well together but we have too many separate
data sets that essentially measure thesame thing. Individual organizations, including AMCOM, get wedded to theirown solutions. The result is we spend
more time trying to convince each otheron the validity of our model, than we dosolving the common problem.

I

Today’s Army Aviation
Sustainment Data
Architecture
I would like to report that our current system for collecting and storing
aviation sustainment data is commonand fully integrated, but the fact of thematter is that we’re not there yet. Over
time as an enterprise we have initiatedand implemented multiple distinct solutions to problems, but most have been
exactly that – distinct.
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

Data collection is too often unique tospecific programs and sometimes duplicative. Just take our health and monitoring
systems from each of our major platforms.
All systems work and provide critical insight into both individual airframes andour fleets – but as you are aware, they are
not common. The ones and zeros coming
off each platform are not in a standard
format requiring units to manage by platform, instead of a common solution. It isequally problematic in other areas. Mostin the community probably think thatwhat our senior leaders see every day foraviation readiness is based on what units
report in Aircraft Notebook (ACN). The
truth is Army senior leaders actually see
the aggregate of what the Logistics Assistance Representatives report in AMCOM’s Webdesk application. I contend
this is duplicative and something we arein the process of changing.
14

Why Good Data Matters
Many readers of this article were in
the Army when data was generated locally and only used locally. In that era data
was not processed, analyzed and utilized
at near real time at the operational andstrategic levels. In today’s multi system
integrated environment data flows fromthe tactical level through the operational
level to the strategic level and back atnear real time, so accuracy and completeOctober 31, 2020ÄÇÎÎØØ«$V
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ness matters to enable leaders at all levels
to make timely informed decisions.
Garbage in, garbage out. Data is used
at multiple levels today so minor errors at
a local level may not seem to have muchof an impact, however, collectively it does.
Anyone who has attended a FORSCOM
Monthly Aviation Readiness Reviews(MARR) recently has first-hand knowledge of the importance of accurate data
and Readiness reporting. Take an aircraft
phase inspection for example, can a phasereally be completed in 100 man hours orchange an engine in .1 hour? Just because
the block will accept the input, it’s criticalthat it is accurate and complete as others are making operational and strategic
decision based on the source data.
Strategic decisions will be made withthe data available. Good data gives us theconfidence to change. Should we blindly
accept that a particular component hasa time between overhaul (TBO) of X
hours that was set 40 years ago, or should
we constantly re-evaluate it based on thedata to decrease it for safety reasons or
hopefully increase it to reduce the maintenance burden. Can we limit the scopeof Safety of Flight messages because weknow where everything is, or do we wantto accept casting the net wide and creating unnecessary work?

You think we have a lot of data now.
We must get this right now because theamount of data we will be managing in
the future will be exponentially more. As
an example, we are in the process of creating a digital twin UH-60L. Within thenext year and a half, we will have a 3D
Computer Aided Design model of every
part which will give us unprecedented
capability to procure and even produce
parts. No doubt that is an impressive andexciting capability, but how we store andmanage that data will make a difference
on the potential results. FARA and FLRAA will expand the aperture even more.

Realizing Opportunities
We have an opportunity to get data
management right. Many of the issues
discussed are currently being worked
and solutions are being developed, but
we cannot take our eye off the ball. If wewant to be successful, I submit our data
sets must be common, accessible to those
who need it, and complete enough to enable change. Several key initiatives are
already underway.
ACN to GCSS-Army linkage. Within
the next two years, there will be several
updates to ACN enabling the connection to G-Army. This will have multiple
advantages to include having a single re-porting mechanism and enable our ability to see where parts are across the entire
supply system – not just those on wing.
MOSA. The Modular Open System
Architecture work being done by the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Teamand PEO Aviation is groundbreaking. It
will set the standard across the board fordata coming off our platforms.
Digital Thread and Advanced Manufacturing. The force is strong within theaviation enterprise as to ensuring we havea common and sustainable solution as to
how we receive, store and use the 3D models we will get back from the UH-60L digital twin and future projects. These models
alone will enable us to systematically qualify some parts for advanced manufacturing.
In closing, big data is already here andmore is coming. If we want to get the mostout of it and achieve the objectives in oursustainment strategy, we must act in unison now. Proprietary and unique systems
may work great for a specific issue, butthey will come at the expense of the entire
aviation enterprise. We owe it to not only
our senior leaders, but the American taxpayer to ensure we get it right.
MG K. Todd Royar is the commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile
Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL.

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October 31, 2020

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October 31, 2020

XAviation Branch Maintenance Ofﬁcer Update

U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SPC JENNIFER ANDERSSON

Aviation Maintenance Data vs. Information– How We Use It By CW5 Michael D. Cavaco

uch of the recent discussion on airworthiness,sustainment and logistics includes references todata: data acquisition, data mining and data analytics
are a few examples.

CW4 Joel Sizelove, the production control
ofﬁcer in charge for Task Force Lift, checks thereadouts from the integrated vehicle healthmanagement system on a UH-60M Black
Hawk to determine, among other things, track
vibrations in the rotors.

This is certainly valid and critical to how
we build and sustain our next generationof vertical lift aircraft. However, sustainment is a 300 meter target; how does
data help us at the 10 meter range withday to day operational maintenance? To
help answer this question, I prefer to focus the discussion on information. Undoubtedly, individual data points add up
to information, but often the amount of
information needed at the unit level is
far less than what we are after. Getting
the right pieces of information to theright place at the right time is critical tomaking important operational and risk
decisions from platoon level to Armylevel. However, the systems we havein place across the aviation enterpriseright now do not adequately integratetion Logistics Assistance Representatives (LARs) around the globe. It allows
for communications between LARs,
system analysts and item managers on
various platforms information regarding technical assistance and tracking
the shipment of parts, to name a few
capabilities. The Weapon System Status
Report (WSSR) is one of the most frequently used WebDesk tools. It was
originally intended to provide a snapshot of issues and parts affecting every
non-mission capable aircraft in order totrack fleet readiness to expedite support.
It has become a de-facto daily status report for many in the aviation enterprise.
The information in the WSSR is used bymultiple organizations to build a common operating picture of fleet readi-

M

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

all of the available information. Instead,they create pockets of knowledge – andcritical pieces are only being shared withsome of the audience. Two recent examples that come to mind are the U.S.
Army Aviation and Missile Command’s(AMCOM’s) WebDesk and the AMCOM Message Tracking System (AMTRACKS) software applications. Bothprovide valuable situational awareness at
the enterprise level providing units input to timely and accurate information.
Both are extremely stove-piped.
WebDesk
WebDesk is an AMCOM designed
and managed website that allows a multitude of logistics assistance tools for our
U.S. Army Materiel Command’s Avia-

18

October 31, 2020

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October 31, 2020

ness. Why? Because it provides the mosttimely and accurate readiness summary.
To make my point, this information is
also present in the Aircraft Notebook(ACN) and the Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSS-A), but it
is not filtered, cross-referenced and isroutinely unavailable in comparison to
WebDesk.
To be fair, the over-reliance on WebDesk for purposes other than which
it was originally intended is a known
problem. For that reason, AMCOM will
shut down the WebDesk website in December 2020. That is not to say the information we are used to getting will nolonger be available. There are a numberof options that will provide this information and allow it to be better utilized. For
instance, as ACN ties into the GCSS-A,
the aircraft logistics and readiness information will be seamlessly integrated
into Army wide status reporting. Additionally, the behind-the-scenes communication between LARs, engineers anditem managers, etc., will be integrated
into a U.S. Army Materiel Command
wide program called LAR-Vis(ibility).
All information will now flow in concert
with input from the U.S. Army MaterielCommand LARs representing all threeof the U.S. Army Materiel Command’sLife Cycle Management Commands(AMCOM, the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command and the
U.S. Tank-automotive and Armaments
Command) – essentially removing atleast three stovepipes.
AMTRACKS
Another big gap in our swing whenit comes to information flow is aviation
safety message compliance reporting.
This process is currently completed
through an AMCOM-designed andmanaged website, called AMTRACKS.
The year 2020 has already seen its shareof Aviation Safety Action Messages
and Safety of Flight Messages. Unfortunately for units, reporting complianceto ensure aircrew safety is not an automated process. The task of ensuring themessage requirements make it to thelogbook and are completed ultimately
falls on the Soldier manually inputting the logbook entry. First and foremost units obviously need to focus oncompleting the inspections and maintenance to safeguard airworthiness.
Once this step is complete, the Technical Inspectors can enter the applicable
information into AMTRACKS. This
process creates a lag, sometimes measured in days or weeks, when the in-formation is most critical. Additionally,
AMTRACKS only displays the information entered by the unit – it cannot
Red-X an aircraft if a compliance dateis exceeded. It is simply an electronic
display of human entered information.
Both of these examples serve to highlight a problem in how we as an enterprise manage data and information. Toooften, the focus is on the data flow up
from units to the enterprise level. We
need to continue to press to highlightthe need for this information at the unit
level. In an age when your smart phonepushes information based on what
you had for lunch today, our logbooks
should be able to automatically pushand pull the latest information on readiness, logistics, safety and maintenanceto every user in the fleet. This is where
we are headed, and sooner rather thanlater. But the real “so-what” is that, inthe meantime, we, as maintainers andleaders, need to make sure we are generating the right information – reporting
rapidly and accurately – so our leaders
can make informed decisions.
CW5 Michael D. Cavaco is the Aviation
Branch Maintenance Officer, U.S. Army
Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL.

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October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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October 31, 2020

XAMCOM Command Sergeant Major Update

What isa Digital
Twin?
By CSM Mike Doven the fall of 2019, theU.S. Army Aviationand Missile Command(AMCOM) in conjunction
with the Program
Executive Ofﬁce Aviation,
the Future Vertical
Lift Cross-Functional
Team and the Systems
Readiness Directorate of
the Combat Capabilities
Development Command
Aviation and Missile
Center teamed together
to commission a study on
the operational availability
and materiel availability for
future vertical lift systems
with Wichita State
University (WSU).

A few months into the study in January
2020, AMCOM leadership andprimary sustainment representatives
from each organization were invited toattend a briefing by WSU leadership on
their capabilities, an update on the study
and how other military services were
utilizing WSU to create a digital twin of
their aging fleet of aircraft. At the timeof the visit, each of the other services had
already completed or started a digital
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR AVIATION RESEARCH, WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITYI

National Institute for Aviation Research personnel use high ﬁdelity scanners during the reverse
engineering of the UH-60L.

twin effort with WSU. In conjunction
with the Secretary of Defense Strategic
Capabilities Office, the Army is able tobegin the process of creating a digitaltwin utilizing two UH-60L Black
Hawks which were delivered to WSU
in May 2020.
Origins of the Digital Twin
What exactly is a digital twin and how
can it be used? According to the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), “A Digital Twin is an
integrated multiphysics, multiscale simulation of a vehicle or system that uses thebest available physical models, sensor updates, fleet history, etc., to mirror the lifeof its corresponding flying twin.” NASAcreated the idea of a “twin” during theApollo 13 mission when the world heard
the famous phrase “Houston, we have aproblem.” NASA was forced to createa mock-up of the space capsule on the
ground to solve the problem the astronauts were experiencing in space. NASA22

even created the Space Shuttle Pathfinder as a full scale replica of the Space
Shuttle Enterprise known as a Facilities
Test Article to test equipment, cranes,
lifting devices and transport equipment
in order to prevent damage to the actual
orbiter. The Pathfinder is on display in
Huntsville, AL at the Space and Rocket
Center. All this leading to NASA being
the first to introduce the term “digitaltwin” in 2010 in their Technology andRoadmap for 2011 and 2012.
Army’s Digital Twin
Fast forward to the digital age of the
21st century, the Internet of Things,
and the Industrial 4.0 revolution. Prior
to computer aided drawings and now
Global Finite Element Models (GFEM),
aircraft drawings were two-dimensional
blueprints, drawn to scale, on a flat pieceof paper. Each measurement of every
angle, thickness and type of material
were included in these drawings. All of
the Army’s enduring aircraft were creOctober 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

23

October 31, 2020

X Enlisted Aviation Soldier Spotlight
Each month we will feature a past AAAA National or Functional Enlisted or NCO Awardwinner as part of our ongoing recognition of the Best of the Best in our Aviation Branch. The CY
2019 National winners were featured in the April/May AAAA Annual Summit issue.

SPC Christopher M.
SmadesCompany F, 1st Battalion, 52nd
Aviation Regiment
Fort Wainwright, Alaska
AAPI FILE PHOTO

Air Trafﬁc Controller of theYear Award, 2014
Sponsored by The Raytheon Company

n extraordinary controller, a selﬂess Soldier, and an amazingly resilient
individual, Specialist Christopher Smades is a one of a kind air trafﬁccontroller. His contributions throughout this past year made him a truly
invaluable member of the Fox Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regimentteam. From leading a tactical team of controllers in the Arctic tundra, to being
the ﬁrst Army Soldier to earn a Control Tower Operator rating at Eielson Air Force
Base, as well as earning two additional ratings in Afghanistan, SPC Smades’
accomplishments are extraordinary. Beyond controlling trafﬁc, he playeda critical role in training the ﬁrst Afghan Air Trafﬁc Controllers at Shindand
Airbase. Every day his team works side by side with Italian, Mongolian, andU.S. Air Force personnel to train the Afghan Airmen, all the while building andmaintaining relationships with our partners from around the world. Always
putting the needs of his section and his unit ahead of his own, SPC Smades isa vital member of Fox Company and his technical and tactical expertise wascrucial to the success of the Arctic Foxes’ stateside and deployed success.

A

ated using two-dimensional, paper blueprints. That was the standard. One of themany digital standards used today is the
GFEM which is quite impressive whenviewed on the computer. The drawings
are true three-dimensional representations of the parts and can be rotated on
the computer so the engineer or vendor
contracted to build a product can havea better understanding of the design ofthe part. WSU is actively creating the
GFEM file for the UH-60L and AMCOM will have the first batch of digital
files by the time this article is printed.
Sustainment Beneﬁts
Sustainment of the enduring fleet provides challenges and opportunities. One
ARMY AVIATION Magazineof the challenges to sustain the Army’s
enduring fleet is the ability to acquireor produce obsolete parts. In fact, there
are more than 500 parts vendors will not
submit a bid to produce because there
is not a digital drawing for those parts.
The Army will continue to fly the UH60 Black Hawk, the AH-64 Apache, andthe CH-47 Chinook for several more
years, actually decades. Therefore, it is
not only nice to have these digital drawings, it is imperative to provide logisticalsustainment. Some of the benefits thatcan be achieved with digital drawings
include the ability to manufacture more
efficiently, additively manufacture parts,
reduce repair times and improve recapitalization processes at the depot.
24

Training Beneﬁts
Similarly to how NASA developed
the need for a twin to tackle a complex
problem, the digital twin can be used
to train pilots and maintainers. In asense, the flight simulators used by
the Army are digital twins. Simulators
digitally represent the aircraft andflying conditions where pilots train for
multiple scenarios, multiple times tocreate muscle memory and confidence
in their ability to operate very complex
aircraft at significantly reduced costs
and risk to human lives. What about
the maintenance professional? At thelast few Army Aviation Associationof America and Association of theUnited States Army symposiums,
original equipment manufacturers andthird party vendors presented several
versions of digital maintenance trainers
as a method to train aviation mechanics.
Some of these digital training devices
and concepts are simple yet impressive
and allow the mechanic to train thetask prior to performing the task on
the aircraft. The concept is not new to
the Army. The 128th Aviation Training
Brigade at Fort Eustis, VA actually
has digital trainers for the avionics
maintainers at the school to create
scenarios for mechanics to troubleshootelectrical problems on the AH-64
Apache. The National Guard Western
Army Aviation Training Site operates
an LUH-72A maintainer course which
includes a portion of the instruction
using a digital maintenance trainer. The
challenge now is getting this capability
to the mechanic in the field and notjust at the school.
The digital twin is the future ofmanufacturing, logistics, prognostics,
training and several additional areas. The
Army now requires Original Equipment
Manufacturers of future vertical lift
platforms to use digital twin technology.
AMCOM, the Army aviation enterprise, and the users of these systems will
all benefit from the implementation ofdigital twin technology. AMCOM andthe Army aviation enterprise are making remarkable achievements, but morework is required in the areas of digitalengineering, advanced and additive
manufacturing and improving the supply chain. The future is upon the Armyand modernization is happening now.
CSM G. Mike Dove is the commandsergeant major of the Aviation and Missile
Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL.
October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

25

October 31, 2020

X Combat Readiness Center UpdateCombatSafety:U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO BY SGT. 1ST CLASS MARC BELO

Integrating
ASE and
Terrain Flight
TTPs
By COL Ronald L. Ells

hile aviation
forces continue
supporting thecounterinsurgency (COIN)
effort effectively utilizing
aircraft survivability
equipment (ASE), it has
been particularly geared
toward infrared (IR) missile
threats and small arms.

W

With the advent of the common missile
warning system (CMWS) and inclusionof the “5th Sensor,” Army helicoptershave been able to operate at altitude andwithout multi-threats from an array of
air defense weapon systems while operating against the COIN threat. But withthe transition to operations against peer
and near-peer threats, the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) necessary
to manage threats from integrated air
defense systems (IADS) will rely heavily
on aircraft ASE integrated with flight
TTPs executed at lower altitudes. The
time to learn, understand and correlate
the operational aspects of our ASE and
its use in terrain flight is now. This willboth increase individual proficiency andenable dynamic risk assessment in a highintensity/high workload environment.
Against IADS, the days of flying highand letting the CMWS handle engagement while remaining safely out ofharm’s way are in the past. While Army
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

Kosovo Force Regional-Command East Soldiers from the Task Force Aviation and Maneuver
Battalion, train KFOR Polish contingent Soldiers on external load operations at Camp Maréchal de Lattrede Tassigny.

Aviation has adjusted its flight training toreflect the impact of IADS capabilities,
as an enterprise we must fully integrate
ASE into our training scenarios. While
restrictions in national airspace mightprovide challenges for utilizing threat
emulators and systems, this should notpreclude instruction in theory and virtual
training in the simulator against various
types of air defense systems. Simulators
allow operators to understand how ASE
complements appropriate flight TTPs aswell as appreciate how to continue operations when one or more systems fail during a combat mission.
The current aircrew training manual(ATM) for each specific airframe provides general information on how tocouple ASE with flight TTPs to enable Army Aviation forces to evade and/or defeat various air defense systems.
With the capability of peer and nearpeer threat forces to engage our aircraftwith multiple systems (IR, RF, laser,
ultraviolet, and direct fire), it is criticalto flight safety that our aircrews train
academically and virtually to confront,
evade and survive against these systems.
Your unit aviation mission survivability
officer (AMSO) plays a crucial role inintegrating proper aircraft survivability
training into your unit program. The
AMSO provides the subject matter expertise necessary to integrate ASE andflight training to produce fully trained
26

aircrews. Take the time now to train
your aviation team to perform in highthreat air defense combat operations
utilizing aircraft and mission survivability TTPs combined with ASE. Training
your aircrews to be comfortable executing complex missions at terrain altitudes
to deter threat systems will pay major
dividends in combat safety and survival.
Left untrained in executing missions in
IADS supported theaters, the threat willremain a dilemma for Army Aviation.
But initiating and executing a rigoroustraining program focused on overcoming IADS capabilities utilizing flight
TTPs with ASE integration transitions
the dilemma to the enemy.
The hard, realistic training we apply
to the combat dilemma for aviation operations must now fully integrate terrain
flight TTP training with aircraft ASE
systems. Combat safety is a force multiplier! Understanding your specific aircraft ASE, fully integrating it into theunit training program, and integrating
appropriate flight technique training
will give your unit the ability to fly, fightand win against our next peer or nearpeer threat. Combat safety is paramountwhen winning matters!
Readiness Through Safety!
COL Ronald L. Ells is the deputy commander of the Combat Readiness Center at
Fort Rucker, AL.
October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

27

October 31, 2020

X Reserve Components Aviation UpdateArmy Reserve Aviation Unit at theForefront of Readiness CPT Carlo Aragoncillo
ecently back from a deployment
to the Southwest Asia Area of
Operations in support of Operations
Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve, the
8th Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment(8-229th AHB) based out of Fort Knox,
Kentucky, is keeping readiness at theforefront.

U.S. ARMY RESERVE PHOTO BY CW3 STEPHEN LACOMBE

R

Within months of coming back home in early 2020, Aviationflight crews and assets were sent throughout the United States
for training exercises which included special operations forces,
combat arms, and several other units in need of rotary support.
The key to a successful high operational tempo is tomaintain standards both overseas and at home.
CW3 Stephen Lacombe, who serves as a battalion standardization pilot for 8-229th AHB described standardizationas, “The cornerstone of Aviation. Everything from training theaircrew to working within safety guidelines allows us to efficiently accomplish any mission. Because of those standards, we
can support a wide range of organizations to include both U.S.
and partner nations. This also affords us the flexibility to the
Command by allowing them to build interchangeable aircrews
comprised of different members from other organizations.”
While with every mission and aircrew there can be adifference, readiness and safety are always a top priority
for every event. No matter the challenge crews have been
faced with, whether the current Coronavirus pandemic orbalancing their military career with their civilian obligations,the 8-229th continues to maintain its readiness month aftermonth to include conducting or participating in the following
recent exercises and missions: Fast Rope Insertion (FRIES) operations with Naval Special Warfare operators at a Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) site on Ft. Knox, performing both day andnight iterations with Night Vision Goggles (NVG).
 Military Free Fall (MFF) operations at 12,000 ft. altitude
over Ft. Knox, with the 5th Special Forces Group.
 Military Static Line parachute operations over Ft.
Campbell, KY.
 Water bucket (Bambi) operations to build proficiency infighting fires with helicopters. The unit utilized both standard
and “long line” water buckets that extended over 100 ft. below
the helicopter for use in large wildland areas. These buckets areused to extract water from resources that are under normal circumstances deemed inaccessible. Each of the 8-229th AHB’s
aircrews are equipped and prepared to conduct helicopter fireARMY AVIATION Magazine

Aircrews from the 8-229th AHB stationed at Fort Knox, KY perform Fast
Rope Insertion (FRIES) with Naval Special Warfare operators at a military
operations in urban terrain (MOUT) site on Ft. Knox.

fighting operations under both day and night conditions.
 Night Vision Goggle (NVG) Air Assault infiltration on

target areas in support of Special Operations Force operators.
 External fuel tank training for new aircrew members and fa-

miliarization with the Extended Range Fuel System, effectively doubling a helicopter’s fuel load for extended operations.
 Routine multi-ship flight operations to prepare for operational deployments as well as Air Assault operations.
 Support of the Sabalauski Air Assault School in continued
partnership with the 101st Airborne Division.
 Forward Arming and Refueling (FARP) operations in conjunction with aerial gunnery during this summer’s Extended
Combat Training (ECT) at Ft. Knox.
The 8-229th AHB’s hard work and dedication to themission is embedded in the unit’s DNA. Successful training
events after a demanding deployment overseas is not byhappenstance. Every Soldier’s attentiveness, expertise andfortitude is put to the test as these events are a culminationof hours upon hours comprised of planning, rehearsals, briefs
and simulations leading up to each event.
“Supported ground units can plan and execute theirtraining more effectively, efficiently and safely by knowing
what capabilities we possess,” said CW3 LaCombe. “Howproficient we are in a training environment sets the tone foreveryone’s mission success. We perform to the same standard
regardless of what 8-229th AHB event we’re tasked with.”
As the 8-229th AHB closes out the fiscal year, they are
not letting off the pedal as the unit is busy preparing for its
next mission and the upcoming year, which means as a teamstaying individually and collectively ready.
CPT Carlo Aragoncillo is the 244th ECAB Public Affairs Officer
at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.
28

October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

29

October 31, 2020

X 128th Aviation Brigade Update

Maintaining
Safetyin AIT
By SFC Christopher N. Wilmot

afety in an advanced
individual training (AIT)
environment is a twopronged attack whosebattle lines are paralleland separated only by ahands-breadth of air.
Two separate yet conjoined efforts are
required to develop the environment
properly and efficiently. The Army Safety
Program, as required in AR 385-10, andTRADOC Command Safety Occupational Health Program, and enforced
in TRADOC Regulation 385-2, join
together along with specific Unit SOP
and academic Programs of Instruction(POI) to guide safe training within theorganization. These efforts highlight theunique mission that the 128th Avn. Bde.
has within the Aviation Safety realm.
The safety of students is paramount to
the Phoenix Brigade’s mission success.
When assigned to the 128th Avn. Bde.,
all incoming personnel are instructed,
during the Cadre Training Course(CTC), that the Brigade’s overarching mission is to safely train the newest members of the Aviation Profession.
Much like an operational aviation brigade, the training brigade has an aviation safety officer with each subordinate
battalion fielding their own safety officer. This team is dedicated to identifying
and mitigating hazards through constant risk management and clear, consistent communication to all personnel inthe formation. U.S. Army Forces Command relies on the team at Joint Base
Langley-Eustis to timely deliver healthy
and well-trained rotary-wing maintainers to fulfill its essential manning requirement. This obligation generates theneed for the strictest safety standards
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

U.S. ARMY 128TH AVN. BDE. PHOTOS

AIT students learn property safety techniques as part of their training at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA.

and constant vigilance throughout AIT.
Setting the safety standards baselineof our newest Aviation professionals iscertainly critical and highly influential
in maintaining the readiness and airworthiness of the Army’s aircraft fleet.
The brigade’s instructors teach and enforce safety throughout each block of
instruction (BOI). Whether trainees are
in an air-conditioned classroom, on the
hangar floor with hands-on instruction,or conducting a field training exercise
reinforcing basic soldiering tasks anddrills, the classes focus on safely completing each task. This safety message isreinforced every day through multiple
safety briefs and constant supervision by
Instructor teams.
The two biggest threats to student
safety are lack of knowledge and complacency. Our students come from allwalks of life. Students range from somehaving extensive knowledge of tools andmachines, to others having never seen
the most basic tools in action. It is not
unusual to ask a new class about theirexperience level and find a student who
has never turned an open-end wrench
for a complete rotation. Having students of multiple experience levels posesa challenge to instructor teams as theymust teach each student to the standard.
Each program of instruction (POI) has
a complete BOI dedicated to shop andhangar safety where the students are
given the information and knowledge30

on how to safely operate in a shop area.
This first class on shop safety might be
the most significant instruction a student will get during AIT and it is of theutmost importance that the Instructors
set the example on how to conduct their
mission safely and efficiently.
Complacency kills. Anyone who has
been in Aviation for any length of timeknows and feels this. This is even truer
when doubled with personnel who areunaware of the risks. One of the largest
challenges cadre have in the AIT environment is staying ahead of the hazards
that complacency brings. It takes anenormous amount of time and energy tokeep both the students and Cadre safe
from falling into the trap that repetitive
iterations of a task can bring.
It takes a collaborative and engaged
effort by all levels of leadership to ensure
the focus of safety in both the Aviation
realm and training realm remains a toppriority. The instructors of the 128th
Avn. Bde. remain constantly vigilant
to the hazards induced by this specificenvironment and the positive effects of
those efforts will be felt in Army Aviation for years after a student graduates.
“Born Under Fire!”
SFC Christopher N. Wilmot is the battalion safety officer for 2-210th Aviation
Regiment, 128th Aviation Brigade, Joint
Base Langley-Eustis, VA.
October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

31

October 31, 2020

XTech Talk

Armor Ballistic Protection System (BPS)
Airworthiness Qualiﬁcation By Mr. Phuc Nguyen
he U.S. Army Combat Capabilities
Development Command Aviation &Missile Center (CCDC AvMC) has long been
the airworthiness qualiﬁcation authority
for armor BPS systems that are installedon Army helicopters.

CCDCAVMC GRAPHIC

T

Many Army helicopter variants are currently equipped with
BPS that provides protection for the pilot and copilot and other occupants as well as major flight critical components flying
in a hostile environment. The BPS provides protection against
armor piercing ammunition and other small arms ammunition
ranging from small to medium caliber typically seen on thebattlefield.
There are many types of armor systems manufactured by different companies currently being fielded in Army helicopters,

all of which have undergone a stringent qualification process
under the supervision of CCDC AvMC and the CCDC
Army Research Lab.
The Process
The qualification process includes a series of requirements thata manufacturer must comply with. It starts with providing a detailed description of their armor approach, coverage areas, geometry, materials make-up, construction, and installation method to

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October 31, 2020

establish the qualification baseline and to assess aircraft safety offlight (SOF) and personnel safety.
The manufacturer must also conduct an analysis of the proposed armor material and construction process, its planned
location within the aircraft, and its planned usage within theoperational and storage environment of the aircraft system
specification. The analysis must address operational and storage environmental conditions that may affect armor functional performance, crew safety, and SOF of the aircraft. Exposure
to environmental conditions must not cause a loss of structural
integrity (within the armor panel itself or attachment to theaircraft) that can lead to armor performance degradation resulting in crew injury, aircraft critical component damage, orloss of the aircraft.
As a culmination of the qualification process, a manufacturer
must demonstrate that its proposed armor system can performthe required ballistic resistance function when it is installed andoperated under a host aircraft’s operational environment after
going through hot or cold storage procedures. This is accomplished by subjecting the armor panels to environmental preconditioning tests before conducting ballistic tests to determine
the ballistic limit.
The ballistic limit is the minimum velocity (V50 ) at which a
projectile is expected to consistently, completely penetrate armor of a given thickness and physical properties at a specified
angle of obliquity. Because of the expense of firing tests andthe impossibility of controlling striking velocity precisely, statistical approaches are necessary, based on limited firings. Thisapproach leads to the approximation of the V50 point. It is thisV50 number that determines if the armor system has successfully
passed ballistic testing.

Testing
Qualification testing is normally conducted either at a government test facility or an independent third-party test facility to
avoid bias. Another important aspect of the V50 testing is the test
fixture and panel mounting technique. Test fixture should adequately simulate the aircraft installation of the armor panels. The
test fixture must be capable of mounting the test specimens withrigidity equal to or greater than the aircraft actual installation of
the part. Loosely mounted test panels artificially increase the V50
performance. Often, government representatives participate on
V50 ballistic qualification testing to provide onsite support and toensure the test is being conducted properly.
As a final check before fielding, a ballistically qualitied BPS
system is subjected to a form and fit check to ensure the wholesystem fits where it was intended to be installed and that there
is no interference with other aircraft systems such as flightcontrols.
Conventional armor materials are typically made of steel andother hard metals. While these hard materials provide good ballistic protection, they are often heavy and cumbersome. As thearmor industry grows and more advanced innovative technology
evolves, coupled with the need for the Army to save weight on its
helicopter, manufacturing companies have developed better andlighter armor materials. The CCDC AvMC plays a major role inensuring new armor technologies are safe and meet performancecapabilities to protect the war fighter in combat.
Mr. Phuc Nguyen is an electrical engineer in the Mission Equipment Division of the System Readiness Directorate, CCDC Aviation and Missile Center, Redstone Arsenal, AL.

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ARMY AVIATION Magazine

33

October 31, 2020

XAsk the Flight Surgeon

Intimate Partner Violence
By CPT (Dr.) Gurdeep Buttar

ilitary service presents unique psychological,
social, and environmental challenges that canstrain families and relationships within it.

M

Of considerable public health significance is intimate partner violence(IPV). IPV encompasses a range ofphysical, sexual, or psychological harms
or stalking behavior by a current or former partner along a spectrum of severity.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), 1 in 4 women and 1 in
7 men will experience physical violenceby their intimate partner at some point
during their lifetimes. About 1 in 3
women and 1 in 6 men experience someform of sexual violence during their lifetimes. IPV affects over 10 million people
in the U.S. each year with 5 million actsof domestic violence occurring annually
to women 18 years old and older, and 3
million acts involving men. Productivity
losses and costs attributable to IPV aresignificant, with 13.5 million workdays
lost and $8.3 billion spent per year in the
U.S. IPV accounts for 15% of all violent
crime, of which 19% of these cases involved a weapon. However, only 34% of
people who are injured by their partners
receive medical care.
With respect to IPV, the U.S. military
has considerably higher rates than thegeneral population. Several studies estimate that IPV prevalence among maleactive duty service members range from
13.3-47% while among male Veterans,
13.5-42%. Among active female service
members, the rates are 17-39%, and 21.974% for female Veterans. According tothe VA’s Domestic Violence Task Force,the overall 12-month prevalence of IPVperpetration among active duty service
members was 22%, and victimization
was 30%. Unfortunately, IPV cases arethought to be severely under-reported.
In the 2017 annual Military FamilyLifestyle Survey, 15% of military and
Veteran family respondents stated they
did not feel physically safe in their relationship. Most importantly, 87% of
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

military spouse respondents did not report their physical abuse most often citing that they “did not feel it was significant” or they “did not want to hurt theirspouse or partner’s career.” Ninety-one
percent of Veteran spouse respondents
did not report physical abuse citing embarrassment as their top reason. Other
reasons for not reporting IPV include
fearing spouses would lose financial
support or benefits, lack of confidentiality, or fear for their own careers.
Risk Factors
Individual risk factors that lead to
IPV include, but are not limited to low
self-esteem, low socio-economic status,
young age, heavy alcohol/drug use, lowacademic achievement, anger/hostility, antisocial & borderline personality traits, post-traumatic stress disorder,
poor impulse control/aggression, priorhistory of being physically abusive, desire for power and control in relationships, prior child & sexual abuse, witnessing IPV between parents as a child,
belief in strict gender roles, social isolation, unemployment, poor parenting
and physical discipline as a child, andunplanned pregnancies.
UCMJ Offense
It is important to note, as of 2019, domestic violence is now a distinct offensein the UCMJ. Under UCMJ Article
128, any person who commits a violent
offense against a spouse, intimate partner, or immediate family member withintent to threaten, intimidate (including
psychological/emotional), or commit aviolent offense against that person---hascommitted assault and shall be punished
as a court-martial (forfeiture of pay, confinement, restraining order, reduction ofrank, and dishonorable discharge). The
perpetrator may also be subject to state34

and federal criminal/civil laws. Military/
civil protective orders may be needed foryour safety.
Prevention
So, how can IPV be prevented? There
are a number of national resources available that include the following: the 24/7
National Domestic Violence Hotline(www.thehotline.org, 1-800-799-7233)
and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (www.ncadv.org). Military resources include the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) that is available
at every military installation (https://installations.militaryonesource.mil). FAP
provides both clinical and non-clinicalservices to prevent and respond to domestic abuse, child abuse, neglect, andproblematic sexual behavior in children
and youth.
The DoD has a 24/7 Safe Helpline(https://www.safehelpline.org, 877-9955247) and offers crisis support service
affected by sexual assault. The VA has the
IPV Assistance Program (https://www.
socialwork.va.gov/IPV/Index.asp), whichdraws on resources addressing mental
health, women’s health, primary care,and veterans’ justice outreach. Finally,
the newly created Strength at Home
Men’s Program (SAH-M) is a 12-week,cognitive-behavioral, trauma-informedgroup therapy program for active duty/
Veterans who engaged in recent IPV.
Fly safe!

Questions?
If you have a question you would likeaddressed, email it to AskFS@quad-a.
org. We will try to address it in the
future. See your unit flight surgeon foryour personal health issues.
The views and opinions offered arethose of the author and researchers andshould not be construed as an official
Department of the Army position
unless otherwise stated.
CPT Gurdeep Buttar, M.D. is a flightsurgeon at the School of Army Aviation
Medicine, Fort Rucker, AL.
October 31, 2020

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Special Focus X Aviation Sustainment

U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SGT THOMAS MORT

Army Aviation Policy for Advanced
Manufacturing By Ms. Cassandra Moore

A

U.S. Army PFC Jimmy Roe, assigned to Bravo Company, 299th Battalion
Support Brigade, Dagger Brigade, operates the Lulzbot Taz 2 Hard Plastic 3D
Printer that is a part of rapid fabrication via additive manufacturing (R-FAB)on the battleﬁeld.

s the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command(AMCOM) and the Army fast approach, advanced
manufacturing (AM) is already here. Not only is
the Army exploring AM methods and 3D-printed parts
to maintain and sustain its aviation fleet; industry has
already moved out on the subject. Advanced manufacturingholds great promise and we need to take advantage of theopportunity, but we also need to ensure that our aircraft aresafe to fly. Until recently, there was no written airworthiness
policy or guidance on AM.
On 22 May 2020, AMCOM published a policy
memorandum (AMCOM Policy No. 070-062) addressing
advanced manufacturing for Army aircraft parts, components
and support products. “Evolving technologies create bothchallenges and opportunities to enable readiness. The
advanced manufacturing airworthiness policy is crafted totake advantage of new technology, but ensure the safety of
the fleet,” said AMCOM Commander MG Todd Royar, who
serves as the Army’s airworthiness authority, responsible for
ensuring the safety of the service’s aircraft.

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

AM Capability is Here Now
Two reasons necessitated the policy. First, industry isalready using AM and second, the capability to manufactureparts is here now. The Improved Turbine Engine Program(ITEP) is an example of industry already using the technique.
ITEP includes a number of AM components. “ITEP benefits
from advanced manufacturing include reduced cost, reduced
weight, increased durability and enhanced performance
when compared to traditional manufacturing methods,”
said COL Roger Kuykendall, Project Manager for Aviation
Turbine Engines. “The benefits of AM stem from the uniquecapability to produce more complex hardware shapes while
simultaneously reducing part count.”
ITEP is just one example, but industry is already taking
full advantage of the capability and we expect to see extensive
36

October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

37

October 31, 2020

use of it in both U.S. Army Future Attack ReconnaissanceAircraft and Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft.
The second reason is that we already have limited capability
to execute AM in the Army today. The majority of our brigades
have one or more Computer Numerical Control (CNC)
machines that can make parts today. At the Army level, the Joint
Manufacturing and Technology Center ( JMTC) at Rock Island
Arsenal is rapidly expanding its capability and will be able tomanufacture more complex parts requiring greater precision.

For Army aviation applications, AM parts and components
are now managed under six categories that range from articles
that support maintenance operations to those aviation criticalsafety items, whose failure would result in unacceptable risks.
The designated categories will prescribe for engineers andmanufacturers the allowed materials and appropriate testing
methodology for each particular part.
It is critical to note, that until our processes fully evolve,
units desiring to AM any part must contact a liaison engineer
first and receive approval.

Airworthiness Remains the #1 Priority
Just because a part may be able to be milled or printed
to fit like the original using AM, it may not have the samestructural properties. The type of material used and whether
other processes were used (e.g., heat-treated, shot-peened,
etc.…) make a significant difference. Because of these issues
and the fact AM processes still have a relatively wide variancein tolerances, an airworthiness policy was needed to guide how
we qualify parts using AM techniques.
The fine details of the airworthiness policy were crafted bya team of engineers at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities
Development Command Aviation and Missile Center, led
by Chris Hodges, Associate Director for AirworthinessTechnology. Hodges said the new policy was drafted after his
team collaborated with stakeholders from across the aviationenterprise, reaching across Army organizations and out tosister services and the Federal Aviation Administration. “Weconsidered a lot of input and ultimately organized expectations
and requirements by category, spanning from tools and shop
aids to critical safety items,” Hodges said. “The resulting policy
sets a solid foundation with room to grow and fill in details as
the story evolves.”

What the Future Holds
AM will be part of our future as a complement to the
traditional supply system. To that end, we are starting tosystematically evaluate many of the parts in our enduring
fleet and then qualify those appropriate parts for AM. If thegovernment has the appropriate intellectual property, units
will be able to make select parts on the battlefield by accessing
the appropriate files from the database and downloading theminto their CNC or other AM machines. Other more complex
parts, requiring tighter tolerances, will be produced at JMTC
and then sent forward. Bottom line is that we will be able toget a fully qualified part to the mechanic that needs it faster.
The aviation enterprise is committed to getting the
maximum benefit out of AM. The Airworthiness Policy
will evolve over time but has set the framework for how wecollectively realize the benefits while also ensuring the safetyof our aircrews and those we fly.
Ms.Cassandra Moore is an aviation and missile program integrator
within the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM)
G-3S, Strategy and Systems Integration at Redstone Arsenal, AL.

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Special Focus X Aviation Support
Aviation Mission Systems andArchitecture (AMSA) – Continuing to Evolve
By COL Johnathan FrasierIn today’s unprecedented times, the United States Armymust be prepared to answer our nation’s call, with a renewedvision focused on Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO.
This realization was the genesis of the reorganization of theAviation Systems Project Office 18 months ago, now PM
Aviation Mission Systems and Architecture (AMSA). AMSA
continues to manage a diverse capability set of 49 distinct
product lines for Army Aviation, spanning communications,navigation, maintenance, planning and execution tools, and Air
Traffic Control; however, over the past 18 months, AMSA’s
mission set has evolved with a new focus to enable integration
across the Aviation Enterprise. This new mission is synchronized with the Army’s transition to Multi-Domain Operations(MDO), and the necessity to enable Joint All Domain Command and Control ( JADC2) on the Multi-Domain Battlefield(MDB). PM AMSA realigned its product offices to provide
seamless coordination with critical stakeholders to ensure future Army Aviation concepts are realized as game changing
capabilities on the MDB.

New SCAMP ﬁelding at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

ALL PHOTOS U.S. ARMY PHOTO

Protect the Force40

As part of its new mission, the Assured Airspace Access Systems Product Office (A3S, formerly the Air Traffic Control
Product Office), coordinates directly with the Assured Precision, Navigation, and Timing Cross Functional Team (APNT
CFT) to ensure Army Aviation maintains uninterrupted navigation and timing information capabilities on the MDB. The
Multi-platform Anti-jam Global Positioning (GPS) Navigation Antenna (MAGNA) and Enhanced Aviation, Global Air
Traffic Management (GATM), Localizer Performance with
Vertical Guidance (LPV), Embedded GPS/Inertial Navigation System (EGI) (EAGLE) M-Code (EAGLE-M) aresignature efforts to ensure Army Aviation can fight and win
in a GPS contested environment. MAGNA is a small adaptive GPS anti-jam antenna system comprised of Controlled
Reception Pattern Antenna and antenna electronics. The
MAGNA reduces the effect of GPS jamming and ensures
the Warfighter’s continued access to GPS-provided position,navigation, and timing in a GPS degraded environment. The
EAGLE-M is the next generation navigator for Army Aviation and will provide enhanced protection on the MDB by utilizing Military Code (M-Code) signal vice the current Selective Availability Anti-spoofing Module (SAASM) signal used
today. Finally, A3S is evaluating concepts for Alternate PNTsolutions to ensure Army Aviation can fight and win in a GPS
denied environment.
The Aviation Ground Support Equipment (AGSE) Product Directorate continues to provide exceptional support toArmy Aviation maintainers and aircrews. Over the past year,

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ARMY AVIATION Magazine

Leading The Situational Awareness Revolution

41

October 31, 2020

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AGSE started fielding the Self-Propelled Crane, Aircraft Maintenance andPositioning Increment II Expeditionary
Crane (SCAMP II) to Combat Aviation Brigades (CAB), greatly expanding
the CABs' maintenance capability.
In addition to this new capability,
AGSE modified and fielded modernized Flexible Engine and Diagnositc
Systems (MFEDS) to Fort Rucker,
Fort Bragg and Fort Campbell. Thismodernized system greatly expands themaintenance capability to test legacy
and future digital engines. AGSE also
initiated a procurement effort to provide
a new Aviation Ground Power Unit
(AGPU 1.1) that will meet all CH-47F
requirements, as well as support enduring fleet aircraft. The AGPU 1.1 willbridge the gap as the requirements for
Future Vertical Lift continue to mature.
This new AGPU 1.1 will offset the burden experienced by today’s maintainers
during multiple CH-47F maintenancetasks as well as provide a more reliable
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In addition to providing capabilities that help protect the force, AMSA
is responsible for enabling the future
Aviation force. The Aerial Communications and Mission Command Product
Office (ACMC, formerly the Aviation
Mission Equipment Product Office)coordinates directly with the Network
CFT and other Program Executive
Offices (PEOs) for all things Mission
Command (MC), Common Operating Environment (COE), and communications. These coordination efforts are essential to ensure seamless
interoperability for Army Aviation on
the MDB and that Aviation remains
nested within the Army’s network. The
Air Ground Network Radio (AGNR)
capability will provide a multi-channel,
crypto-modernized, software-definedradio that allows for a more rapid introduction of emerging waveforms directly
supporting Unified Network Operations, Air/Ground Convergence, Joint
Interoperability, and the Mobile User
Objective System (MUOS) waveform.
This capability will ensure that Army
Aviation remains in synch with groundradio capabilities, ensuring Army Aviation can communicate with the Soldiersthat it supports. The first flight demo of
AGNR will occur in October 2021. In
addition to AGNR, ACMC will begin
fielding a crypto modernized version of
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ARMY AVIATION Magazine
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44

October 31, 2020

capability in support of the Directed Requirement (DR).
DVE-DR capability will greatly enhance Army Aviation’s
ability to dictate where and when it fights on the MDB byproviding enhanced situational awareness to the aircrew indegraded environments. The current DVE-DR capability
creates 3D apriori data utilizing Digital Terrain Elevation Data
(DTED) Level 2, overlaying 2D Infrared (IR) camera sensor
imagery and fusing with near real-time 3D Light Detection
and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor data. The system also renders
3D conformal symbology to provide additional situationalawareness during all phases of flight. The current DVE-DR
capability is being installed on Medical Evacuation aircraft
for near term deployment and an operational assessment.
With rapidly evolving technology and development ofan OSA digital backbone, the future DVE capability will
provide a true game-changing capability for Army Aviationon the MDB.

Relevant and Responsive
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Sensor and Infrared Camera installedon an HH-60M.

its current Air to Air radio (the ARC-231A) that also hosts the
SATURN waveform.
Certainly secure, advanced communications is a key enabler for MDO, but the ability to dynamically plan, execute,and share a common operating picture (COP) to include airspace will be a critical enabler on the MDB. Because of this,
ACMC is reimagining both the Aviation Mission Planning
Station (AMPS) and the Tactical Airspace Information System (TAIS) capabilities to further converge into the COE tomeet Mission Command needs. Combined, these efforts will
enable JADC2 and allow Army Aviation to operate as a critical node on the MDB.
Finally, AMSA is responsible for creating a seamlessarchitecture for Army Aviation that optimizes integration
across the Aviation Enterprise. The Aviation Architecture andEnvironment Exploitation Product Office (A2E2, a merger ofthe old Aviation Networks and Mission Planning and Degraded
Visual Environment (DVE) Product Offices) coordinates acrossPEO Aviation to provide the future architecture for Army
Aviation. This work is tightly nested within the Future Vertical
Lift Architecture Collaboration Working Group (ACWG).
The Aviation Mission Common Server (AMCS) is the initialinstantiation of an Open Systems Approach (OSA) digitalbackbone that will provide scalable hardware, software, andan operating environment for the Enduring Fleet to enable
rapid onboarding of mission systems. Additionally, AMCS will
provide a decentralized mission processing architecture capableof distributed processing among multiple nodes. It will host all
networking capability, software application-based solutions,and sensor processing and fusion needed to compete and win
against near-peer threats. AMCS will allow Army Aviationto achieve the tenets of Agility- rapidly onboard technology
through common standards and interfaces, Adaptability–
rapidly respond to the ever-changing threat, and Affordability–
bypass costly Operational Flight Profile (OFP) updates, as weseek to transform the AIMPOINT Force for the MDB.
In addition to the AMCS capability, A2E2 continues to
upgrade aircraft with the Degraded Visual Environment
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

AMSA remains committed to provide exceptional support
to the Soldiers who use our capabilities every day, while
continuing to execute targeted modernization when able.
However, as the United States Army continues to evolve,
so too does AMSA. Over the past 18 months, AMSA has
undergone an organizational transformation as well as a
mission transformation in order to meet Army Aviation’s needs

Alternate view of fouled landing zone with obstacle detection (e.g., wires)and reference towers for landing and take-off in DVE.

on the MDB. With new missions to provide an OSA approach
to onboard future capability along with reimagined approaches
to converge capability development to ensure seamless
interoperability on the MDB, AMSA remains relevant andon the cutting edge of capability development to ensure Army
Aviation and our Soldiers are never in a fair fight.
COL Johnathon Frasier is the Aviation Mission Systems andArchitecture Project Manager, Program Executive Off ice
Aviation located at Redstone Arsenal, AL.
45

October 31, 2020

Special Focus X Aviation Soldier Support
Product Manager Air Warrior 2020:
Update to the Field By LTC Bryan Bogardus

ALL PHOTOS BY LTC BRYAN BOGARDUS

An 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade crew chief wearing the ACE.

F

iscal Year 2020 has certainly presented both challenges
and opportunities to the Product Manager Air Warrior(PM AW) Office. The PM AW team continued to field
new Aviation Life Support Equipment, develop follow-on
capabilities, and respond to urgent mission needs, including
rapid response support for force protection measures tomaintain the health and safety of the aviation Soldier andthe AW workforce.

Air Soldier System
Highlights for FY20 include the Air Warrior team’s
continued fielding of Air Soldier System (Air SS) capabilities
to both aircrews and aircraft. Army Aviation Soldiers
received the new Rotary Wing Helmet and Lightweight
Body Armor, 72 Hour Survival Items, and the Electronic
Fight Bag (EFB). The team also continued to modernize
ARMY AVIATION Magazine46

the existing fleet by installing the new Air SS Helmet
Mounted Display system upgrade in the UH-60L and
UH-60M aircraft, all while supporting inquiries from thefield and assisting aviation life support equipment (ALSE)
technicians in solving problems. And as always, the AW
team also pressed forward to complete the development andtest of follow-on Air SS capabilities, including the Aircrew
Combat Equipment (ACE), which is the next capability to
be delivered.
The current Air Warrior Primary Survival Gear Carrier(PSGC) has been in the field since 2004. Feedback from thefield indicated a change was needed, and the Air Warrior teambegan work on the next generation Army aircrew mission
and survival vest, the ACE. Our team included aviation
Soldiers, survival equipment manufacturers, government
and industry engineers, and ALSE techs. Through visits withactive duty units, risk reduction events, and user surveys, theteam fine-tuned the ACE design and ultimately arrived at
the final configuration currently going through qualification
testing. ACE will undergo an operational test with the 25th
Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade in April of2021, and fielding will follow immediately.
The Aircrew Combat Equipment includes an integrated
full body harness, ballistic protection, and an innovative
flotation system in the form factor of a cummerbund thateliminates the legacy LPU flotation collar- and based
upon Soldier feedback, a most welcome change for the
Apache community in particular. As its predecessor, ACE
is modular and can be customized for regional climatic orover water missions.
The biggest reduction in weight and bulk, and anothersource of positive feedback, is the design of the integrated
body armor. ACE adopts the Modular Scalable Vest (MSV)
armor from the ground force MSV Gen II protection
system. This armor meets all Army requirements while
reducing weight and bulk and increasing flexibility. The softbody armor is integrated into the flight vest, eliminatingexcess layers of fabric. This significantly reduces the weightand bulk of the ACE and increases freedom of movement
and mobility.
Another change from the legacy PSGC the ACE brings
to the field is removable leg straps. Although an extraction
capability is required for flight missions, a removable strap
design permits the crewmember to comfortably wear ACE
on the ground in locations where body armor is required.
As the ACE now incorporates the same basic body armor
worn by the Infantry Soldier, the PM AW is coordinatingwith our Army Aviation Center of Excellence counterparts
to determine if the ACE may remove the need for aircrews
to be issued a second set of body armor when deployed.
October 31, 2020

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47

October 31, 2020

Situational awareness (SA) is a key
enabler for the Aviation warfighter. A
new product from PM AW will provide aircrews with a new level of SA
using commercial handheld devices
that leverage secure wireless technology. Known as Nett Warrior – Aviation (NW-A), it’s an adaptation of the
fielded Nett Warrior system utilized byArmy ground forces. The enabling software for NW-A is the Tactical Assault
Kit, which provides maps, precision
targeting, surrounding land formations
information, navigation, and SA.
NW-A will provide aircrews withnot only a common operational picture(COP), but also enables data- and eventually voice communication- with any
entity depicted on the COP of the handheld end user device (EUD). The current
COP available to most Army aircrews iscomprised of Blue Force Tracker (BFT)
entities, which supported ground forces
may have limited capability to leverage.
NW-A will enable an Infantry Soldier
and an air crewmember within lineof sight (LoS) of one another, or withany other comparably equipped Soldier or aircraft, to tap an icon on their
EUD and send/receive data messages.

In future increments, voice over internet
protocol (VoIP) will enable direct voicecommunication.

Integrated Visual Augmentation
SystemAnother future capability for the
AW team is the leveraging of the PEO
Soldier’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) for aircrew use. Initially focused on the Army ground close
combat forces, the PM AW team is investigating how to best implement thisleap-ahead technology for use by the
Army aviation Soldier in the cockpits
and cabins of Army aircraft. The PM
AW envisions IVAS-Aircrew (IVASA) as the variant tailored to meet theunique mission needs for both rated
and non-rated aircrew members. The
current IVAS is a color, binocular, seethrough heads up display built on Microsoft’s HoloLens technology. It fuses
real world, mixed reality, artificial intelligence, and terrain services to enhance
Soldier situational awareness.
As we continue to focus on convergence and interoperability, we will leverage next-generation platform sensors,enhanced terrain data products, as wellas integrate the common air/ground

Aviators with the 82nd CAB wearing the ACE
while performing preﬂight cockpit checks.

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ARMY AVIATION Magazine

ALL PHOTOS BY LTC BRYAN BOGARDUS

Nett Warrior-Aviation

48

Tactical Assault Kit software enhanced
by a robust interface to the Army’s new
Integrated Tactical Network. This will
provide a breakthrough in mission planning, obstacle and Threat position detection, and identification of the safest
or most efficient alternate routes. Unlike current heads up displays, IVAS-A
will not be just for flight, it will provide
pre-mission planning, training, mission
rehearsal, mission execution, and afteraction review capability.
Moving forward, the Air Warrior
team will continue to seek and embrace
convergenceandinteroperability
opportunities whenever possible. We
continue to work closely with other
Product Offices, Program Executive
Offices, and Services to ensure we arearming the Aviation Soldier with thebest equipment to enable their safety,
survivability, and lethality on thebattlefield. At PEO Soldier, Precision
is the Standard, Every Ounce Matters,and Every Bullet Counts.
LTC Bryan Bogardus is the productmanager for Air Warrior located in
Huntsville, AL.
October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

49

October 31, 2020

Special Focus X Aviation Survivability

Project Manager Aircraft Survivability
Equipment Update By COL Kevin S. ChaneyI

think it is safe to say that the oldcliché “not business as usual” hastaken on new meaning this year.
The Project Management Office, Aircraft Survivability Equipment (PMASE) continues to weather the impactsof the COVID-19 pandemic. As you
would expect, there are varying levelsof direct and indirect impacts acrossthe portfolio. Proudly I can say that the
ASE Team, working in concert with theAviation and Acquisition Communities,
to include our systems’ contractors, hasmanaged to successfully mitigate mostof the COVID-19 impacts. In this article, I will bring you up to date on thework we are doing to deliver state-of-art
technology today and I will also give you
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

a glimpse of the direction PM ASE ispursuing to ensure our protection strategy is integrated and complimentarywith the future of Army Aviation.

Systems Update
PM ASE has started the delivery of
new systems that will greatly improve
both threat detect and defeat capabilities. These new systems build on provencapabilities such as the AN/AAR-57A
Common Missile Warning System(CMWS), Advanced Threat Infrared
Countermeasures (ATIRCM), and AN/
APR-39 Radar Warning Receiver(RWR) that have provided needed protection for the last decade. The new systems Limited Interim Missile Warning
50

System (LIMWS), Common Infrared
Countermeasures (CIRCM), and AN/
APR-39 D(V)2 RWR will provide improved capability, and more importantly,
are designed to provide agility to adapt
to evolving threats and allow the rapid
implementation of modernization opportunities. First let’s discuss our Missile Warning System.
LIMWS is the Army’s newest Missile Warning System. It significantly improves upon the capabilities of CMWS
by utilizing infrared (IR)-based sensors
to detect incoming missiles and unguided Hostile Fire threats. LIMWS enables
us to maintain overmatch of quickly
emerging threat technology and tactics
by providing increased detection range,
October 31, 2020

Army helicopters participate in an aerial gunnery
event at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany

est modernization effort in radar warning capability. D(V)2 introduces digitaltechnology and upgrades in processing
capability for today’s RF threat environment. It provides aircrews with improved visibility of the RF spectrum
along with timely visual/aural alerts
through significant increases in detection, identification, and prioritizationof RF threats. These warnings allow aircrews to break the threat kill chain early.
Last year, we successfully conducteda D(V)2 A-kit installation on the AH64E. Our team is leveraging the successof this proof of concept and we are delivering the capabilities of the D(V)2 ina limited fielding starting this year.
As you can see PM ASE continues to
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY ARMY SGT JUSTIN ASHAW

improved detection in clutter, more agilealgorithms to rapidly respond to emerging threats, and eliminates the need forsensor alignments. It incorporates a fiber
optic backbone and additional processing capacity which allow for growth in
the future. Formal qualification testingof the system is underway and expected
to complete in FY2021. To date, the test
results are extremely positive and point
to a successful completion of First Unit
Equipped (FUE) early next year.
Our ability to defeat a detected missile has rested on the capable ATIRCM
system. The new system, CIRCM, is arevolutionary leap in laser-based countermeasures technology and greatly reduces size, weight, and power requirements. In addition, CIRCM is based on
an open systems architecture that will
integrate with multiple missile warning systems and allow rapid software
updates in order to pace the threat for
years to come.
CIRCM had an extremely successful year. The Initial Operational Testand Evaluation was completed in Dec
2019 resulting in 100% success against
all tested threats. Additional highlights
include the completion of FUE in Feb
2020, and a successful Independent
Technical Risk Assessment. These accomplishments have CIRCM postured
for success for upcoming milestones including the FRP decision in FY21 andInitial Operational Capability in FY22.
The D(V)2 RWR represents the lat-

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 '"!$work diligently to ensure that the latest
Survivability system updates and new
systems are fielded to our units aroundthe world. Equally as critical is the development of our next generation Survivability technology and systems.

The Future of ASE Architecture
PM ASE is passionate about our
mission to protect Army aircraft andour warfighters. We are dedicated tothe continual improvement of ASE
capabilities in an ever-changing threat
environment to ensure that our mission
is successful. In order to keep ahead of
the threat, we must find ways to quickly
develop and deploy new technologies
and integrate them onto our fleet withas little impact to the host aircraft as
possible. The Future ASE Architectureis our pathway to achieve that goal.
Based on a Modular Open Systems
Approach (MOSA), the Future ASE
Architecture will concentrate on
the development of critical aircraft
survivability applications and stateof-the-art sensor technologies toconsolidate ASE capabilities into
fewer physical elements resulting
in reduced size, weight, power andcooling (SWaP-C) burdens on the hostaircraft and ultimately enabling a more
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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effective way to rapidly integrate newcapabilities onto the aircraft in responseto emerging threats. Moving awayfrom our current approach of a specificLine Replaceable Unit (LRU) andsensor suite for each ASE capability,
the Future ASE Architecture will
employ multipurpose processor LRUs
to host concurrent ASE functions(such as missile warning, laser warning,etc.), while maintaining growthpotential to accommodate capability
upgrades and new technology. The
multipurpose processors will makeuse of an improved operating system
and a multi-core environment to hostASE critical applications developed
through extensive cooperation withindustry and academic partners. Sensor
technology advancement and fusion
will be pursued to keep pace withadvancing threat development andminimize the overall ASE Outer Mold
Line (OML) footprint. By employing
MOSA for the necessary interfaces(which will likely include hardware,
software, and logical interfaces) andmandating the use of published/open
standards when necessary, the Army
will be able to retain appropriate data
rights, maintain control of the system,
minimize vendor lock, and maximize
52

best value solutions.
Whereas legacy architectures havetended to use point-to-point datatransmission on a number of disparate
interfaces, the Future ASE Architecture will use a much more open approach, utilizing a common, high-capacity digital backbone and a publish/
subscribe implementation that uses
common, published or governmentowned messaging standards. Thiswider sharing of information allows amore readily reconfigurable and upgradable system for which capabilities
can be physically relocated, upgradedor added without having to “re-plumb”
the message routing with expensive
and time-consuming system-specific
A-kit modifications.
The Future ASE Architecture will
create an architecture that fulfils ourcurrent needs while also having an eye
firmly on the future. Many aspects of
the next generation ASE architecture
are already in development and testing.
Engagements with industry andacademia are also ongoing with theobjective of demonstrating capabilities
in FY 22. Risk reduction integrations
are planned by early FY 24 withinitial systems ready for flight testingin the FY 26-28 timeframe. All thiswill ensure that PMO ASE is well
positioned to offer ongoing technology
and capability upgrades for US Army
platforms.
To bring this update full circle, it
is clear that this year is very unusual,
but you can be assured that PM ASE
is working hard to ensure COVID-19
doesn’t impact our ability to meet the
Army’s operational requirements. Our
pledge is to continue to work closelywith all members of the Aviation
Enterprise to neutralize COVID
related risk. Simultaneously, we remainenergized to move forward withthe aggressive development of ourmodernization strategy to ensure weare synchronized and supportive of the
future of Army Aviation. I hope all of
you continue to remain healthy andare able to join us at this year’s AAAA
2020 Aircraft Survivability Symposiumin Orlando, FL on 7-8 December.

COL Kevin S. Chaney is the Project Manager for Aircraft Survivability Equipment
located in Huntsville, AL, under the Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors.
October 31, 2020

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October 31, 2020

Special Focus X Aviation Survivability

Survivability: Army Aviation Tactics within
By CW5 Casey W. Peterson

U.S. ARMY PHOTO

Strategy

T

Joint Aviation Multi-Ship Quick Reaction Team, China Lake, CA.

he current “buzz word” within Army Aviation is“Tactics.” But what are tactics and how are they
developed? What is the Army Aviation strategy andhow is it affected by the Military Decision-Making Process(MDMP)? Lawrence Freedman states in Strategy: A History,“Without a strategy, facing up to any problem or striving
for any objective would be considered negligent. There is acall for strategy every time the path to a given destination
is not straightforward.” The obstacles encountered along thatpath are overcome by implementing tactics. Army Aviation
cannot succeed in Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO)
without understanding the strategy and correct applicationof the tactics, which are two sides of the same coin. As Sun
Tzu taught, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to
victory. Tactics without strategy are the noise before defeat.”
The precipice on which Army Aviation now stands is one
governed by our adversaries. For nearly two decades Army
Aviation has dominated the counterinsurgency (COIN) fight.
Don’t believe for a second the Army’s dependence on Aviation
has gone unnoticed. FM 3-0 Operations, “As the Army and
the Joint Force focused on counter-insurgency and counterterrorism at the expense of other capabilities, our adversaries
watched, learned, adapted, modernized and devised strategies
that put us at a position of relative disadvantage in places where
we may be required to fight.”The United States Army Aviation
Center of Excellence (USAACE) Directorate of Training andDoctrine (DOTD) Survivability Branch, Flight Training
Branch, Directorate of Evaluation and Standardization(DES), and Aviation Survivability Development and Tactics
ARMY AVIATION Magazine(ASDAT) are collaborating in holistic changes ushering in a
new chapter for Army Aviation.

Strategy, Tactics, and Analysis Team
Within the Army’s current strategy, rebuilding warfighting
readiness is the top priority. As outlined in The Army Strategy/
Strategic Approach (Figure 1, page 55), sustaining that readinessis the Army’s vision for 2028. In the proposed revision of the
TC 3-04.9 Commander’s Aviation Mission Survivability (AMS)
Program, the Strategy, Tactics, and Analysis Team (STAT) is
the Aviation commander’s tool to project combat power ona multi-domain battlefield. Consisting of the S-2, Electronic
Warfare Officer/NCO (EWO/EWNCO), Master Gunner, and
the Aviation Mission Survivability Officer (AMSO); the STAT
is an intelligence-based team which focuses on the operational
environment and its effects on Aviation.
Operating at the brigade and battalion/squadron levels
the team utilizes mission planning systems, electronic
warfare, and threat analysis to provide the commander,
mission planners, AMCs, and aircrews a full understandingof the enemy’s ability to influence Aviation operations while
preserving friendly force combat power.
Understanding that strategy execution is adaptive to thecomplex and dynamic nature of the operational environment, itis the responsibility of the STAT to ensure Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB) is thoroughly conducted as part
54

October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

55

October 31, 2020

ALL GRAPHICS U.S. ARMY USAACE GRAPHIC

Figure 1. The Army Strategy/Strategic Approachof the Fused Mission Planning (FMP)
process. The data derived from FMP
provides the command staff with essential AMS information for the MDMP
and mission planning. The STAT assists
the commander in strategy development. Once the commander determinesa strategy and end state the STAT, in

collaboration with BN and CO unit
planners, develops tactics, techniques,and procedures (TTPs) to bridge any
shortcomings identified during FMP.

The Path Behind and The Path Ahead
As stated in the unclassified summaryof the National Defense Strategy,“Today, we are emerging from a periodof strategic atrophy, aware that ourcompetitive military advantage has been
eroding. We are facing increased global
disorder, characterized by decline in thelong-standing rules-based international
order, creating a security environment
more complex and volatile than any
we have experienced in recent memory.
In this environment, there can be nocomplacency, we must make difficult
choices and prioritize what is mostimportant to field a lethal, resilient, andrapidly adapting Joint Force. America’s
military has no preordained right tovictory on the battlefield.” It is not amatter of “getting back to the basics.”The
reemergence of strategic competition is
not the same threat America has facedin the past. This threat is modernized,
adaptive, and lethal and can contest theUnited States on every domain.
USAACE DOTD Survivability
Branch has worked diligently to follow
the guidance within the Army’s strategy to rebuild warfighter readiness. This
includes restructuring of the Aviation
AMSO course, updating the AMSO
critical task list (CTL), and validating evasive flight tactics through realistic testing.
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ARMY AVIATION Magazine

56

October 31, 2020

Quick Reaction Test (QRT), completed
this year, tested multi-ship evasive
maneuvers validating multi-ship TTPs
while retaining freedom of maneuverin an Anti-Access Aerial Denial(A2AD) contested environment. The
3900 series task multi-ship Training
Support Package (TSP) is projected
for release Q2 FY21. In addition, thebranch is revising the TC 3-04.9 as acomprehensive guide for the AMSO
to manage the commander’s AMS
program. AMSOs are responsible for
the AMS assessment that measures
the survivability capabilities of theunit and gauges the effectiveness of
the AMS program. The assessment
identifies the status, improvements,
and recommendations for unit AMS
operations and training. AMSO’s
primary
responsibilities
includetraining Aviators within the unit on
tactical employment of the aircraft
including AMS evasive flight tasks,
tactical threats to Aviation, andemployment of ASE.

Sustainable and Progressive
Training Model
Without a solid foundation thishouse will fall. USAACE has gained“irreversible momentum” to reform

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

and train the future Aviation warfighter. It is imperative units leverage
the Unit Trainer (UT) program andempower the current pilots-in-command (PCs) to conduct the technicalaspect of the unit’s training. AMSOs
are charged to complete UT qualification administered by a unit standardization pilot (SP). This permits
the senior instructors and AMSOs
to refocus their efforts in strategic
and tactical knowledge and application in high-intensity conflict. Thismodel is not a new concept. It is anadaptation of what the other Aviation
services have been using for years, theculmination of which is the weapon
tactics instructor (WTI). Professional
Military Education (PME), doctrine
updates, and regulatory changes are
currently under review to incorporate
necessary changes into Army Aviation
training plans.

Summary
To the point, we cannot promote anarrative of being tactically proficient
without understanding the threat. Adding “tactics” in doctrine without training the application of planning andstrategy perpetuates false preconceptions of abilities. Efforts will continue

57

to improve modernization of the fleet
and field new and improved survivability equipment. The success of these
improvements is contingent on the aptitude of the operator. Our primary investment is in the Aviation Warfighter.
Understanding enemy and friendly
strategy, applying effective pre-mission
planning, and correlating the appropriate tactics strengthens survivability resulting in combat readiness.
Note: The Survivability Branch isalways searching for interested andqualified personnel. If you feel that you
have the experience and the ability tocontribute to the Aviation Branch’s
survivability areas of concentration,
contact the DOTD Survivability
Office for a consideration packet.
Above the best!
CW5 Casey W. Peterson is the chief of
the Survivability Branch, Directorate ofTraining and Doctrine, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker,
AL. Additional major contributors to thisarticle were: CW4 Kenneth Kimber, CW4
Lee Kokoszka, CW4 Jenny Litherland,
CW4 Cesar D. Urquiza, SFC Tyler P.
Hervey, SGG Douglas R. Robillard, andDAC Deborah A. Countryman.

October 31, 2020

PERSONAL PHOTO BY CW4 MARK CHAMBERLIN

Special Focus X Aviation Survivability

Time-lapse view of a CH-47 Chinook pre-ﬂight after dark at Jalalabad Airﬁeld, Afghanistan.

Survivability – Outlook for Today andTomorrow from the Perspective of Aviation
Survivability Development and Tactics
By CW3 Paul OlsonThe Aviation Survivability Development and Tactics (ASDAT) team occupies a unique position in U.S.
Army Aviation. ASDAT, the Army component of the
Joint Combat Assessment Team ( JCAT) underneath the Joint
Aircraft Survivability Program ( JASP), started as a forensicsfocused team that examined enemy tactics techniques andprocedures (TTP) utilized to affect U.S. aircraft and provided
the joint aviation community with counter TTPs against thethreats posed to them. These efforts resulted in increased U.S.
military aircraft effectiveness and survivability. The team’s mission has expanded tremendously since its inception, with two
new pillars of training and survivability joining the existing
forensics mission. This mission expansion uniquely positions
ASDAT adjacent to Training and Doctrine (TRADOC), industry and government to positively affect and influence theSurvivability community in U.S. Army Aviation.
At present, retrograde operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
lessoning the counterinsurgency fight, enables the fleet to refocus on the near-peer fight and challenges to American dominance across the battlefield. This realignment of effort and priorities highlight the need to self-assess survivability as it relates
to training, lessons learned, and the way ahead. Concerning
survivability, ASDAT always maintains both a firm hand on
current threats facing supported units downrange and investigating the threats the joint Aviation community will facetomorrow. An initiative that personifies this refined focus is
USAACE’s execution of the Joint Aviation Multi-Ship ValiARMY AVIATION Magazine

dation quick reaction test, which exposed ASDAT to several
mission areas where historical institutional knowledge could beleveraged to make an immediate impact across the branch.
One issue that ASDAT identified was widespread lack ofunderstanding among aircrews of how aircraft survivability
equipment (ASE) functions in their airframe. Upon noticing
this trend among aircrews, ASDAT submitted changes to each
airframe’s ASE checklist and operator manual to address thewidespread confusion and assist our aircrews in better understanding their airframe’s ASE. The submitted changes areawaiting final approval before dissemination and implementation. All crew members must have a confident understandingof ASE. The understanding of an aircraft’s systems strengths
and weaknesses are critical in order to exploit these strengths
and mitigate these weaknesses in mission planning prior to
mission execution, therefore maximizing Aviation’s effectiveness in any threat environment.

Eliminating the Confusion
Given the sheer volume of Army aircraft, various models ofeach airframe, and the vast array of operational areas, an enormous strain is placed on operational flight programs, mission
data sets/sequence, as well as unit Aviation Mission Survivability Officers (AMSO’s) themselves. This results in an environment of confusion that ASDAT aims to eliminate. An initiative which exists to reduce some of the confusion is the ASE
Configuration Chart, a relatively new product, which stream58

October 31, 2020

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October 31, 2020

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lines ASE’s setting and software loads.
This chart is found on the ASDAT’s
Secret Internet Protocol Router network(SIPR) website. This clarification guide
synthesizes information produced by
the Army Reprogramming and Analysis Team (ARAT) and compiles it into
an easy-to-read presentation for unit
AMSO’s to acquire the necessary information required to program their ASE
for each airframe. Taking the guesswork
and confusion out of the process allows
AMSO’s to dedicate more of their time
to areas that need it.
At Fort Rucker, the Survivability
Branch revamped the AMSO track tobetter equip AMSOs to deal with thecurrent and emerging threat environments. One significant change is theelimination of the Personnel Recovery
requirement. This modification allows
AMSO’s to focus more on survivability and refocus on threats posed by peer
and near peer threats, along with theirproxies. The continuous challenge fromthose threats, coupled with some peer
and near peer partnerships and theirtremendous investment into their militaries now represent the greatest threat
to American military dominance.
AMSO’s will have to focus their attention on new, emerging threats, aswell as old threats modernized by newtechnology. Integrated Air Defense
networks and legacy hardware lethality can be increased with only software
upgrades that eliminate the need for
hardware advancement. It is a challenging time for our Aviation community.
Emerging weapons systems that leverage the electromagnetic spectrum as abattle domain, such as Directed Energy,
GPS spoofing/denial, and Ultraviolet
and Infrared has caused ASDAT toaddress these new threats and work to
educate the force through unit training
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As we continue to educate aircrews
on the current and emerging threats they
face, it is also important to recognize thepossible limitations our aircrews may
have for training opportunities. Electronic warfare ranges where crews andunits can work together to fly against
actual threats are expensive, limited, andaging quickly. Outside of ranges, aviation will need to take advantage of simulation and virtual reality. These options
have already taken root at Fort Rucker
with flight students learning the basics
60

of hovering prior to sitting in a cockpit.
Units will need access to similar systems
as an affordable option for crews to takeadvantage of and develop their TTPs.
Although nothing can replace live training, investment in leveraging new technologies can have a profound impact
by providing a cost-effective solutionthat allows crews to master their skill
without the wear and tear on airframes.
Although electronic warfare ranges canbe difficult to attend, simulation can bepresent on the aircraft with emulators
installed that will mimic enemy actions
giving aircrews options to train while inflight. Army aviation is taking positive
steps to address the threats that continue
to emerge from our nation’s adversaries, but more must be done to equip ouraviators with knowledge and skills in thistrying time of fluctuating budgets andever-evolving threats.
Addressing the changes necessary
to meet the survivability challenges weface as a community requires a culture
shift that impacts the way we problem
solve across Army Aviation. Continued
high operations tempo, perpetual personnel changeover and additional duty
assignments outside of aviator positions
all contribute to a culture of last minute
planning and ad hoc decision-making,which neglects the larger problem. From
top to bottom, across the entire community, aviation needs to address its
readiness for the next fight. This will
require hard study of emerging and future threats and the impacts to our current survivability, as well as pointed work
to resolve any inadequacies. Without adoubt, training is the keystone to surviving in the emerging and future battlespace. With education serving as thefoundation, we must know the current
and forecasted threats, as well as our own
ASE inside out. Knowledge of the threat
and knowledge of our own systems work
hand in hand. ASDAT will continue toleverage its unique position adjacent to
TRADOC, industry and government
to positively affect and influence thesurvivability community across the joint
Aviation community with the goal ofpreserving our fleet and our aviators intoday’s fight and in the future.
CW3 Paul E. Olson is an aviation combat
forensics officer and CH-47F aviation mission survivability officer with the Aviation
Survivability Development and Tactics(ASDAT) Team, headquartered at the U.S.
Army Aviation Center of Excellence, Fort
Rucker, AL.
October 31, 2020

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

61

October 31, 2020

Special Focus X Aviation Survivability

Always On: ARAT’s “Sharp Axe” Supports
Army Mission Readiness Through a Year of Challenges
By Mr. Eric Bowes, Mr. Brian McFadden and Mr. LaMarr Hill

It goes without saying 2020 has been
one hell of a year. From global tension,
COVID-19 pandemic, and social unrest, uncertainty and abnormality havebecome commonplace. However, one
thing remaining steadfast, despite life’s
circumstances, is the Army Reprogramming Analysis Team’s (ARAT) support
to Mission and the Soldier. ARAT’s
mission remains to develop, deliver, andsustain software to support Commanders across the full range of military operations. We pride ourselves on “aroundthe clock” support of this mission, regardless of the conditions surrounding it.
ARAT works to always ensure the
Army’s success in an ever-changing
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

world. Whether we are combating new
adversarial threats or working througha pandemic constrained environment,
ARAT adapts, overcomes, and pushes
forward. Our focus on continuous
Soldier support, delivery of needed
software updates to the field faster, andunderstanding the Soldier’s first-handexperiences result in answering the calland accomplishing the mission.

Answering the Call
Give me six hours to chop down a tree,
and I will spend the first four sharpening
the axe – Abraham Lincoln.
ARAT is constantly sharpening its
axes to be prepared for any situation, to62

include “rapid reprogramming” requirements for delivering software fasterthan normal based on urgent operational needs. ARAT started 2020 facingsuch a situation.
In January, we answered a HQDA
call to respond to an immediate threatchange in a combatant command areaof operations. Straightaway, we beganprepping and researching the region’s
threat environment based on thelatest intelligence. When the approved
requirement came down, we went into
24/7 mode, putting this effort foremostand redirecting our resources to get
the necessary Aviation Survivability
Equipment (ASE) mission software
October 31, 2020

through years of sharpening our axe in
anticipation of moments like this.

Unprecedented Times

Leaning Forward in the Foxhole
ARAT’s mission centers on being responsive to Commanders’ requirements
and a commitment to saving Soldiers’
lives.” Achieving this vision requires
continuous innovation towards the goal
reduction timelines associated with getting software products to the field.
We’ve have been working on four
significant innovations which will add
value to our software products:
Modernized AWSSSP with a focus
on simplicity, improved communication
to AMSOs and units, and a moreuser-friendly interface for delivery ofsoftware, information requests, andinformation messages.
Auto Parametric Update Tool enabling
ARAT to automatically retrieve datafrom the primary database source of
EW intelligence thereby reducing
timelines and human error resulting infaster, better products to the Soldier.
Simulation Modeling Framework
allowing intuitive generation of accu-

U.S. ARMY ARAT PHOTO

The Army depends on ARAT for
around the clock support 365 days ayear, not just during times of urgent
requirements. This dependency doesn’ttake a break when the rest of world
pauses for a pandemic.
The same “sharp axes” which enabled
the ARAT to support the Army during
a potential confrontation at the start of
the year enabled the ARAT to weather
the COVID-19 crisis. While healthand safety mandates and the rules ofsocial distancing limited our on-site operations, these constraints didn’t stop us
from supporting our customers. ARAT
quickly re-configured labs to accommodate socially distanced capacity all while
monitoring the global operational environment to identify situations requiring
impact messages to the field or rapid
software responses.
Although ARAT did momentarily
reduce to a minimal footprint to ensure the safety of the workforce, we
utilized this time to prioritize strategic
initiatives. We modified organizational
construct to ensure greater quality andcontrol standards, reviewed and refinedprocesses and procedures, and focusedon design and execution of several innovations to bring better software products
faster to the Aviation community.

ARAT-PO visits the Maryland Army National Guard
for mission orientation.

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products out the door. The result- three
separate mission software products
delivered electronically to the flightline in only 10% of the time normallyneeded for routine software productdevelopment efforts.
We were not done once we posted
the software to the ARAT Warfighter
Survivability Software Support Portal(AWSSSP) for download. Our team remained on 24/7 standby to provide anyneeded support. We also travelled to thedeploying units’ home station to provide
Aviation Mission Support Officer (AMSOs) tutorials and hands-on instructions
on the MDS downloading and updating procedures. All this was possible
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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63

October 31, 2020

rate code-based simulations in one sustainable format to support faster threat
simulation in the lab to ensure quicker
products to the Soldier.
Ambiguity Analysis Tool performing
ambiguity resolution of threat parametric data to analyze impacts on fieldedsoftware which will allow for timelier
information messages to the Solider.
Every minute and every hour saved
during the software development
process ensures that we can getbetter ASE products to the Aviation
Community faster. Innovations fromthe past have gotten us through thisunprecedented time, and innovations
currently underway will get us, and theAviation Community, through crises ofthe future. However, innovation is only
as good as our understanding of how
our Aviators use our products.

Greening the Workforce
Daily, we focus to ensure Soldiers havethe software they need, AMSO’s havethe understanding they need, and theentire Aviation Community has a lifeline for support to ensure their safety andsurvivability. ARAT is fortunate to haveformer and current members of the military, such as pilots, Aviation maintainers,

and operation specialists, on its staff who
have a background either utilizing or
benefiting from ARAT’s products.
However, we also have a significant
portion of the workforce who does nothave prior military experience. Whiledaily interaction with our veterans, reservists, and National Guard members
is beneficial to understanding the Soldier’s perspective, additional immersion
and hands-on exposure to our customer
is important.
This year, as in the past, we conducteda “greening exercise” which provided a
glimpse of Army life and helped familiarize the team with the Aviation Mission
and the equipment critical to its success.
We leveraged our ongoing relationshipwith the 29th Expeditionary Combat
Aviation Brigade (ECAB) and visited
the Maryland Army National Guard
Army Aviation Facility in the Edgewood
Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground fora Mission Orientation/Greening Event.
The National Guard provided briefings
on the real-world operational mission
impacts of ARAT products. We received
a hands-on demonstration of operational
ASE in a relevant environment and experienced an orientation flight in a Black
Hawk helicopter.

Thanks to the dedication of the
29th ECAB, our staff gained a better understanding of the flight crew
experience and the operational use of
ARAT products. Additionally, new
ARAT members have a greater senseof purpose and inspiration to continue
to work and produce a better capability.
This continued focus on understanding
the customer allows us to better serve
the Soldier to ensure mission success.
2020 will be “one for the books,” asthey say. But just as Soldiers must conduct missions anytime, anywhere, and inany environment, ARAT will keep its“axes” sharp to always support the Soldier with the same commitment. When
the Army calls, we will be there comewhoever or whatever the enemy may be.
Mr. Eric Bowes is the program officer of the
Army Reprogramming and Analysis Team
(ARAT), Communication-Electronics Life
Cycle Management Command (CECOM)
Software Engineering Center (SEC); Mr.
Brian McFadden is the Simulations andTesting branch chief; and Mr. LaMarr Hill
is a computer engineer responsible for DV2
and CV1 programming within the ARAT
Operations Center Branch. All are locatedat Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

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64

October 31, 2020

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ARMY AVIATION Magazine

65

October 31, 2020

EWAGS GRAPHIC

Special Focus X Aviation Survivability

S&T Advancements in Threat Detection
By Mr. Ralph Troisio, Dr. Frances Bodrucki, Mr. Thomas Z. Provencher and Mr. Paul RestineT

he development and proliferationofadvancedanti-aircraft
munitions including surfaceto-air missiles (SAM), man-portableair-defense systems (MANPADS) andair-to-air missiles (AAM) present asignificant threat to Army Aviation.
These high-speed guided missile
systems give crews little time to react
to incoming threats and can provefatal if not avoided or neutralized
before impact. The U.S. Army Ground
Combat Vehicles (GCVs) face similar
threats in the form of Anti-tank
Guided Missiles (ATGMs).
A passive threat warning sensor(TWS) can increase aircraft and vehicle
survivability by detecting and warning
crews of incoming threats shortly
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

after launch, giving crews more time
to maneuver or cue countermeasures
to defeat the incoming threat. Passive
sensors offer a distinct advantage overactive sensors such as radar. Unlike radarsystems, passive TWS systems are able
to detect incoming threats without
radiating any energy. This drasticallyreduces the equipped platform’s
signature and therefore, its detectability.

Passive Threat Warning Sensors
Just like any pistol, rifle, shotgun,
or other firearm seen in movies or
television, anti-air and anti-armor
threats produce distinct launch flashes
when they are fired. That burst of lightreleased from a launch produces asignificant amount of energy that rapidly
spreads out in all directions. Passive
TWS use a combination of advanced
optics, high resolution focal plane arrays
and advanced signal processing to detect
this energy long before the incoming
threat can reach its target. Through theuse of modern electro-optical imaging
66

technology, this energy can travel several
kilometers before reaching the vehicle
and still be detected by a sensor.
Not all TWS systems are made tooperate in the same wavelength band;
some are designed to detect in a varietyof bands across the electromagnetic(EM) spectrum. Operation in eachband comes with its advantages andchallenges. Infrared (IR) sensors can see
far, but there is significant backgroundclutter which results in the potential
for more false alarms. Some passive
sensors operate in the IR, by using
two-color IR imaging techniques toreduce the background clutter thatcomes with IR imaging. Rather thanoperating in a single band, two-color
IR imagers operate and sense light in
two wavelength bands. These imagers
take advantage of the spectral contrast
between the two images produced ateach wavelength to drastically reduce
the amount of clutter.
Advanced hardware must be
equipped with robust software andOctober 31, 2020

algorithms that utilize it to its fullest
capability. These complex algorithms
quickly and accurately distinguishincoming threats from backgroundclutter. Algorithms are commonly used
for object detection applications dueto their ability to recognize trends andpatterns as well as their ability to adapt
with little to no human intervention.
These algorithms rely on large setsof initial training data to learn but
will continuously improve as they
are presented more data over time.
Algorithms are trained using launchsignatures from a large array of recorded
threat launches as well as many hours ofrecorded background data.

Passive Sensing on Army Aviation
Platforms
Army Aviation invested in the Advanced Threat Warner (ATW) developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC). Since its initial investment,
the U.S. Army has tested the ATW onseveral of its rotary wing platforms including the UH-60 Black Hawk andthe CH-47 Chinook and has even fielded the system on the AH-64E Apache.
Before being adopted by the U.S.
Army, the ATW was flown anddemonstrated success on U.S. Marine
Corps and U.S. Navy aircraft on the
CH-53E Super Stallion, CH-53K
King Stallion, and MV-22 Osprey.
These aircraft as well as the AH64E Apache paired ATW with the
Department of the Navy Large Aircraft
IR Countermeasure (DoN LAIRCM).
This pairing enables these aircraft
to use data collected by ATW to cue
and direct countermeasures, increasing
survivability of the aircraft.

Leveraging Army Aviation Efforts
for Ground Combat Vehicles
Traditionally, threats to U.S. Army
GCVs have been addressed by vehicle
armor and hard kill (HK) active protection systems (APS). However, advancements in threat lethality have exceeded
the practical limits of additional armor.
This has led the Army to shift to a layered approach for ground platforms,
which combines armor with threat
sensors and countermeasures. This approach is a variant of an APS that protects GCVs using a combination of sensors, an electro-optic IR (EOIR) countermeasure and a central controller todetect, identify, engage, and ultimately
neutralize incoming threats. The introduction of soft kill (SK) into the defense
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

system allows for increased survivability
as it is not round limited like HK.
Development of threat warningtechnology for use on GCVs comes witha unique set of algorithmic, integrationand environmental challenges thatmake sensor requirements very different
from those currently addressed in Army
Aviation. For example, the groundenvironment generally has much more
clutter in the field of view (FOV) than
the air environment.
To support these efforts, the U.S.
Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) initiated science and technology (S&T) efforts
under the Ground Survivability Active
Defense (GSAD) as part of the Next
Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV)
Cross Functional Team. This effort includes two FY20 start programs: Advanced Soft-kill Countermeasure (ASKC) lead by Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center and the Layered
Soft-kill System (LSKS) led by Ground
Vehicle System Center (GVSC). ASK-C
feeds a passive TWS as well as soft killcountermeasure (SKCM) techniques andhardware to LSKS for a live fire demonstration in FY21. These systems will
be integrated onto a vehicle solely forthis test event. The goal of this event isto demonstrate the viability of a layered
SK approach. Current planned followon programs will add to the layered
approach (additional countermeasures,
including smoke, expanded threat detection capabilities, etc.), including development of a TWS specifically foruse on ground platforms. In the interim
for the scheduled demo, the ATW was
selected as the demo sensor for FY21
field event. The ATW was present at
the GVSC FY19 SK Rodeo in a noninterference capacity. Of the sensors
that were present, ATW was one of twothat were already successfully fielded insome capacity.
As mentioned above, there aredifferent challenges between the air andground detection as unique problem
sets in threat areas. The joint CCDC
effort will demo the ground-adapted
air sensor. This includes data collection
in ground environments (particularly
cluttered) to train and improve thealgorithms from the air to work more
efficiently in the ground environment,
as well as hardware and environmental
considerations to adapt the air sensor
for functionality on a ground platform.
67

Path Forward
Current TWS efforts have thepotential to expand the capabilities
beyond those discussed above. For
example, including a pointer/tracker totrack threats in flight, as well as accountfor a wide variety of different scenarios
such as situations where the launch
flash cannot be detected. The Armyis currently investigating the different
wavebands mentioned above todetermine if there should be a layered
approach to sensing and what bands
are most appropriate. The sum of allthese efforts bring the Army one step
closer to fielding passive threat warningon ground platforms.

Mr. Ralph Troisio is the chief, Dr. Frances
Bodrucki and Mr. Thomas Z. Provencher
are engineers, and Mr. Paul Restine is asubject matter expert of the Electronic Warfare Air/Ground Survivability Division of
the Intelligence and Information Warfare
Directorate (I2WD), Command, Control,
Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center, Combat Capabilities
Development Command (CCDC) locatedat Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

October 31, 2020

2020 National Functional Award Winners
Army Aviation Association of America

Outstanding Aviation
Logistics Support Unitof the Year

Materiel Readiness AwardFor Contribution
By A Major Contractor

Unmanned
Aircraft Systems
Soldier of the Year

Sponsored by AAAA

Sponsored by AAAA

Sponsored by AAAA

Commander:
LTC Daniel R. O’Meara

Senior NCO:
CSM Marc A. Dempsey

834th Aviation Support Battalion
34th Combat Aviation Brigade

M1 Support Services

CW2 John C. Hergert

Fort Rucker, AlabamaCompany D, 82nd Aviation Regiment,
82nd Combat Aviation Brigade,
Fort Bragg, North Carolina

M1 Support Services (M1) made outstanding
contributions to the materiel readiness of
the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence(USAACE) at Fort Rucker, AL. One brigade
worth of employees maintained ﬁve brigades
of aircraft (582) that safely ﬂew 210,000
hours. Across all ﬂeets, there were 48,124
more issuable aircraft to ﬂy, the fully mission
capable (FMC) rate improved 16%, while
the not mission capable-maintenance(NMCM) rate improved 12%, and issuable
aircraft increased 14 aircraft per sortie. M1
University trained hundreds of employees
on technical skills to improve maintenanceproductivity. Aircraft Notebook (ACN) issuesof scalability to meet Ft. Rucker OPTEMPO
and ﬂeet density and outages associatedwith .mil network reliance were minimized.
The National Logistics Qualiﬁcation Ofﬁce
recognized M1’s National Maintenance
Program as “Best-in Class” Quality
Management System and the company
received the Army Materiel Command Large
Supply Support Activity Supply ExcellenceAward. M1 operated and shared “bestpractices” of the ﬁrst Mobile Flexible Engine
Diagnostics System, accelerating learningfor 22 Army Aviation units; and designed
and manufactured over 8,000 COVID-19
face masks in 1½ weeks to ensure USAACE
force protection. M1’s accomplishments
have earned them the 2020 AAAA Materiel
Readiness Award for Contribution by a Major
Contractor.

CW2 John Hergert trained at the Joint Air
Operations Command and Control Course
which prepared him for a deployment to Al
Asad Airbase, Iraq in support of Operation
Inherent Resolve (OIR) from October 2019
to July 2020. While deployed, CW2 Hergert
fostered a shared understanding with D/82
AVN REGT’s Task Force Headquarters,
Combined Joint Task Force-Iraq, by attending
collection management meetings in which
he described the capabilities of the Gray
Eagle, helped synchronize their collection
efforts, and ensured efﬁcient utilization of UAS
platforms at the task force level. He broadened
D/82’s impact at the theater level by nesting
Gray Eagle assets and coordinating theestablishment of ﬁres plans, sensor plans, andintelligence collection products with Combined
Joint Special Operations Task Force-Iraq. In
January 2020, Iran attacked Al Asad Airbase
with several theater ballistic missiles inﬂicting
nearly eighty percent casualties in D/82. CW2
Hergert sustained traumatic brain injury asa result of the attack, and despite sufferingfrom symptoms, he stayed nearly anothermonth to coordinate with base logistics andArmy engineers to rebuild D/82’s company
compound and facilities. Following his
evacuation from theater, he was awarded
the Combat Action Badge and the Purple
Heart Medal. CW2 Hergert’s dedication andprofessionalism clearly identiﬁes him as the
Army Aviation Association of America’s 2020
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Soldier of the Year.

Camp Buehring, Kuwait
The 834th Aviation Support Battalion(ASB) distinguished itself in a dynamic
combat environment from October 2019 to
September 2020 while serving as the only
ASB in support of Combined Joint Task ForceOperation Inherent Resolve and Operation
Spartan Shield. The 834th ASB forward
deployed to nine locations to provide aviation
logistic support to United States and Coalition
forces throughout Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Syria,
and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During
its deployment, the 834th ASB successfully
executed over 103,000 man-hours ofaircraft maintenance; 55,000 man-hours ofwheeled vehicle and equipment maintenance;
coordinated movement of over 16,500 repair
parts and packages worth $600 million;
supported brigade level communications
networks; and provided medical services formore than 2,200 personnel. In addition to its
doctrinal mission set, the unit also supported
air trafﬁc services for over 80,000 aircraft
operations and provided oversight for two
strategic airﬁelds. The 834th ASB served
honorably while exposed to hostile enemy
threat during multiple coordinated 107mm
rocket attacks and an Iranian theater ballistic
missile strike. During each event, unit Soldiers
performed with distinction and continued
mission critical combat support operations
while in the face of danger. The outstanding
performance by 834th ASB Soldiers
clearly identiﬁes them as the 2020 AAAA
Outstanding Logistics Unit of the Year.
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

68

October 31, 2020

2020 National Functional Award Winners
Army Aviation Association of America

Unmanned Aircraft
Systems
Unit of the Year

Fixed Wing
Unit of the Year

Sponsored by Textron Systems

Sponsored by CAE

Commander:
CPT Ryan T. C. Eckerson

Senior NCO:
1SG Westley J. Kilpatrick

Commander:
LTC Martin E. Weaver

Senior NCO:
CSM Harold E. Sampson

Company D, 82nd Aviation Regiment82nd Combat Aviation Brigade

206th Military Intelligence Battalion(Aerial Exploitation) (ODIN'S EYE)

Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Bagram Airﬁeld, Afghanistan

Company D, 82nd Aviation Regimentcompleted a record-setting deployment
in support of Combined Joint Task ForceOperation Inherent Resolve (OIR), whileattached to the 34th Expeditionary Combat
Aviation Brigade. D/82 ﬂew over 1,000
sorties, totaling just over 16,500 combat
hours, more than any other UAS company
in the history of OIR. In January 2020, Iranattacked Al Asad Air Base with theaterballistic missiles which impacted the D/82
footprint inﬂicting numerous casualties,
destroying living quarters, and reducing
manning strength by over thirty percent.
While exposing themselves to hostile action,members of D/82 secured hasty ﬁber lines
to reestablish link with six Gray Eagles thatwere still airborne. Within thirty-six hours
after the missile strike, the company wasonce again conducting combat operations.
D/82 continued to conduct operations
despite nearly eighty percent of the formation
being diagnosed with traumatic brain injury
and 27 being evacuated from theater. D/82
executed the ﬁrst-ever in-air-intertheatertransfer of Gray Eagles by ﬂying three from
Bahrain to Iraq, spanning four countries andthe Persian Gulf enabling them to support
theater mission requirements for the restof the deployment. The Soldiers of Delta
Company, 82nd Aviation Regiment provedthat they are truly deserving of the 2020
AAAA Outstanding Unmanned Aircraft
Systems Unit of the Year Award.

The 206th MI BN (AE) is an exceptionallydiverse organization tasked with
providing mission command over the
Army’s largest aerial intelligence,
surveillance, reconnaissance task force.
The unit provided operational control andgovernment oversight of more than 800
Soldiers, Department of Army Civilians,and defense industry partners and 55
manned and unmanned ﬁxed wing aircraft.
The 206th MI BN (AE) self-started a
training program to qualify its aviators to
ﬂy the KA-300 that was approved by HQ
DA G-3/5/7 DAMO-AV which assisted ourcontract partners who were restricted fromentry into theater due to COVID-19. The
206th MI was geographically dispersed
across four locations and conducted morethan 9,000 combat missions, executing
in excess of 68,000 combat ﬂight hours
supporting over 50 named operations.
In addition to combat operations, theorganization set the conditions for a
successful and complete drawdown fromtheater earning the S-4 section recognition
from the International Society of Logistics.
The extraordinary accomplishments of the
Soldiers, Civilians and Defense Industry
partners of 206th MI BN (AE) clearly
identify them as the 2020 Army Aviation
Association of America’s Fixed Wing Unitof the Year.

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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69

October 31, 2020

From the Field X
Army Capability Manager for
Reconnaissance and Attack Changes
Charter, Continues Mission
By COL Ryan K. WelchI

continue partnership with major commands as we communicate and advocate on behalf of system operators andthe sustainment community. Some ofour efforts for the capabilities we support are listed below.

Divisions’ Gray Eagle Companies as afoundation for future GE-ER aircraftmodernization. This foundation willserve as the basis for MDO-ReadyUAS capabilities.
On tomorrow’s battlefield, calibrated
force posture demands will require UAS
to operate from extended distances thatstretch our current communications andsensor capabilities. GE-ER modernization priorities include assured precisionnavigation timing to ensure continued
operations in a GPS-denied environment. Additionally, GE-ER will leverage upgraded avionics and modernizeddata links to communicate battlefield
information available to commanders
from modernized sensors and payloads.
In support of ongoing assessmentsof the total Aviation forces ability
to execute in MDO, ACM-RA is
updating UAS concept documents
to ensure that modernization efforts
reflect a capability strategy for multifunctional sensors and payloads, open
system architecture and seamless airground communications to facilitate
MDO reconnaissance and effects.

ReconnaissanceIn coordination with Project Manager UAS and in-line with ongoing
Army modernization efforts, ACMRA continues to identify potential
targeted readiness capabilities, andrecommend improvements, to support
RQ-7B Shadow and MQ-1C Gray
Eagle UAS. At the time of this writing,Shadow is preparing for follow-on test
and evaluation to validate improved
electro-optical/infrared sensor range
and image fidelity. Additionally, validation will occur to the advances madein the Levels of Interoperability (LOI)
testing with the AH-64 to improvemanned/unmanned teaming capability.
Product Manager Endurance UAS(PM EUAS) continues to field theGray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER)
aircraft to Intelligence and Security
Command, Army Special Operations
Aviation Command, and selected

Attack

ACM-RA GRAPHIC

am honored to lead the ACM-RA
team of professionals that represent
Army Aviation recon and attack
tactical and operational capability interests to materiel developers and industry.
Although we will continue the same
core mission to support our warfighters,
ACM-RA is now task organized under
Aviation Combat Development and Integration Directorate (A-CDID), Army
Futures Command. This change serves
to increase synchronization across aviation enterprise modernization efforts
during the Army’s transition to MultiDomain Operations (MDO) capability.
The Aviation Center of Excellence
continues to focus on future threats
and Army Aviation’s Supporting Concept for MDO. ACM-RA continues
to draw from data and user feedback
from training and deployed environments to identify capability gaps andintegration friction in regard to doctrine, organization, training, materiel,logistics, personnel, facilities, and policy (DOTMLPF-P). This information aids in establishing priorities forour enduring fleet, while supporting
objectives and setting a foundation for
the “MDO-Ready” force of 2035. We

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

70

ACM-RA continues to assess thetechnological advantages that AH64E Version 6 brings to the fight. User
feedback from testing highlights theeffectiveness of the Modernized Day
Sensor Assembly, Modernized Radar,and Modernized Radar Frequency Interferometer to increase lethality andreach while providing augmented decision support for crews on missions.
The Attack Team continues to work
closely with PM Tactical Air Ground
Munitions (PM TAGM) to ensure
Apache has a range of target effects
available for anticipated threats thatcomplement the aircraft’s target detection capabilities. Primary efforts
include developing the crewmember
October 31, 2020

briefings to warfighters attending Professional Military Education training
here at the USAACE as well as conducting unit briefings at home station.
The ASDAT Team remains connectedwith the family of organizations that
increase our understanding of aircraft
survivability systems, threat system capabilities, enemy tactics and how Armyaviation can implement techniques or
employ provided equipment to respondto and mitigate those threats.
In conclusion, ACM-RA’s mission isto support our aviation Soldiers. ACMRA is focused on meeting the needsof our warfighters today, while setting
a foundation for tomorrow’s aviation
force. We look forward to meeting youin person to receive your feedback, butplease feel free to contact a member of
the team if you have a concern.

address baseline capability, safety, andobsolescence issues, while identifying
capabilities to keep the world’s premiere attack helicopter the most lethal
and agile weapon system in the Army’s
inventory. Incremental improvements
in training devices, increased mission
processing power, sensor fusion andmodernization, coupled with weaponsand munitions advances will keep theAH-64 on the cutting edge of lethality to provide our ground commanders
overmatch against adversaries.

Aviation Survivability Development
and Tactics (ASDAT)ASDAT remains abreast of current
threats and prepared to respond andinvestigate incidents concerning aircraft receiving enemy contact. ASDAT
continues to analyze threat systems and
TTP to look further and deeper into
the future of warfare and Army Aviation’s contributions to land warfare in
the multi-domain operations environment to mitigate risks to aircrews.
In concert with future capabilities
and conducting aviation combat damage assessments, the team provides

COL Ryan K. Welchis the director, Army
Capability Manager
for
Reconnaissanceand Attack (ACMRA), located at Fort
Rucker, AL.

U.S. ARMY PHOTO

interface and training support items
to field the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile ( JAGM) which will be available on
Version 6 equipped AH-64E. JAGM
will increase engagement options forcrews in complex threat environments
and improve accuracy for maritime targets, among other improvements. Our
teams are also working to ensure future
munitions and launchers are compatible with the Apache and support Future Vertical Lift developmental effortson the Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft.
As the Apache fleet anticipates
the integration of the advanced T901
engine and its capabilities, our teamcontinues partnership with the PM
Aviation Turbine Engines to ensure thetransition from the T701D is seamlessand intuitive. Furthermore, the ACM
team is working to improve the pilot tovehicle interface, primarily through themulti-purpose displays, to optimize theinformation available to crews in various mission phases.
The AH-64 is the Army’s attack helicopter for 2050 and beyond. The ACM
team continues to seek opportunities to2020 Joseph P. Cribbins
Training, Equipping and Sustainment Symposium
November 16-18, 2020 - Von Braun Center, Huntsville, AL #20CRIBBINSThank You to our Sponsors

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71

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October 31, 2020

From the Field X
Army Aviation and the Need forStandardization of Electronic Flight Bags
By CPT Robert WrightPERSONAL PHOTO BY CPT ROBERT WRIGHTCW2 Garrett Cartner using an IPAD before an
NVG ﬂight.

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions
are those of the author and should not be
construed as an official Department of
the Army position.

Every pilot knows that the key toa successful flight is to stay aheadof the aircraft. Rapid technological advancements during the digital age
have helped thousands of pilots do justthat. In addition to advanced avionics,
such as digital flight management andglobal positioning systems, electronicflight bags (EFBs) have become thestandard in favor of bulky paper publications for nearly every pilot thanks tothe commercialization of portable electronic devices (PEDs). Compared to
traditional paper publication and charts,
EFBs have the distinct advantage of
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

speed, portability and convenience.
Despite these benefits, EFBs also create human factor safety risks that haveresulted in thousands of accidents andincidents. While commercial operators
have continually refined and standardized their regulations and training programs to mitigate these risks over thelast 20 twenty years, the Army has failed
to provide timely and comprehensive
EFB regulatory guidance. EFB usage
among aircrews in the Army is quite literally the Wild West when it comes todevices, applications, and training. The
Army needs to update doctrinal guidance, establish training requirements,and set up equipment procurement procedures in order to implement a comprehensive EFB policy that eliminates
unnecessary risk.
Although commercial Aviation companies like FedEx or Delta have usedvarious forms of EFBs since as early as
72

1994, Army aviators, along with mostgeneral Aviation pilots only recently
began to adopt EFBs. This occurrenceis solely due to the commercializationof portable electronic devices (PEDs),
namely the iPad that was released in2010. Prior to the widespread availability of PEDs, EFBs were manufactured
by single hardware and software companies. In most cases these EFBs were
integrated into the cockpit permanently
rather than being portable. Pilots today
can install a wide range of EFB software
applications, like ForeFlight or Garmin
Pilot, on most off the shelf PEDs. EFBs
have the distinct advantage of speed,
portability, and convenience. Not only
do EFBs manage your flight publications, most include additional features
like flight filing, performance calculators, moving maps and weather overlays
that lead to greater situational awareness.
With their widespread availability, Army
Aviators quickly adopted EFBs for their
speed, portability, and convenience.
Army aviators have been using PEDs
since 2011, although their approval foruse in the cockpit did not occur until
2018. Even after select PEDs were certified as airworthy, there remained no published regulatory guidance on the use andoperation of EFB software. The Aviation
branch attempted to address this void
during the most recent update to theAR 95-1 (Aviation Flight Regulations)in April 2018. The update included the
addition of a one-half page EFB sectionthat provided broad program management requirements and effectively delegated all aspects of the program to unit
commanders. In contrast to the Army’s
broad guidance, the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has outlined detailed requirements since 2003 for commercial operators to follow to obtain approval to transition to EFBs. The Army,
however, does not fall under the Code of
Flight Regulations, and is therefore notsubject to this process and oversight. This
October 31, 2020

wasn’t a major issue until Apple introduced the iPad and inadvertently createda cost-effective portable EFB.
Army Aviation regulatory EFB guidance has been long overdue, but thefirst policy did not do much to address
underlying safety risks that the commercial sector has experienced over thelast 25 years. For example, at Southwest
Airlines all pilots have the same 9.7”
iPad with the company’s EFB Program installed. Pilots are not allowed
to have personal EFBs or PEDs on theflight deck at any time. In Army Aviation, EFB standardization is virtually
non-existent. An aviator’s training andequipment experience doesn’t just differ
from post to post or battalion to battalion, it can differ from flight to flight.
Many of you might remember flying the
OH-58 Alpha and Charlie models during the basic warfighting skills portionof flight school. Each of these models
featured a different instrument panel arrangement. In most cases, this constantchange caused fascination inside the
cockpit as well as added environmental
stressors. Non-standardized EFBs currently present the same safety risks.
Following the release of EFB guidance in FAA Advisory Circular 120-76,
extensive research has been conducted
on associated safety risks. The FAA
commissioned a 2014 study to identify
the main human factors related to EFB
accidents and incidents. It found thatthe majority of over 5,000 accidents orincidents reported during a twenty-year
period were due to four main factors.
1. Use of Electronic Charts - Complications when using electronic charts
consisted of view issues due to scrollingand zooming, the presence of inaccurate
information, and the difference in presentation from paper charts.
2. Crewmember performance - Insufficient training, inexperience, distraction, or disorientation.
3. Hardware Concerns – Examples
include inadvertent errors or shutdowns,
legibility, readability, and brightness.
4. Placement, mounting, or stowageof the EFB.
By default, the current Army policy
allows up to three of the four previously
mentioned factors (1, 2, and 4) to bepresent in the cockpit. This adds unnecessary and unacceptable risk to Aviatorsand the Soldiers that we support.
To improve pilot and passenger
safety, the FAA has continually revised
AC 120-76 from the results of researchbacked evidence. Since its original issuARMY AVIATION Magazine

ance, the circular has averaged one revision every three years. As mentioned
earlier, the Army has only recently issued regulatory EFB guidance. To
minimize the safety risks and increase
aircrew survivability, the Army needs
to aggressively revise its EFB policies
based on the lessons learned by commercial operators over the last 20 years.
To effectively implement a comprehensive EFB policy comparable to commercial airlines, the Army will need to
update doctrinal guidance, establish
training requirements, and set up equipment procurement procedures. Doctrine
improvements should include an update
to section 5-7, Electronic flight bag,in AR 95-1. In the interim, regulatory
guidance should be outlined by the Department of Evaluations and Standards
through STACOM directives. EFB application standardization is one criticalelement that must be addressed in the
aforementioned doctrinal updates. Since
AR 95-1 only states that “the same flightapplication” should be used between pilots, most units leave this decision to
the Pilot-in-Command. Therefore, boththe EFB application and type of PED
used can vary from flight to flight for as-

signed co-pilots. In addition to updating
AR 91-1, the Army Aviation SOP willneed to be amended to add EFB operations as a 1000 series task in the digital Aircrew Training Manual. Finally,
the Army must develop a streamlined
equipment procurement process for
PEDs to facilitate standardization andmodernization across all units.
Aviation is already inherently dangerous, but the risk increases significantly when you factor in the complexities associated with military Aviation
operations. The U.S. Department ofTransportation estimates that 80% of
all aircraft accidents are related to human factors and occur due to a chainof events. In order to prevent accidents,
we must break the chain. Standardizing
Army EFB regulations, policies, equipment, and training through a comprehensive approach will reduce accident
factors present in the cockpit and help
aircrews break the chain.
CPT Robert Wright is the chief of Aviation for 7th Army Training Command anda UH-60 MEDEVAC Pilot with C/1214th in Grafenwöhr, Germany.

Save the Dates!

17th Luther G. Jones
Army Aviation Depot Forum
February 9-10, 2021
Solomon Ortiz Center, Corpus Christi, TX
73

October 31, 2020

Historical Perspective X 70th Anniversary of the Korean War

By Mark Albertson

ALL PHOTOS AAPI FILE PHOTO

The Korean War –Part III: Fixed Wing

Editor’s Note: This is the third and final
article commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War.

V

-J-Day, September 2, 1945, the Air
OPs boasted 2,630 pilots, 2,252
mechanics and 1,600 aircraft.
Before the year was out, only 200 aircraft
remained. The Air Observation Post was
not only facing irrelevance, but outrightextinction. Yet with the National Defense
Act of 1947, the United States Army Air
Forces became the United States Air
Force. It was imperative, then, that the
Ground Forces have a capability – nomatter how rudimentary – for serving
their immediate tactical air needs. And
despite bumps on the road ahead, thiswould prove to be the launching pad forArmy Aviation as we know it.

duction was to commence in December
1950, with a target of 25-30 aircraft permonth. In the meantime, holdoverL-4s and L-5s would have to shoulder
the load in Korea.
Between July 4, 1950 and December
31, 1951, some 90 percent of the aerial
fire direction missions were flown by
these aircraft. Only 10 were lost during
combat operations, while non-combat
accidents claimed another 122 aircraft.
During this same period, U.S. Eighth

The Piper L-4 Cub was the backbone of the
Ground Forces’ Air Observation Post in WorldWar II. But by the Korean War, the L-4, together
with the Stinson L-5, though getting long in thetooth, served during much of the war before
giving way to the Cessna L-19 Bird Dog.

Army L-4s and L-5s logged 186,372
hours during 140,792 missions; 64,541
of these were combat sorties. By 1952,
the L-19 was flying most of the liaison
sorties. That year, Army Aviators logged

In the Beginning
On June 25, 1950, the Air OPs began
the Korean War with 1,211 aircraft, 56
of which were helicopters. Many of the
fixed wing were aging L-4s and L-5s.
Yet during the aircraft competition, heldin April-June 1950, the Cessna Model
305 emerged the winner, known to the
Army as the L-19 Bird Dog. This aircraft was found suitable for the combat
tasks required, such as directing artillery
fire, wire laying, emergency supply drops,
air taxi for brass and even training. ProARMY AVIATION Magazine

An O-1 (L-19) Bird Dog; a derivative of the Cessna 305, replaced the L-4 Cub and Stinson L-5 as the
Army Ground Forces’ cooperation aircraft; it would faithfully serve in two wars, Korea and Vietnam.

74

October 31, 2020

117,593 administrative missions, evacuated 7,654 sick and wounded soldiers, inexchange for ten pilots killed in action.
War enabled the Army to modernize its fixed wing fleet. For instance,
besides the Bird Dog, the de Havilland
L-20 Beaver made its debut in Korea,
December 22, 1951. As a utility aircraft,
it replaced the L-17 Navion. The L-23
Seminole, built by Beech, was the Army’s
first twin-engine aircraft. Introduced into
Korea on December 1, 1952, the Seminole was a six-place, high-performance,
all-weather personnel transport.

First Combat Sortie
Credit for the first Army Aviation
combat sortie is attributed to Lieutenant James E. Alvator, flying for the 21st
Infantry Regiment, July 4, 1950. During the course of this mission, he wasbounced by a trio of prowling Yak-9s,
but was able to avoid being chalked up.
Not so 24th Division aviator, Lieutenant David O. Munson, shot down andkilled three days later while directing
artillery fire near Taejon.
During the summer of 1950, Army
Aviators not only directed artillery fire,
but flew missions of route column control, observation and reconnaissance for
American and ROK units retreating
south towards what would become thePusan Perimeter. But with the change inthe course of the war – the Inchon landings; breakout from the Pusan Perimeter;
invasion of North Korea; the ensuing intervention of Red Chinese troops – fixed
wing Army Aviators were assigned othertasks. During the last week of November
1950, the Army’s little planes evacuatedsome 800 seriously wounded.
During the American Civil War,
Confederate gunners learned to holdtheir fire when Balloon Corps gas bags
suddenly appeared, for this invariably
meant a storm of Federal artillery. During World War II, on many occasions,
German and Japanese gunners withheld
their fire rather than betray their positions to the snooping Cubs. In Korea,
though, the Reds proved to be a gooddeal less prudish. This was especially sowith the Chinese, who deployed antiaircraft units to deal with the bothersome little planes.
During the global conflict, many Cub
missions, especially early in the war, were
flown along the front lines, on the Allied
side. With the Korean conflict, many
missions were flown on the enemy sideof the lines; sometimes going as deep as
50 miles or even more. A healthy respect
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

The L-23 Seminole, or U-8D/F, was built by Beech and was Army Aviation’s ﬁrst twin-engine ﬁxed wing
aircraft. This air taxi for staff personnel was a six-place type with a tricycle landing gear. Between 1952
and 1962, the Army procured 358 machines.

for Red Chinese gunners forced many
aviators to higher altitudes, prompting
observers to resort to field glasses to
conduct their observations.

Heroism and Resilience
One of the more harrowing, and certainly one of the most unusual, of fixed
wing sagas during the Korean War,occurred on February 24, 1952. Captain Charles N. Posz, from Eau Claire,
Wisconsin, was piloting his L-19 near
Pyonggang, on the cusp of the “Iron
Triangle.” His observer was Lieutenant
Ralph T. Clark, from Smithfield, Utah.
The two were observing enemy positions from an altitude of 6,000 feet.
Suddenly their Bird Dog shook like a
toy in a dog’s mouth. Both looked immediately to starboard. Some 12 square
feet of wing was missing. Posz and
Clark were some six miles inside enemy
territory. To get back to UN lines, theyfirst had to get control of the aircraft.
The L-19 sagged, plunging 1,000 feetat 125 miles-per-hour. Posz managed
to right the wounded Bird Dog. He
found that throttling back to 110 mph,the plane seemed to want to stall. So,
he put everything to the firewall andkept the L-19 straight and level.
The significant loss of wing surface
made control difficult. Applying full left
rudder and full left aileron was needed
to keep the L-19 aloft; and this required
both Posz and Clark to keep their planein the air. Clark broadcast their plight.
Flying nearby was Lieutenant John J.
Self from Lockhaven, Pennsylvania andLieutenant C. J. Wanger who hailed from75

Utica, New York. Self hurried to renderassistance. He sidled up alongside, readyto provide an escort back to the 2nd Division Artillery airfield. Once over UN
lines, Posz ordered Clark to hit the silk.
“What are you going to do, Posz?”“I’m going to try to bring it in.”Clark refused to abandon his pilot.
As he explained later, “The pressure on
the controls was such that I knew it
would take both of us to keep the thing
in the air. Posz also needed someone towork the radio.”Posz approached Hartell Field. He
tried three passes; but the nagging
threat of stalling out made the runway
too short. Posz and Clark ignored urgings to bail out. Posz and Clark pushed
on for K-47, an Air Force strip at
Chunchon, which had a longer runway.
Posz made his approach to land. Standing by was a crash truck, fire truck andambulance. Posz brought the stricken
Bird Dog in, at full throttle. The runway was some 4,600 feet long, and Posz
and Clark used most of it. But thatwasn’t all . . .
. . . In three hours, Posz’s L-19 had
a new wing. From there the plane wasflown to an ordnance unit for complete repairs. And Posz and Clark?
Both received a DFC for their whiteknuckle flight.

Mark Albertson is the award-winning
Army Aviation Publications Historianand a contributing editor to ARMYAVIATION magazine.
October 31, 2020

AAAA

XNETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORTAAAA Chapter Affairs By LTC (Ret.) Jan Drabczuk

I greatly appreciate the support from CW3 Geoff Laubhan, the Idaho Snake River Chapter VP Membership for authoring and sharing
this information with our membership.

CHAPTER COURTESY PHOTO

The Idaho Snake River Chapter

he Idaho Snake River AAAA Chapter, foundedin 2008, is headquartered in Boise, ID at Gowen
Field. The organization supports Idaho Soldiers andtheir families by participating in events that foster
camaraderie and fellowship throughout the militarycommunity.

T

Feeder units include 1-183rd AHB,
Det 1 Co G/Det 6 Co D/Det 7 Co
E 1-168th MEDEVAC, Det 1 Co D
1-112th AVN S&S (LUH), and Det
35 (C12). The Idaho Aviation Groupconsists of approximately 400 Soldiers.
Chapter Officers include: 1LT
Fernando Soto as the sixth President;
CPT Jordan Dosch, Senior VP; MAJ
Cameron Ryffel, Secretary; CPT
William Miller, Treasurer; CW3 Geoff
Laubhan, VP of Membership; CW3
Kyle Sam, VP of Scholarships; andSFC Tammi Crnkovich, VP of Awards.
Idaho Aviation History
There has been a dedicated Army
National Guard Aviation unit in Idaho
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

since the birth of the 116th Aviation
Company in 1960, consisting of L-19A
Bird Dogs, L-20 Beavers, Hiller H-23
Raven helicopters, and CH-34 Choctaws. Over the years, many different
aircraft were flown including the UH1H and UH-1M Hueys, OH-58As,
and OH-23Ds. In July of 1989, the unit
inherited the 1-183rd lineage from an
Idaho Army National Guard field artillery unit that existed in the 1940s. This
officially separated the Aviation unit
from Idaho’s 116th Cavalry Brigade andplaced it under the parent unit of the
66th Aviation Brigade and eventually
the 34th Infantry Division “Red Bulls”.
In 1991, Idaho also stood up its first76

Dedicated in September 1989, this memorial
to all Idaho Army National Guard Soldiers, past,present and future, was donated by the chapter
and is located at the ARNG Aviation Support
Facility in Boise.

MEDEVAC unit in Det 1 1250th Medical Air Ambulance. In 2012, Idaho began the fielding of brand new AH-64D
Longbow Apaches and continued to fly
Apaches until 2016 at which time theArmy Restructuring Insinuative (ARI)
re-structured National Guard Apacheunits and designated the 1-183rd as
an Assault Helicopter Battalion flying
UH-60L Black Hawks. Additionally,in 2017 Idaho received a modern-day
Medevac unit and eventually grew into
Det 1, Co G 1-168 Medevac consisting of 6 UH-60Ls. Present day, Idaho
Aviation is now moving into its third
airframe transition in the last 10 years,
with the fielding of brand new UH60M Black Hawks. Idaho will have 20
new UH-60Ms on the ramp by the endof FY21 continuing the strong heritageof Idaho Army Aviation.

October 31, 2020

AAAA

NETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORT X

Summary
The Idaho Snake River Chapter
continues to support our AAAA
membership in Idaho. They are a proud
chapter that is rich in history.
Feel free to contact me if you needhelp for your Chapter, Executive
Board support, would like your chapter
featured in the AAAA magazine orto obtain clarification of National
procedures. I look forward to working
with you and supporting AAAA.
LTC (Ret.) Jan S. Drabczuk
AAAA VP for Chapter Affairs
jan.drabczuk@quad-a.org.

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

CHAPTER PHOTO BY 1SG HOLLY R. BURKE

U.S. ARMY NORTH PHOTO BY CHARLOTTE REAVISBrigade, and his wife, Sandy, are inducted
into the Bronze Honorable Order of St.
Michael and Honorable Order of Our Lady of
Loreto, respectively, by U.S. Army Reserve
Aviation Command commanding general,
BG Jami Shawley, in conjunction with thebrigade change of command ceremony, July11, 2020 at Fort Knox, KY.

CW4 Erin Ingraham, an aviation safetyofﬁcer assigned to U.S. Army North, is
inducted into the Bronze Honorable Order of
St. Michael by U.S. Army North Commanding
General, LTG Laura J. Richardson, Aug. 4,2020 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Ingraham
was recognized for her many signiﬁcant
contributions to Army Aviation.

Aviation Center Chapter

SFC Curtis W. Hopper, maintenance platoon
sergeant for Company D., 2-1st General
Support Aviation Battalion, is inducted into
the Bronze Honorable Order of St. Michael,by 2-1 GSAB commander, LTC Jacob A.
Whiteside, on September 3, 2020 at Fort
Riley, KS. Hopper was recognized for over 13
years of contributions as a CH-47 maintainer,team leader, squad leader, recruiter, platoon
sergeant, and career manager/professional
development NCO. He will remain at Ft. Riley
and assume responsibilities of ﬁrst sergeantfor B/2-1 GSAB.

On August 28, 2020, CW5 Sam Baker,
outgoing command chief warrant ofﬁcerof the 110th Aviation Brigade, U.S. Army
Aviation Center of Excellence, was inducted
into the Gold Honorable Order of St. Michaelby AAAA National Senior Vice President, MG(Ret.) Tim Crosby at a retirement ceremony
following the change of responsibility at the
U.S. Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker,
AL. Assisting with the induction were brigade
commander and senior NCO, COL George
Ferido (second from left) and CSM Will
Haddon, respectively.

Mount Rainier Chapter

Gold Standard Chapter

SFC Patricia Simpson, ﬂight operations
platoon sergeant for Headquarters andHeadquarters Company, 1-168th General
Support Aviation Battalion, Washington Army
National Guard, is inducted into the Bronze
Honorable Order of St. Michael by Mount
Rainer Chapter President, COL (Ret.) Anthony
Bolante on August 2, 2020 at Joint Base Lewis
McChord, WA. Simpson was recognized formore than 23 years of distinguished service
to include more than 5 Warﬁghter exercises
and culminating as the 1-168 GSAB Flight
Operations subject matter expert.

CHAPTER COURTESY PHOTO

Robust EventsThe Idaho Snake River Chapter
puts on 2 major fundraising events
each year. A highly popular bowling
tournament, which brings teams of 4 to
30-plus lanes of competition bowling.
Additionally, the chapter puts on a fall
golf tournament, their highest earnings
event of the year. Additional sponsored
events include the bi-annual Aviation
Ball, the Aviation Dining-In event, andAnnual Aviator selection board open
house, which brings potential Aviation
board applicants together in a casualenvironment to introduce themselvesand gather valuable information abouta career as an Idaho Army Aviator.

U.S. Army North

CHAPTER COURTESY PHOTO

Memorialized Scholarships
Four scholarships are funded throughthe Chapter. Each with their individual
memorialized Idaho Aviation member.
They include the CPT Ed W. Freeman Memorial Matching Scholarship,
the CW2 Jesse D. Phelps Memorial
Matching Scholarship, the CW4 Stien
P. Gearhart Memorial Matching Scholarship, and the CW4 Jon L. Hartway
Memorial Matching Scholarship.

Order of St. Michael andOur Lady of Loreto Inductees

244TH ECAB FACEBOOK PHOTO

Strong Membership
The Chapter currently consists of
129 members of which 55 are life
members. The membership represents
members of all ranks from juniorenlisted to general officers and civilians.
The chapter has made great strides inmembership numbers due to their
popular membership drives. In 2018,
the chapter offered half-price lifetimeand 3-year memberships. From thatevent alone, their membership jumped
nearly seventy percent.

COL H. Allan Cutchin, outgoing commanderof the 244th Expeditionary Combat Aviation

77

October 31, 2020

AAAA

XNETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORTAAAA Membership Update By CW4 Becki Chambers
LT Chance Mathis, who was highlighted last month, is the guest author for this issue’s Membership column. – CW4 Chambers

The Membership Corners a National Executive Board Member, I believethat one of the amazing opportunities of the job isthe position to recognize and highlight incredible AAAA
members. This month I have the distinct pleasure toshare the story of WO1 Aubrey Bloom.

WO1 Aubrey Bloom was born andraised near Nashville, TN. His mothera career critical care nurse, and father acareer Aviation mechanic, WO1 Bloom
always had exceptional examples of
exemplary work ethic and technicalknowledge. Working with his father
in aircraft hangars throughout his life,
Bloom made the decision after his firstsemester of college to join the Tennessee
Army National Guard as a 15T, UH-60
A/L Black Hawk Helicopter Repairer.
Since then he has had the opportunity
to be exposed to multiple roles within
the Army Aviation community. Bloom
began his career with F TRP, 1-230th
ACS as a junior phase maintenancemechanic. He then was selected tosupport a small Fixed-Wing ISR unit,
MARRS, as a part of JTF ODIN fora deployment to Bagram, Afghanistan, May 2015-February 2016. Due
to his maintenance experience, Bloom
was given the opportunity to take on
multiple roles under the unit’s Senior
Warrant Officer, CW5 Gerald Maneiri(MSARNG). He fulfilled the role of
FOD Officer, Assistant GFR, Assistant COR, and conducted the annual
ARMS inspection, alongside his regular
duty of performing as an Aerial Sensor
Operator on board the KA-300/MC12. Bloom finished his deployment as an
FI and was awarded for his performancein maintenance management. Upon return, he quickly progressed as a UH-60
A/L Crew Chief. In August of 2017, he
was promoted to SGT and transferred
to CO C-, S&S, 2-151st as an LUH-72
Crew Chief and UT for the L3 MX-15

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

SD camera/payload, as credited to his
previous experience with the system on
deployment.
In May 2019, Bloom graduated from
Middle Tennessee State University witha Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. He
was president of the Experimental Vehicles Program and was awarded Most
Outstanding Student by his department. Bloom is currently attending U.S.
Army Flight School. Once complete, hewill return to his unit, A CO 1-230th
AHB at BNA, Nashville, TN.
Alongside his profession as a pilot,
Bloom has already begun to develop
plans with regard to his civilian career
on making his way into one of the many
research and development projects at
Redstone Test Center, Aviation Flight
Test Directorate, Huntsville, AL. He
believes the two occupations will provide a mutual benefit of gained knowledge and therefore, application.
While performing in the top five
Warrant Officers in his class, WO1
Bloom designed, coordinated, and dispersed two flight patches, one for primary phase, and the other for Common
Core, out of motivations for nostalgia
and morale. He also aided in collectiveclass projects of two new picnic tables,
and a repainted ramp Calvary Flag
for Shell Army Heliport, Fort Rucker,
AL. The projects were executed as area
beautification to thank BWS Instructor
Pilots and cadre, as well as the appreciation of the process as a whole.
WO1 Bloom has been a member ofthe Volunteer Chapter of AAAA since78

WO1 BLOOM PERSONAL PHOTOA

WO1 Aubrey and Emily Bloom

November of 2015. He applied for andwas awarded the CPT Marcus Alford
Memorial Scholarship in 2018.
WO1 Bloom plans on applying
both his skills as a pilot and engineer
in advancing the capabilities of theTennessee Army National Guard,
and Army Aviation as a whole. He
believes humility and resilience are thetwo highest attributed qualities of an
Army Aviator. He would like to firstand foremost give credit to his faithin God. He would also like to thankhis wife Emily for her unconditional
support. The following are contributing
members of the class projects: WO1
Gabrielle Bernal, WO1 Roger Jameson,
WO1 William Koch, WO1 SamuelOder, 2LT Megan Pontius, 2LT Marija
Ugstad, WO1 Marissa Vasquez, WO1
William Virrill, WO1 Nick Xidis, 2LT
Adam Westervelt.
CW4 Becki Chambers
AAAA Vice President for Membership

October 31, 2020

AAAA

NETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORT X
New AAAA Life
Members
Air Assault Chapter
CPT McKenzie Hudgins
Mr. Paul M. Myers
Aviation Center Chapter
LTC Scott Dunkle
CW4 Justin Watts
Cedar Rapids Chapter
CSM James C. Trask, Ret.
Central Florida Chapter
CW4 Patrick J. Coakley, Ret.
Delaware Valley Chapter
Bryan M. Scoﬁeld
Desert Oasis Chapter
SFC Christopher Shueman
Greater Atlanta Chapter
LTC James E. Leathers, Ret.
Grizzly Chapter
COL Louis E. Carmona, Ret.
Jack H. Dibrell/Alamo
Chapter
SGT Corey Franks
Keystone Chapter
COL Michael S. Johnson
Phantom Corps Chapter
CW4 Christopher Hertzig Sr.
Savannah Chapter
1SG Roque Garcia Aponte
ShowMe Chapter
LTC Fin Patrick Carey
Southern California
Chapter
Tim Brown
Tennessee Valley
Chapter
COL William P. Heyland
Jeremy Rimmer
Quintessa Thomas
Wright Brothers Chapter
COL Christopher Acker, Ret.
LTC Robert Scott

New AAAA
Members
Air Assault Chapter
SSG Michele Gooden
SGT Ka Davis Thao
Aloha Chapter
2LT Daniel Haniﬁn
Arizona Chapter
Scott Trisilla
Aviation Center Chapter
Lauren Gould
CPT Manuel L. Vera
1SG Aramis Martin
PFC Kent Thomas Mauney
CW4 Justin Watts
LTC Erica Witty
Badger Chapter
CW4 Michael Murray
Battle Born Chapter
SSG Justin Jensen
CW4 Gary C. Olson
PV2 Nathan Robert Ritter
CW3 Thomas Venable
Bayou Chapter
CW4 John Goodrich

PV2 Trenton Cole Lemoine
Bluegrass Chapter
WO1 Courtney Hickman
PV2 Hunter WrightCentral Florida Chapter
PV2 Derek Center
Colonial Virginia Chapter
SSG Tyler Callahan
SSG Kirk W. Clarke
PV2 Wesley J. Jensen
1SG Oscar Lopez Jr.
Aaron Moriarty
Cowboy Chapter
SSG Gabriel Rivera
CW3 Stephen H. Scheiding
Delaware Valley Chapter
PV2 Sean M. Gallaway
CW5 Stephen D. Mulligan
Flint Hills Chapter
WO1 Edward D. Exler
Flying Gator Chapter
PVT Cadel L. Johns
Follow Me Chapter
PV2 Joseph Edwin PowellGold Standard Chapter
SPC Jessica R. Barrett
PV2 Joseph T. Reece
Greater Atlanta Chapter
WO1 Dylan M. Henry
PV2 Kyra A. Hokinson
SPC Austin Taylor Mobley
SSG Michael Zink
Iron Mike Chapter
CW4 Albert Smith
Jimmy Doolittle Chapter
PV2 Elijah Barclay
SSG Jayme Belval
LtCol James Leary
Lindbergh Chapter
PV2 Seth Jeremiah Cary
Lonestar Chapter
Iain Armstrong
Sheila Croff
SPC Edgar Eli Diaz-Aguirre
Steven Pearson
Laura Zimmer
MacArthur Chapter
PFC Alexander J. Alvarez
PVT Gianni Lopez
PFC Zachary C. Lounsberry
PFC Mariam Masuddramani
SSG Anthony Ovalles
Magnolia Chapter
James McClellan
Minuteman Chapter
PV2 Erick Hoekstra
Mount Rainier Chapter
WO1 John W. Marshall
North Star Chapter
SGT Timothy Fuller
CPT Brandon Scott Hale
North Texas Chapter
Todd Wallace
Dillon Watkins
PVT Joshua Watson
Northern Lights Chapter
Mr. Justin Spillers
Phantom Corps Chapter
SFC John Parra

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Pikes Peak Chapter
SFC John Patrick Baker
CPT Michael Clanton
Jeremy Fritschy
SGT Christopher A. Hackett
1SG Becky Haynes
CW4 Jason Luker
Grace Margritz
CW2 Neakale Moreno
1SG Noel Restolopez
CW2 Paul Spallino
MAJ Elizabeth Verardo
Michael Werner
Rio Grande Chapter
CW2 Robert Dosland
SSG Kyle Gregory
Savannah Chapter
CW3 Ian Foote1LT Nicholas Ortiz
ShowMe Chapter
PV2 Hunter G. Vandrunen
Southern California
Chapter
PFC Jun Steven Bae
PFC Joshua S. Bradley
SPC Angel Alexander Cruz
Tarheel Chapter
Jerry Tussing
PV2 John Wingo Jr
Vickie Woodard
Tennessee Valley
Chapter
LTC Josh Baker
Jamie L. Flynt
LTC Kelley Smith
Thunderbird Chapter
PFC Benton Luke Johnson

Utah Chapter
PV2 Jeremy AllenCW3 Nikolai Wedekind
Washington-Potomac
ChapterCW5 Yolondria Dixon-Carter
Heather Hendrickson
Mike Olson
Wright Brothers Chapter
PFC Connor M. Gordon
Zia Chapter
PFC Kaden James Rankin
No Chapter Afﬁliation
SSG Andrew C. Fritschie
1SG Demetrious Hughey
CPT Edmundo B. Nicolas Jr.

2LT Arthur W. Galloway
Mr. William H. Gillispie
Mr. Michael F. Glass
MAJ Gregory W. Glover
LTC William T. GoforthMary H. Gorman
COL Gerhard Granz, Ret.
Stan Hawk
COL Jose L. Hinojosa, Ret.
Dave Hudson
CW4 Delbert Jackson, Ret.
LTC Randy K. Jackson
Allen E. JantsCW3 Jeffrey J. Jelonek
MAJ Gregory R. Jenkins
MAJ David A. Jobe
LTC Peter D. Kowal
CW3 Vladimir Kultschizky
Lost Members
CW3 Timothy J. Larz
Help AAAA locate a
MSG David W. Little, Ret.
lost member on this list
SPC Robert W. Miller
and receive FREE one
CSM Vernie Nance, Ret.
month extension to your
MAJ Darrel B. Nerove
membership.
Fred A. Newcomb
CPT Robert S. BohamSFC Henry Rathbone, Ret.
Walter D. Bowden
Tony Sanchez
Harold V. Bowie Jr.
LTC Martin Scheld
COL Fred E. Brown, Ret.
Thomas R. Schiltz
LTC Jeffery D. Brown
LTC Jerry D. Scott
Rickey J. Brown
LTC Jay Q. Smith
MAJ James E. Bruckart
Jeremy Smith
E. W. Cavanaugh
LTC Richard G. Cercone Jr. MAJ James F. Speelman
LTC Friedrich Stern
LTC Tzu-Shan Chang
Jean K. Tinsley
COL James A. Coar, Ret.
MAJ Harry Connors Jr. Ret. WO1 Armando B. Torres
MAJ L.D. Walker
Bruno Cussigh
SGT Travis Bonham Darnell Rose Weast

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XNETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORTAAAA Family Forum By Judy Konitzer

How Are Our
Youth Copingwith COVID-19?
o doubt about it. We are living
in a deeply altered world with adramatic change in what is “normal.”Without a vaccine, and maybe evenwith one, COVID-19 may be here tostay indeﬁnitely according to a growing
consensus of scientists.

PERSONAL PHOTO CW4 (RET.) JOE PISANON

But as doctors improve treatments, and people embrace
best practices like wearing a face mask, washing hands, andpracticing social distancing, we are likely to see fewer caseswith less severity. Of course, there are exceptions to this, andpeople with pre-existing conditions and the elderly are more
vulnerable to grave illness and/or death. Interesting to noteis COVID cases are rising among young adults, althoughseemingly milder, and once recovered they feel they can get
into the world and resume life as usual.
The need to socialize and seek new experiences is “aneurobiological mandate” according to Judith G. Edersheim,
founding co-director of the Massachusetts General Hospitalfor Law, Brain & Behavior and Assistant Professor of
Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. The development
period from 14-26 when dopamine levels reach a lifetime
peak is the time when motivation and reward driven learning
drives them to value immediate gratification over future
gains, which can lead to risky decisions. During this time,social environment and interactions with peers are importantfor brain development, mental health, and developing a senseof self. Lack of peer contact may interrupt this and might
have long-term detrimental effects.
The pandemic is exacerbating these biological cravings
when peer contacts, especially in schools, are limited, andwhile many will be returning to college campuses, many will

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

Masks, full-to-the-max back packs and social distancing before, during andafter school are the daily norm for most students physically returning toschool.

not. Before COVID-19, young people showed rising rates ofanxiety, depression, and suicide, which is seemingly making
these existing problems worse and even creating new ones.
Uncertainty around when the pandemic will end and whatlife will look like in the future is also causing distress. Studies
show a relationship between unemployment and suicide,illicit drug use, and alcohol use with young adults being
particularly vulnerable to those influences. On a positivenote, the pandemic could also be teaching some young adults
an important lesson that life is controllable and predictablegiven the right resources.
With tremendous controversy over the opening ofelementary, middle, and high schools, it remains to be seen
how this will continue to affect children and younger adults.
When schools initially closed and students went to remoteeducation, it became a learning curve for many families. It
was not the traditional approach to “home schooling” alreadyembraced by over 1 million families, but rather an emerging
response which involved bringing school to the home. “Homeschooling” is very difficult, demanding, and requires a lot of
hard work, preparation, and time. It’s not for everyone, andeven those who think it might be for them at this point may
find out it is not. However, it is a reality, and there may notcurrently be a perfect answer with one size fitting all. We
discovered this when asked to help “home school” our 7-year-

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News Spotlight X

National Guard Providing Heroic Fireﬁghting Efforts

assive wildﬁres have burned over 3.6 million
acres in California and 1 million acres in
Oregon this ﬁre season causing deaths andwidespread evacuations and the National Guard has
been working tirelessly ﬁghting these ﬁres.
On September 5th, 242 people became trappedin the Mammoth Pool Reservoir area in the Sierra
National Forest in California after the Creek Fire
blocked the only road out of the recreation site.
Aircrews from the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade
ﬂew into a pickup zone three times in the middle ofthe night, under night vision goggles, with near zero
visibility from smoke, and ﬂames coming within 50
feet of the aircraft, and saved lives. On Sept. 14,
the seven crewmembers were recognized by U.S.
President Donald J. Trump and each awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross. (see Brieﬁngs on page 6
this issue) In three days, 40th CAB crews evacuated398 people and 27 animals from the Creek Fire.
Aircraft from the Army and Air National Guard,
Marine Corps and Navy are part of the 101 aircraft
assigned to support the ﬁreﬁghting efforts. National
Guard members are joining ﬁreﬁghters on “ﬁre lines”
that are cleared with chain saws and hand tools tocreate buffer zones, ﬂying rescue missions, dropping
water and ﬁre retardant by aircraft, and monitoring
racing ﬂames on drone video. As of this writing, twenty-six people have died since Aug. 15 with more than
60,000 evacuated from their homes, and over 50,000
structures under threat of ﬁres and 3,900 destroyed.

OREGON NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO BY MAJ LESLIE REEDM

CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD HANDOUTAn Oregon Army Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter out of Salem, empties awater bucket onto ﬂames on the Brattain Fire on Sept. 15, 2020 near Paisley, OR.

Dozens of evacuees are seen aboard a CH-47 Chinook
helicopter after their rescue on Sept. 5, 2020 near
Mammoth Pool Reservoir during the Creek Fire in the
Sierra National Forest.

needs to be an essential worker and children need to returnto school, for the sake of the economy, for everyone’s
psychological well-being, for peace, for unity, and for sanity.
We can do this!
For those experiencing mental health challenges, someproven helplines are Military One Source 24/7 1-800-3429647, Veterans Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255 Press 1, and
TAPS www.taps.org/covid/together.

old grandson living in Sydney, Australia. Our daughter andson-in-law were required to work from home when COVID
appeared, and they had many work calls throughout the day.
Jackson’s school had a very regimented program based ontimelines, and their work interfered with these school times,
so we did nightly (9 AM for him and 7 PM for us) 1 ½
hour Zoom classes to help. Jackson’s other grandparents inAustralia did the same. It made us realize how fortunate ourfamily was in being able to participate, but sad about so many
millions of families who don’t have a support structure.
Truth be told we have reached a point where everyone

Judy Konitzer is the family forum editor for ARMY AVIATION;
questions and suggestions can be directed to her at judy@quad-a.org.

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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XNETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORTAAAA Legislative Report
By LTC Kevin Cochie, Retired
AAAA Representative to the Military Coalition (TMC)
kevin.cochie@quad-a.org
Election 2020
This report will hit your mailbox just days before the 2020 election
and there are many races to watch that will impact our Army Aviation
Enterprise. Several Congressional seats that are up for bid will yield
representation that will shape Army Aviation in the years to come.
Fort Rucker, the home of Army Aviation, sits in Alabama’s 2nd district.
For a decade we’ve beneﬁted from the support of Congresswoman
Martha Roby who has sat on both the House Armed Services andAppropriations Committees. She is retiring so our interests will bein the hands of a freshman Congressman who will have to build a
reputation and inﬂuence in Congress. Alabama’s U.S. Senate race inwhich Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville is challenging Senator Doug
Jones could also have implications for the support of our community.
Regardless of the outcome, our Army Aviation senior leadership willcontinue to work with our political decision makers to advance Army
Aviation priorities.

FY21 NDAA Conference
As we reported last month, the House and Senate ﬁnished theirrespective versions of the FY21 Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
and the Defense Appropriations Act. Now Congressional staff
are racing to resolve the differences between House and Senate
versions. Some differences are easy to resolve such as minor
funding line differences or where both the House and Senate inserted
similar policy provisions and they simply need to agree on the ﬁnal
articulation. Other differences are much more contentious such as
if one chamber zeroed out a budget line and the other did not or
where one chamber inserted a contentious policy provision that theother chamber opposes. Most changes are resolved at the staff level
and when not, the issue is elevated to the “little four” which are theRepublican and Democrat staff directors that oversee the two defense
committees’ staffs. When a policy provision cannot be resolved at thestaff level, they move it up to their bosses, the four staff directors,
who attempt to resolve it. When this fails, the issue moves to the “bigfour” which consists of the chairmen (Sen. Inhofe/Rep. Smith) andranking members (Sen. Reed/Rep. Thornberry) of each committee.
Conference for the NDAA and the Defense Appropriations bill will dragon well into the fall thus resulting in another Continuing Resolution(CR) situation. The funding authorization bill (NDAA) is likely to passby year's end, but the defense appropriations bill which is needed to
end a CR will likely not come until after the ﬁrst of the year.

assist in DoD’s corona virus prevention measures and provide security
and stimulus to defense industry partners. While many in our reader
base work in government and the defense industry, many do not so
we will explain why stimulus funding for the defense industry and why
it may be necessary as we continue to ﬁght the pandemic.
The National Technical Industrial Base (NTIB) is the industrial armof U.S. manufacturing that produces goods for national security anddual use purposes. Think of Rosie the Riveter and how at times ofwar, this industrial base is essential to producing military items. In ourcase, we rely heavily on Boeing, Lockheed/Sikorsky, and Bell for ourplatforms both current and future, but many do not realize that theindustrial base spans well beyond these enormous original equipment
manufacturers (i.e., OEMs). Boeing does not manufacture every
part of the thousands of parts that make up a Chinook helicopter.
The OEMs have a list of suppliers that provide many parts that areassembled on their production lines. The supply chain goes many,
many levels deep and the OEMs and their suppliers rely upon othersuppliers that rely on raw materials to actually make a part as simple
as a rivet. These lower level suppliers, many times, are mom and pop
operations in rural America that survive contract to contract, so you
can see how fragile some parts of the industrial base can be. Now
throw in a global pandemic and it becomes clear how disruptive suchsituations can be to our very important supply chains.
Because the NTIB provides security for not only large defense
manufacturers from which we source items like helicopters but
also provides security to the smaller supply chain manufacturers,
companies will often locate their facilities in districts where inﬂuential
lawmakers reside. Essentially the NTIB helps ensure job security
across America, which is why its health should remain a high, bipartisan priority for our Congressional leaders.
The DoD did receive relief funds in the ﬁrst two stimulus packages
for internal operations and addressing pandemic impacts but not for
pushing stimulus funds to the NTIB. There has been much advocacy
in Congress to provide funding for the NTIB in follow-on stimulus
packages, but no Congressional action at the time of this writing.

Upcoming Special Focus
NOVEMBER
NETWORKDoD Stimulus Money
COVID-19 decimated local economies and imposed extreme
hardship on millions of Americans this year. The House and Senate
reacted quickly in March and April to initiate a series of stimulus
packages to push money to Americans and businesses in an effort toprevent a devastating economic recession and help preserve our prepandemic economic growth. Many lawmakers opposed the defense
department gaining from these stimulus packages which aimed to

ARMY AVIATION MagazinelRECOGNITION

l

VOICE

l

SUPPORT

November 30, 2019

DECEMBER

Unmanned Aircraftf
Systems

I d t SSupportt &Industry
Challenges

Fixed Wing
Air Trafﬁc Services

Industry Directory
Science &Technology /Research &Development

2019
9 Industry
Ind
Partners Directory
Dir

NETWORKlRECOGNITION

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VOICE

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SUPPORT

DecemberDb
31
31, 2019

UH-72A Lakota

Versatile and Proven Capabilities.
Mission Ready.

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

1

December 31, 2019CONTACT: Bob Lachowski or Erika Burgess
AAAAIndustry@quad-a.org 203. 268.2450
ARMYAVIATIONmagazine.com

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NETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORT X

Industry News Announcements Related to Army Aviation Matters
Editor’s note: Companies can send their Army Aviation related news
releases and information to editor@quad-a.org.

who left the agency in 2017. Coleman had been serving as chief
executive ofﬁcer of Atlas AI, which offers what it calls “cutting-edge
artiﬁcial intelligence” to analyze trends in developing countries.

AllClear Emerges From Aero
Precision-Kellstrom Defense Merger

ALLCLEAR GRAPHICYUMA PROVING GROUND COURTESY PHOTO

Multiple ALE Contracts Awarded in
Support of FVL

The U.S. Army has awarded 10 contracts worth a total of $29.75 million
to provide mature technologies in the area of air-launched effects (ALE),
for future vertical lift aircraft, according to a statement released on
August 24. The ten projects are categorized into three ALE lines of effort:
air vehicle, mission systems, and payloads. Three projects for air vehicle
were awarded to Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC, Northridge,
CA; Raytheon Company, Tucson, AZ and Area-I Inc., Marietta, GA.
Three rojects for mission systems were awarded to L3 Technologies
Inc., Salt Lake City, UT; Rockwell Collins, Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA and
Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, Manassas, VA. And, four projects
for payloads were awarded to Leonardo Electronics US Inc., Huntsville,
AL; Technology Service Corporation, Huntsville, AL; Raytheon Company,
Goleta, GA; and Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC.The Army will ﬁrst
assess each major component of ALE individually, rather than as awhole system; then will take those capabilities and bring them together
into a full system prototype working with Georgia Tech. And ﬁnally, will
integrate the system onto a platform, ﬁrst targeting the Gray Eagle andAH-64 Apache attack helicopter. The ALE capabilities will ultimately beutilized with the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA).Pictured
is an Area-I Air-Launched, Tube-Integrated, Unmanned System, or
ALTIUS, being launched from a UH-60 Black Hawk at Yuma Proving
Ground, AZ, in spring 2020.

US-based Aero Precision and Kellstrom
Defense have merged their operations to form
military aircraft sustainment ﬁrm – AllClear,according to an August 17 announcement.
Aero Precision, which was a parts distributionﬁrm, purchased Kellstrom Defense, which
specialized in maintenance, repairs, andoverhauls, in March and the two companies moved to integrate theirfour business segments and eight subsidiaries across nine locations.
Based in El Segundo, CA, where Kellstrom was headquartered, its
CEO is Darryl Mayhorn, who previously led Aero Precision.

Advertisers Index
Ace Aeronautics, LLC .................................................................20
ALKAN......................................................................................16
BAE Systems ............................................................................37
Bell Helicopter - Military .............................................................15
Blackhawk Aerospace ................................................................35
California Army National Guard State Aviation Ofﬁce .....................63
Coastal Seat Cushions, Inc. ........................................................48
Cobham....................................................................................51
Collins Aerospce - Cedar Rapids ...................................................1
Columbia Helicopters, Inc ...........................................................38
Crestwood Technology Group (CTG) ............................................19
Dallas Avionics .........................................................................13
David Clark Company ................................................................53
DynCorp International. ...............................................................11
Eclypse International Corp. .........................................................29
Elbit Systems of America ............................................................47
FLIR Systems, Inc. .......................................................................5
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. .................................41
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation ..............................................17
Helibasket.................................................................................21
Integrated Comm. Systems Group/Mathtech, Inc. .........................23
KIHOMAC .................................................................................42
L3Harris Wescam ........................................................................2
Lind Electronics .........................................................................33
Liquid Measurement Systems .....................................................32
Lockheed Martin .......................................................................92
Logos Technologies ...................................................................65
MAK Technologies .....................................................................55
Millennium International .............................................................39
PeopleTec, Inc ...........................................................................57
Phantom Products, Inc. ..............................................................44
S.A.F.E. Structure Designs, LLC ..................................................31
Science and Engineering Services, SES, Inc. ..................................7
Shield Tech. Corp./Envelop Protective Covers Corp. ......................43
Sierra Nevada Corporation .........................................................59
SKEDCO, Inc. ............................................................................60
Spokane Industries, Inc. .............................................................25
Strata-G Solutions Inc. .................................................................9Summit Aviation Inc. ..................................................................56
Vertex Aerospace LLC ................................................................27
Viasat .......................................................................................49
Vinnell Arabia ............................................................................61
Yulista Holdings, LLC ....................................................................12

Defense Acquisition System Directive
Goes Into Effect
On Sep. 8, 2020, Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist signed
into effect DoD Directive 5000.01, The Defense Acquisition System.
Representing one of the most transformational changes to acquisition
policy in decades, the re-write was part of a comprehensive redesignof the DoD 5000 Series acquisition policies, which were streamlined
and modernized to empower program managers, facilitate ﬂexibility
and enhance our ability to deliver capability at the speed of relevance.
DoDD 5000.01 can be found at https://www.esd.whs.mil/Directives/issuances/dodd/. To learn more about the Adaptive Acquisition
Framework, visit https://aaf.dau.edu/.

DARPA PHOTO

Coleman Takes Over DARPA
Dr. Victoria Coleman, an artiﬁcial intelligence andmicroelectronics specialist, was named 22nd
director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency on August 31, 2020. She is the third woman
to head DARPA since its creation in 1958, following
Regina Dugan, who served as director from July2009 until March 2012, and Dr. Arati Prabhakar,
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

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XNETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORTAAAA Awards

AAAA Award Nominations
Are Open NOW!
Recognize Our Soldiers !
Awards To Be Presented at theAnnual Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit:
Order of St. Michael
InducteesGOLD

CW5 Sam R. Baker, III
SILVER

COL Wade B. Becnel, Ret.
COL Ernesto A. Cortez
COL Darrell A. Doremus
CW5 Andy G. Fisher
COL Charles A. Fish, Ret.
1SG Eric D. Kahle
LTC Mark E. Larrabee, Ret.
COL Andrew J. Rochstein
COL Talmadge C. Sheppard
CW5 Jared E. Thompson
COL Lance K. Van Zandt
COL John M. Vannoy
SGM Patricia A. Wahl
COL David A. Warnick
BRONZE

MAJ James E. Abernathy
CW3 Mark S. Alexander
CSM Jermaine Baldwin
1SG Travis L. Bauer
COL James F. Beattie
CW4 Jeffrey S. Bender
CW4 John P. Bergmann
CW4 Stephen R. Boyd
CPT Brendan Brye
CW4 Jason A. Cave
1SG Hector R. Chaves
CW4 Boyde W. Crawford
CSM Herbet D. Dean, Ret.
SFC Carlos I. Garcia
CPT Patrick Garcia
CW4 Travis Haney
SFC Curtis HopperJohn Steven Kelley
SFC Austin B. Kendall
CW3 Karl C. Knight
LTC Kacie M. Lee
SFC Daniel MilanCW3 Patrick M. Montgomery
Joseph Myers
MAJ Angela Nolen
MAJ Matthew Perry
1SG Wilber Sanchez
CW3 Adriel Sauceda
CPT Michael W. Schreckenbach
CW3 Jamie B. Seymore
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

SFC John E. Shelton
CW4 Steven Shore
MAJ Adriana J. Silva
LTC Daniel Smith
MAJ Joseph Spencer
LTC Richard SpoonCPT Kyle Valente
MAJ Eddie Walker
CW3 Michael J. Welch
MAJ Ryan G. Whipple
CW3 Daniel S. WhiteCW4 Josh Williams
CW4 Nathon A. Woelke
CW4 Adam R. Young
1SG Richard D. Young

KnightInductees
CSM Brian A. Barkins
Janet M. Boots
CPT Noah H. Clay
LTC Rachael Hoagland
MG James J. Mingus
SFC David Ohlrich
MG John B. Richardson
Celines Rodriguez
MSG Kyle C. Seese
CPT Evan Wertz

 Joseph P. Cribbins Department of the
Army Civilian of the Year James H. McClellan Aviation Safety
 Henry Q. Dunn Crew Chief of the Year
 Army Aviation Soldier of the Year
 Rodney J.T. Yano NCO of the Year Michael J. Novosel Army Aviator of the Year Robert M. Leich Award Army Reserve Aviation Unit of the Year John J. Stanko Army National Guard
Aviation Unit of the Year
 Active Army Aviation Unit of the Year Outstanding Army Aviation Unit of the Year Top AAAA Chapter of the Year Top Senior Chapter of the Year Top Master Chapter of the Year Top Super Chapter of the Year

Our Ladyof Loreto
Inductees
Tara Burney
Heather Causey
Kim Cronin
Carrie Donahue
Megan Flint
Lisa M. Hermann
Kerry A. Irvin
Amber Keener
Megan Martini
Mirna E. Reyes
Jennifer Smith
Jessica Thompson
Linda Wikel

Nominations Due:January 1, 2021

quad-a.org
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NETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORT X

Thank You to Our Scholarship Fund Donors
AAAA recognizes the generosity of the following individuals, chapters and organizations that have donated to the Scholarship Foundation from September
2019 through September 2020. The list includes donations received for all scholarships, as well as the General Fund which provides funding to enable the chapter,
corporate, heritage and individual matching fund programs as well as national grants and loans. Donors marked with an * are partially or totally donating to the newly
established Families of the Fallen Scholarship. Every penny donated to the Scholarship Foundation goes directly to a grant or loan as a result of the Army
Aviation Association of America subsidizing ALL administrative costs!
114th Aviation Company Association
7/17 Air Cav Association
AAAA Air Assault Chapter
AAAA Aloha Chapter
AAAA Arizona Chapter
AAAA ASE Speakers
AAAA Aviation Center Chapter
AAAA Badger Chapter
AAAA Central Florida Chapter
AAAA Colonial Virginia Chapter
AAAA Connecticut Chapter
AAAA Corpus Christi Chapter
AAAA Cowboy Chapter
AAAA Delaware Valley Chapter
AAAA Flint Hills Chapter
AAAA Gold Standard Chapter
AAAA Idaho Snake River Chapter
AAAA Iron Mike Chapter
AAAA Jack H. Dibrell/Alamo Chapter
AAAA Keystone Chapter
AAAA Lindbergh Chapter
AAAA Luther Jones Speakers
AAAA MacArthur Chapter
AAAA Mid-Atlantic Chapter
AAAA Minuteman Chapter
AAAA Mount Rainier Chapter
AAAA North Star Chapter
AAAA North Texas Chapter
AAAA Old Tucson Chapter
AAAA Phantom Corp Chapter
AAAA Rio Grande Chapter
AAAA Southern California Chapter
AAAA Tarheel Chapter
AAAA Thunder Mountain Chapter
AAAA Thunderbird Chapter
AAAA Volunteer Chapter
AAAA Washington-Potomac Chapter
AAAA Wright Brothers Chapter
AAAA Zia Chapter
Sidney W. Achee
Airbus Group Inc.
All In Federal Credit Union
AmazonSmile
American Airlines
Army Otter Caribou Association
BAE
Bell Textron
Soﬁa Bledsoe-IHO COL Joseph A. Hoecherl
BoeingBoeing-Team ApacheJohn S. Bolton-IHO CSM Isaac B. Shefﬁeld
Louis Bonham, Bonham Technologies
Terry William Branham-IHO Families of the Fallen
Jacob Adam Brewster
SSG James L. Brown
John D. Burke-IHO COL Joseph A. Hoecherl

Cynthia S. Campbell
MAJ Ernie Carlson
Reyes Cortes-IHO Carmen Cortes
Cyalume Technologies, Inc.
David Danvers
Edward DeFreitas-IHO SGT James L. Wieler
Digiﬂight Inc - Stanford Oliver
Jay Dirnberger-IHO Janis Arena
Jay Dirnberger-IHO CPT Richard Rees-Y’s Men ofWestport & Weston
Donaldson Company
Dustoff Association
Eagle 6 Technical Services, LLC
LTC Joe Emerson, Ret.
Enterprise Holdings Foundation
Erickson Incorporated
Fechheimer
Donald Fetzer, Van Note-Harvey Associates-IHO
LTC Thomas F. McNamara
Leslie H. Gilbert, Cub Club
Giving Tuesday Donors
Lucy Goeke-IHO LTC Thomas F. McNamara
Thomas & Jane Graft
William B. Grubbs-IHO John K. Jolly
James Hamill-IHO COL Edward Landry, Ret.
Thomas M. Harrison
Daphne Brashear Herron-IHO Billy Brashear
John Hickman-IHO Phil Hickman
Gerald Hipp-IHO Colleen Hipp
Scott Hofﬁnger-IHO Families of the Fallen
Tharon Honeycutt - MSB Analytics, Inc
Tom Huff-IHO COL Joseph A. Hoecherl
Jack A. James-IHO T/SGT Karl P. Danckwerth, Sr.
Arlo & Mary Rose Janssen
Cheryl E. Jensen
Johnny Overton HS Alumni
Robert H. Johnson III
Johnson & Johnson-IHO 1LT Kathryn Bailey
COL Larry M. Jonas, Ret.
K-Con, Inc.
Diane M. Kennedy
MG Richard D. Kenyon, Ret
Walter J. Kohls
James Krueger
Scott Kubica
Jessica Bailey Lallier-IHO 1LT Kathryn Bailey
Joe Lawver-IHO LTC Thomas McNamara
Alyssa Lemanski-IHO LTC Thomas F. McNamara
Lockheed Martin
Timothy Lunger
Robert H (Chip) and Angela Lunn-IHO Christopher& Bill Gavora
Jodi Lynch
Michelle K. Madden-IHO Donald Harry Enselek
Carolyn Maloney
Lewis & Betty McConnell

Donald Munsch, Munsch & Co. Aeromechanics
Bonnie & Gary Nenninger
Northrop Grumman
Sylvia T. Noyes-IHO Thomas & Ann McNamara
Larry V. Obert-IHO Donald Harry Enselek
Dr. David M. O’Brien Jr.
MG Rudy Ostovich, Ret.
Patriot Taxiway Industries Inc
Peduzzi Associates LTD
Phantom Products Inc.
SFC Andrew G. Pokelwaldt-IHO of Military Families
Potomac Knights Chapter of the 114th
Shawn Powell
Marc Rassler
Terry & Bonnie Reininger-IHO Christopher &Bill Gavora
Marilyn Rickmeyer
Roberson Giving Fund - Keith Roberson
Robertson Fuel Systems-IHO Christopher &Bill Gavora
CW4 Joseph Rosamon-IHO Creek Fire Rescues
Safran Electronics & Defense, Avionics USA
Edwin W. Schmierer III – IHO Thomas & Ann
McNamara
Nancy L. Shaffer-End-IHO 1LT Kathryn Bailey
Shashy Family Charitable FundJohn F. Sheard
William and Mary Shelt-IHO Families of the Fallen
Kenneth Shields
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation-Eric Kraemer
Thomas G. Smith
CPT Barry Speare, Ret.
StandardAero
MAJ Benjamin Stork
Walter C. Studdard-IHO Colleen Hipp
Masaki Sudo
The Zieff Family Fund
Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association
Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association of Florida
Vietnam Veterans of the 227th Assault Helicopter
Battalion
Robert Weaver Welsh-IHO William Reeder Jr.
Nolan Wesley-IHO Families of the Fallen
Beverly A. Williamson-IHO MAJ Thomas Meredith
Duckworth
Chrysta Wilson - CREA
Wreaths Across America Sponsors
COL Michelle Yarborough, Ret. – IHO MAJ William“Pete” Stormer, Ret.
COL Michelle Yarborough, Ret. – IHO MSG
Raymond Yarborough, Ret.
John & Mary York-IHO LTC Thomas F. McNamara
Lisa R. Young-IHO Morgan Rae Kurowsky
YPO Fairchester Chapter
Yulista Holding, LLC
IHO – In Honor Of

For more information about the Foundation or to make a contribution, go online to www.quad-a.org; contributions can also be mailed to
AAAA Scholarship Foundation, Inc., 593 Main Street, Monroe, CT 06468-2806.

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

85

October 31, 2020

AAAA

XNETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORT

People On The Movethe 1-130th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, received the medals
for their support of the 7th Special Forces Group’s Operational
Detachment Alpha (ODA) 7225 during Task Force Panther. According
to a NCARNG news release while providing cover to ODA 7225 inUruzgan Province they began taking heavy enemy ﬁre. Scott andCarver, ﬂying in an Apache, quickly identiﬁed enemy positions and“engaged them after permission was given.” They were “repeatedly
engaging a robust enemy force at ... close range to friendly forces,”and their steadfast reaction “resulted in a successful mission for ODA
7225 without injuries or loss of lives.”

Aviation General Ofﬁcer Promotions/Assignments
The Chief of Staff of the Army announced the following aviation
general ofﬁcer assignment:\U.S. ARMY PHOTO

BG Joseph A. Edwards II, commanding general(Troop Program Unit), 104th Training Division(Leader Training), Joint Base Lewis-McChord,
Washington, to director of operations, Ofﬁce of the
Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9, U.S. Army, Washington,
D.C.

Task Force Javelin Soldiers Receive
Purple Heart

Changes of Command/Responsibility

U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY PFC JULIA C. SCOTT

U.S. ARMY PHOTOS BY SGT SYDNEY MARIETTE, 34TH EXP. CBT. AVN. BDE.

11th ECAB Changes Command

COL Roger F. Deon, Jr., outgoing commander of the 11th Expeditionary
Combat Aviation Brigade, relinquishes the brigade colors to COL Andrew
Cecil, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Reserve Aviation Command,at the change of command ceremony on Founders Parade Field at Fort
Carson, Colorado, Sept. 12, 2020. Standing by to receive the colors is
incoming commander COL Geoffrey J. Jeram (second from left) andCSM Carl M. Sheckles, Jr. Deon assumed command of the 11th ECAB
in September 2018 and will be serving next as the Aviation Director for
the U.S. Army Reserve Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

SFC Elmer Mayhew and SGT Jared Fossek stand in front of a CH47 Chinook helicopter after being awarded the Purple Heart medalfrom their brigade commander, COL Greg Fix, on August 31, 2020, atCamp Buehring, Kuwait. Both Mayhew and Fossek received the award
for injuries sustained during rocket attacks on March 14, 2020, while
stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq with Delta Company, 1-189th General
Support Aviation Battalion, Montana National Guard.
Statement of Ownership, Management, And Circulation(Required by PS Form 3526)

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12 months, and the actual number of copies of the issue published nearest to
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3HUFHQW 3DLG DQGRU 5HTXHVWHG &LUFXODWLRQ FI[    ,FHUWLI\WKDWWKHVWDWHPHQWVPDGHE\PHLQWKLVVWDWHPHQWDQGGDWHG2FWREHU
DUHFRUUHFWDQGFRPSOHWH:LOOLDP5+DUULV-U3XEOLVKHUNORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO BY LTC MATTHEW DEVIVONCARNG Apache Pilots Awarded DFC

Two North Carolina National Guard AH-64 Apache pilots received
the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions in Afghanistan in
2018. CPT Stephen Scott and CW4 Eric Carver, both assigned to
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

86

October 31, 2020

AAAA

NETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORT X

People On The Move
Flight School Graduates

AAAA provides standard aviator wings to all graduates and sterling silver
aviator wings to the distiguished graduates of each ﬂight class ...
another example of AAAA’s SUPPORT for the U.S. Army Aviation Soldier and Family.
AAAA congratulates the followingofﬁcers graduating from Flight
School XXI at the U.S. Army Aviation
Center of Excellence, Fort Rucker, AL.

35 Ofﬁcers July 30, 2020

FSXXI Class 20-019

FSXXI Class 20-019
WO1 Loftus, Joseph C. *WO1 Mauro, Maranda G.
WO1 Milbury, Trevor C.
WO1 Miller, Lew C.

WO1 Moore, Nicholas D.
WO1 Passmore, Daniel J.
WO1 Price, Cary D. *WO1 Ream, Darren P. *WO1 Rubio, Jonathan
WO1 Sandoval, Rudy A.
WO1 Yanulis, Cody T.
WO1 Ziegler, Shelby A.

41 Ofﬁcers August 13,
2020

Commissioned Ofﬁcers
2LT Gutoske, Joseph H. - DG
2LT Bacon, Claudia J. * - HG
2LT Bibb, Abigail E. *2LT Camacho, Chrystal J. *2LT Fanko, Matthew P. *2LT King, Isaac R.
2LT Myers, Jackson C.
2LT Stratton, Ryan D. *2LT Triquet, Tyler M. *Warrant Ofﬁcers
WO1 Campbell, Tyler O. - DG
WO1 Allen, Travis S. - HG
WO1 Diaz, Antonio D. * - HG
WO1 Gottschling, Bruce E. - HG
WO1 Weier, Aaron A. * - HG
WO1 Albany, Austin W. *WO1 Alvarado, Adrian
WO1 Alvarez, Ever E.
WO1 Brown, Robyn J. (CL)WO1 Butterﬁeld, Christopher L.
WO1 Clark, John H., IV
WO1 Cole, Preston C. *WO1 Ferguson, MontyWO1 Fousse, Daniel N. +WO1 Gowan, Jared D. *WO1 Gulino, David J.
WO1 Haulenbeek, Benjamin H. *WO1 Hunter, Trevor W.

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

FSXXI Class 20-020

FSXXI Class 20-020
WO1 Joe, Matthias S.
WO1 Minnema, Jacob N.
WO1 Pina, Jose R. *WO1 Poff, Andrew K.
WO1 Poulin, Brian M. *WO1 Schwartz, Kyle S.
WO1 Sicilia, Joseph B.

WO1 Simashkevich, Kevin W. *WO1 Stewart, Darius L.
WO1 Tharp, Christopher G.
WO1 Trageser, Ruth A.
WO1 Wardrope, Sarah M.
WO1 Watson, Dennis M.
WO1 Young, Justin G.
87-DG: Distinguished Graduate-HG: Honor Graduate* = AAAA Member
Flight School Graduates continued
on next page

October 31, 2020

ALL PHOTOS U.S. ARMY PHOTO, FORT RUCKER PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Commissioned Ofﬁcers
2LT Shook, Collin J. * - DG
2LT Horwitz, Matthew S. * - HG
2LT Carver, Timothy J.
1LT Cottrell, David S., Jr.
2LT Dixon, Brian J. *1LT Gagnon, Thomas J.
2LT Gunnells, Sarah G. *2LT Sawatzky, Noah J.
2LT Scoggins, Nathaniel T.
2LT White, Jonathan H.
Warrant Ofﬁcers
WO1 Winner, Michael D., II - DG
WO1 Magruder, Francis L., II - HG
WO1 Taylor, Liwayway A. - HG
WO1 Villanueva, Joshua J. - HG
WO1 Whitlow, Cameron A. - HG
WO1 Beecham, Dane N. *WO1 Bennett, Cody S. *WO1 Cole, Richard L.
WO1 Darden, Brent A.
WO1 Deyo, Ryan E. *WO1 Dorado, Mariano
WO1 Heinz, Jacob W.
WO1 Johnson, Hope M. *

AAAAXNETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORT

People On The Move
59 Ofﬁcers August 27,
2020

Commissioned Ofﬁcers
2LT Stancik, Kyle M. * - HG
1LT Blango, Edgar L.
2LT Carter, Nephi V. *2LT Cicutto, Colton R. *2LT Grifﬁth, James A.
2LT Hatch, Colin D.
2LT Livanos, Demitrios C. *2LT McFatridge, Keegan A. *2LT Stratton, Ryan *2LT Toguchi, Jason D.
2LT Vierkant, Eric C.
Warrant Ofﬁcers
WO1 Wienckoski, Matthew J. - DG
WO1 Camp, Clinton J. - HG
WO1 Kohls, Patrick R. - HG
WO1 Logue, Justin M. - HG
WO1 Berner, Amy R. *WO1 Blanco, Jason T.
WO1 Brown, Michael T.
WO1 Burch, Billy J.
WO1 Chacho, Victor S.
WO1 Chadwick, Aaron M.
WO1 Chavis, Ricky C., Jr. *WO1 Comito, David P.
WO1 Dearman, Tyler G. *WO1 Exler, Edward D. *WO1 Ferguson, Coty J. *WO1 Grigsby, Aaron C.
WO1 Ham, Jacob D.
WO1 Hickman, Courtney *WO1 Hinojosa, Andrew R.

FSXXI Class 20-021-1

FSXXI Class 20-021-1
WO1 Kay, Elijah R.
WO1 Kennedy, Philip M.
WO1 Kittleson, Travis M.
WO1 Koveleskie, Jakob E.
WO1 Madere, Jacques A. *WO1 Marshall, John W. *WO1 Meek, Adam J.
WO1 Morales, Miguel A.
WO1 Oxley, Ryan N.
WO1 Patterson, Tyler A.
WO1 Peterson, Kenneth A.

PFC Angel Nieves
ADVANCED
Jeremy Reyes
INDIVIDUAL TRAINING PV2SPC Eric Rivera(AIT) GRADUATIONS PV2 Matrix Tabion

AAAA congratulates the
PVT Peyton Zipf
following Army graduates
Class 026-20of the indicated Advanced
PV2 Hunter Wright-DG
Individual Training (AIT) courses PFC Diego Garcia
at the 128th Aviation Brigade, PVT Jodavid Martin
Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA PVT Jaime Martinez
and the U.S. Army Aviation
PVT Mathew Norton
Center of Excellence, Ft.
PVT Alexander Park
Rucker, AL.
PVT Steven Pﬁeffer
PV2 Colby Tucker
AH-64 Attack Helicopter
PVT James Turner, Jr
Repairer (15R)
PVT Christopher YoungClass 024-20
PV2 Nicholas Throgmorton
PVT Gianni Lopez-DG
Class 027-20
PFC Orlando Aponte
PV2 Cade Johns-DG
PV2 Joel Camacho
PV2 Phillip Anderson
PVT Samuel Cardona
PV2 Daniel Barta
PFC Sean Daniels
PV2 Hunter Burrows
PVT Eisleer Castillo
PV2 Colin Calcote
PV2 Kyle Causey
PV2 Michael Crane
PVT Alvaro Delgado
PV2 Samuel Hagberg
PVT Noah HallPFC Noah Klap
PV2 Eric Hernandez
PV2 Thomas Marte
PVT Caleb Miller
PV2 Joseph Reinhardt
PV2 Julianne O’connor
SPC Lionnel Nkurunziza
Class 025-20
SPC Valentin Inkov
PV2 Eric Hoekstra-DG
PFC Luis Duran-Velez
CH-47 Medium Helicopter
PFC Keanu Johnny
Repairer (15U)PV2 Michael Kerr
Class 203-20
PVT Eduardo Navarroadame
PV2 Seth J Cary-DG

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

WO1 Pezoa, Isaac M.
WO1 Presley, Curtis E. *WO1 Puckett, Tristan-Lukas M.
WO1 Ritchie, Robert M.
WO1 Robertson, Michael J.
WO1 Rolapp, David T. *WO1 Romberger, Andrea J. *WO1 Runge, James C.
WO1 Shropshire, Joshua B.
WO1 Simmons, Clifford D.
WO1 Smith, Stephen D. *WO1 Staffnik, Anders I.
WO1 Timko, Corey A.
WO1 Townsend, Joseph P.
WO1 Twigg, Jared S.
WO1 Von Dran, Andrew T.
WO1 Welch, Robert E.
WO1 Wilhelm, Trey E.
-DG: Distinguished Graduate-HG: Honor Graduate* = AAAA Member

PV2 Ashae Aiesha Allison
SPC Misael Braudrick
Class 026-20
PV2 Ronaldadrian T. Almanzor PV2 Wesley J. Jensen-DG
PV2 Carl John Cooper
PV2 Travis Vaughn Barnes
PFC Tanna Jo Furlow
PFC Matias Andres Alarcon
PV2 Gavin Imran Brooks
SPC Kathryn Marie Johnston
PFC Heath Michael Foster
PV2 Ryan Alexander Crowe
PFC Courtney Lynne Tate
PV2 Richard Hinojosa
SGT Kevin Wayne Douglas
Class 054-20
PV2 Felipe L Leija
PV2 Ralphvictor Tocao Lluch
PFC Kaden James Rankin-DG
PV2 Matthew Gabriel Lucero
PV2 Taiwo Olumide Olaleye
PV2 Jacob James Fowler
PV2 Eric Lee Lufkin, Jr
PFC Ricardo J.Remonmolina
SPC Jowan Jeffrey Fritsch
PV2 Isidro EDGardo Reyna
PFC Justin Tarik Simon
PV2 Joshua Alexander Robles SPC Arturo Rubio Gastelum
Class 204-20
PFC Adam Richard Greenwood
PV2 Chayton Michael Sykes
PFC Joshua S. Bradley-DG
PV2 Braden Anthonynino Vivola PFC William Hunter Gully, IV
PV2 Nickolas Wayne Brewer
PV2 Chase Anthony Westerbur PFC Simeon N.Kretzschmar
PFC Dalton Anthony Byrnes
SPC Bradley H McAfee
Class 027-20
PV2 Cody Lee Calhoun
PFC Carlos J. Nieves Ramos
PV2 Sean M. Gallaway-DG
SPC Romane N Daley
PFC Steven Wayne Szostak
PV2 Cade Michael Eastwood
PV2 Gaven Riley Debault
PFC Dominique Devon James PFC Arnold Torres
PV2 Cameron Bradley Detrick PFC Christian Michael Lang
PV2 William Charles Wardrip
PV2 Tanis Elijah Dodson
PV2 Christopher Seth Ledford Class 055-20
PV2 Logan Daniel Ronsisvalle PV2 Rithou Melus
SPC Angel Alexander Cruz-DG
PV2 Luis Eduardosoto Trujillo PV2 Grayson Kenneth Newton PV2 Carlas Leontayeteferi AllenPFC Taalotausala I. Tuiasosopo PFC Rigoberto Ruiz
PV2 Christian Calle
PV2 Burak Yildiz
PFC Dale Edmund Cullen
Pv1 Brandon Shane ScottClass 025-20
PV2 Brian Anthony Dial
PV2 Anthony David Sellers
PFC Zachary C. Lounsberry-DG PV2 Alberto Antoni Vallefenelon PV2 Aaron Duane Edman, Jr
SSG Brandon Dewayne Casey
PV2 Everett William Gropp
UH-60 Helicopter Repairer SPC Adrian W Henry
PV2 Michael Lane Cornelius(15T)
PV2 Michael Lee Grifﬁth
PV2 Jarred Matthew Hudson
Class 053-20
PV2 Dalton Gates Hamilton
PFC James Matthew Huff
SPC Jessica Renee Barrett-DG PFC Dewey Michael Ivey, Jr
PV2 Andre Morell McNeal
PV2 Natanael Alejandro Murillo PV2 Samuel Rutherford Allison PFC Trystan Blake McCoy
PV2 Sara Jane Bascara
PV2 Christian Ruben RamosClass 056-20
PV2 Dean Bastick
PFC Camren Nicholas Ryan
SPC Austin Taylor Mobley-DG
PFC Antonio Estefan Sanchez PFC Braxton Louis Bowie
PFC Zachary Alex Kendall
PV2 Justin Michael Boynton
PV2 Zachary David Scotton
PV2 Tyler Jacob Killian

88

October 31, 2020

AAAA

NETWORK I RECOGNITION I VOICE I SUPPORT X

People On The Move
PVT Daltonaaron Lee Konitzer
PV2 Kody Allen LylePFC Jordan Jonathan McGarry
SPC Erving Werner Morelius
PV2 Isac Sanchezgarcia
PV2 Haden Mark Scott
PFC Lane Thomas Shockey
PFC Marquis Ikea Thomas
PFC Taylor William Uetz
Class 057-20
PFC Benton Luke Johnson-DG
PFC Thomas Edward Bravo
PFC Jason Lee Brown
PV2 Robert Jesse Burgezahm
PV2 Jackson Wayne Burrell
PFC Jacob Byrne
SPC Christopher N.Cambata
PV2 Kyler Jack Crass
PV2 Jacob Joseph Hensel
PFC Jeffrey Dale Quick, Jr
PV2 Ryan David Schroeder
PV2 Prajwal SinghClass 058-20
PFC Alexander J. Alvarez-DG
PFC Tomas Tomas Agraitocana
SPC Benjiman C. Blakney
PV2 Aron Presley Cisneros
PFC Zerrick David Nance
PFC Jamesdaniel M.Rodriguez
PFC Rusel Abdiel Sedanegron
PV2 Riley A. Simmermon
PFC Alec Walkerscott Spurlock
PFC Caleb Levi Williams
PFC Cameron Bryant Wilson
Class 059-20
SPC Edgar Eli Diazaguirre-DG
SPC Jahadul AlamPV2 Jazmine Lee Baguley
PVT Sebastian Franz Brandner
PV2 Jojo Thomas Crothers
PFC Zachary Steele Higgins
PFC Sydney Savanna Jackson
PV2 Yuliya Serdyuk
PV2 Andrew Ryan Vanveelen
PV2 Riley Tanner Williams
SPC Jiwon Yoon
Class 060-20
PV2 Joseph Edwin Powell-DG
PV2 Jose J. Olivaresguerrero
PFC Charles Melvin Quinn
PV2 Daniel Omar Ramirez
PFC Collin Audie Sieg
PV2 Milton A Stephens, III
PFC Ethan Mark Thompson
PV2 Austin Everett Upchurch
PV2 Alacksander Thor Whiting

Class 010-20
PFC Ryan Greenlee
PFC Connor M. Gordon - DG
UAS Operator
PVT Dasan Hoggard
Aircraft Powertrain
AAAA Congratulates the
PFC Katie Michelle Anderson PFC Christopher Johnson
Repairer (15D)
Following Army Graduates of
SPC Polonia Yisel Aristy
PVT Jameres Johnson
Class 006-20
The Unmanned Aircraft Systems
SPC Justin Raymond Austin
PVT Kameron Moine
PV2 Joseph T. Reece - DG
PFC Tyshaun Khalia Bailey
Operator Course, MOS15W, At
Class 014-20
PV2 Lennon Skye BaughPV2 Tyshaun Khalia Bailey
Fort Huachuca, Az.
PV2 John Wingo, Jr-DG
PV2 Leandre Brown II
PV2 Izabela Faye Campbell
SPC Kyle Gabbard
Shadow UAS Operator
PFC Tyler Gage Bunch
PFC Bryan Jose Cruz Silva
SPC James Moore, Jr.
CourseSPC Chrisopher E.Canﬁeld
PFC William James George, Jr PVT Austin Player
38 Graduates, 24 July 2020
PFC Teancum Aaron Carlson
Class 011-20
PV2 Benjamin RicePFC Dakota C. Lawther -DG
PFC Canton McCaleb Chapman PFC Kent T. Mauney - DG
SPC Cameron Rucker
PVT Hunter J. Arentz - HG
PV2 Francisco Crespo RestoPFC Elijha Arthur Ledoux
PV2 Justin Simon
SGT Brandon Montehermoso
PFC Hannah Brooke Doyel
SPC Michael Tyler Nelson
PVT Bram Stone
SPC Thomas C. Baltes
PV2 Damien Stephen Munroe PFC Tyler Andrew Partridge
PVT Lamacairoise Taylor
SPC Christopher L. Ciulla
SGT Dennis Banado Ong
SPC Michael Terry Ridenhour PFC Scott Tolzman
SPC Stephanie J. DrakePFC Noah James Simon
PV2 Alcameron F.Richmond
SPC Tyler W. Selige
PFC Dylan Michael Thibodeaux Unmanned Aircraft
PV2 Kristian Jesus Salas
PFC Ryan T. Cochrane
PV2 Franklin Ray Troubleﬁeld PV2 Edwin Abraham Torres
Systems(UAS)
PFC Peyton R. Elizondo
SPC Yifan Zhang
Graduations
AH-64 Armament/
PFC Taj R. Harrell
Aircraft Electrician (15F)Electrical/Avionic Systems
PFC Tristan W. Marchese
UAS Repairer
Class 012-20
Repairer (15Y)PFC Rebecca D. Schake
AAAA Congratulates theClass 011-20
PV2 Kyra A. Hokinson - DG
PV2 Caleb H. Barrow
Following Army Graduates
PV2 Jeremy Allen-DG
PV2 Jason Paul Brenner
PV2 Bailey A. Bennerof The Unmanned Aircraft
PVT Jonathan Bello
PV2 Cody Nicholas Brown
PV2 James D. R. Carver
Systems Repairer Course, MOS PV2 Nicholas J. Foley
PFC Donovan Anthony Childers PVT Caleb Blanchardunn
15E, At Fort Huachuca, Az.
PVT Owen Cook
PV2 Levi Jay Coley
PV2 Vanesa E. Freire
PV2 Jordan Cox
PV2 Cory Don Farley
PV2 Joshua Gaspard
Shadow UAS Repairer
PV2 Weston FilgoPFC Tucker Ray Jett
PV2 Joshua C. Holland
CoursePFC Estefani Mercadoestrella PVT Brian HoDGe, Jr
PV2 Alex J. Maisonet Luciano
5 Graduates, 27 July 2020
PV2 Tyler Horneman
Class 013-20
PV2 Nathan A. MyersSGT Tyler Wayne Hill - HG
PV2 Trenton C. Lemoine - DG PVT Zachary Miller
PV2 Javier Nava
SSG Nelashley M. Pascual
PV2 Martee Munns
PV2 Enroque Aaron Nieto
PV2 Geoffery Pinkney
SPC Christopher T. Berninger PV2 Victor A. Rivera
PV2 Jonathan Daniel Quinones PVT Elvin Navarro
SPC Abel Valdez
Class 012-20
PFC Gilbert Rangel
PVT Alexander Aguilar
PVT Gabriel J. Coile
PVT Joshua Watson-DG
SPC Jonathan Daniel Sylvies
PVT Anthony J. BoothSPC William Arrowood
SPC Patrick William Toomey
PVT Armando J. Contreras
Grey Eagle UAS Repairer
SPC Brandon Grifﬁth
PV2 Anthony Alipio Vidal
PVT Blake F. Eiffert
CoursePV2 Nathaniel Larry Weldman SPC Avery Howard
PVT Wesley C. Gifford
12 Graduates, 28 July 2020
SPC Luis Moreno
Class 015-20
PVT Joseph A. Guetter
PV2 Ashton L. Etheredge -DG PVT Jason M. Haynes
PV2 Hunter G. Van Drunen- DG PVT Bryan Sanchez
SPC Sergio A. Lara - HG
PVT David Stewart
PV2 Taner Reynolds Allsup
PVT Raymond C. Huhn
PFC Thomas F. Mccoy
PVT Luis Torres
SPC Ashkan Hosseini
PVT Luke R. LeblancPV2 Kamal K. Ivy
PVT Joseph Touponce, Jr
PV2 Tyler Lane Meador
PVT Branson M. Malcom
PV2 Dylan R. Phillips
PFC Joseph Vinson, II
PV2 Matthew Scott Orahood
PVT Christos P. Nikitopoulos
PV2 Cody M. Rathbone
PVT Fernando Vazquez-Narvaez SPC Zechariah Westergaard
PVT Tyler K. Santos
PVT Elmer J. ColonClass 013-20
PV2 Daniel Akil Ward
PVT Christopher M. Turner
PVT Heath G. Crittenden
PVT Derek Center-DG
SPC Kuo Zhang
PVT David M. Van-Treese
PVT Christian G. HartPFC Nikolas Blenden
PVT Jonathan B. Malone
Aircraft Pnedraulics
PV2 Kody Crouch
DH - Distinguished Graduate
PVT Bela Mark
Repairer (15H)
PVT Parker Danielson
HG - Honor Graduate
PVT Isaac J. Miller
Class 011-20
PVT Scott GrandPV2 Nathan Robert Ritter - DG
PFC Ace Hunter Harper
SPC Mikhail Musikhin
UPCOMING EVENTSPV2 Jesair Ruben Pacheco
PVT Jerome Prudente
NOVEMBER 2020
PV2 Christopher R.Sheppard
16-18 AAAA Joseph P. Cribbins Training, Acquisition and Sustainment
PV2 Zackary Allen Winstead
PV2 Kalan J Nelson

Aircraft Powerplant
Repairer (15B)
Class 012-20
PFC Daniel Alvarez
PV2 Malcolm Louis Brelpreston Aircraft Structural Repairer(15G)
PV2 Ethan Michael Briick
Class 007-12
PV2 Jordan A. Campusano
PFC Jun Steven Bae - DG
PV2 Jose Johnny Castillo
PV2 Joseph Daniel Connell
SPC Vee Liam Chan
PFC Jose Santos Cubas
PFC Joshua T. Copeland
PV2 Christian Dion Daen
PV2 Courdell Paul Daughrity
PV2 Cody Johnwilliam Decker PFC Vinh The Diep
PV2 Angelo Figueroa
SPC Donte Nwangi GreenPV2 Trace Patrick Hart
PVT Xylar Roger Hodge
Avionic Repairer (15N)PFC Mariam Masuddramani
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

Symposium, Huntsville, AL
16 AAAA National Executive Board & Scholarship Foundation Board ofGovernors, Huntsville, AL
DECEMBER 2020
7-8 Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE) Symposium, Kissimmee, FL
12 The 121st Army-Navy Game, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA

89

October 31, 2020

Art’s

Attic

By Mark Albertson

Art’s Attic is a look back each issue at 25 and 50 years ago to see
what was going on in ARMY AVIATION Magazine. Contributing
editor Mark Albertson has selected a few key items from each
decade’s issues. Art Kesten is our founder and ﬁrst publisher
from 1953 to 1987. He is also the founder of the AAAA in 1957
and served as its Executive Vice President. The cartoon, right,
was created back in 1953 by LT Joe Gayhart, a friend of Art’sand an Army Aviator, showing the chaos of his apartment-ofﬁce
in New York City where it all began.

25 Years Ago

50 Years Ago

October 31,1995

April-May 1970

Brieﬁngs

An Army FirstThe Dustoff Association will beholding its 17th Annual Reunionat the Holiday Inn Northwest in
San Antonio, Texas, on 23-25 February 1996. For more information, contact The Dustoff Association, P.O. Box 8091, Wainwright Station, San Antonio,
Texas, 78208, or call “Doc”
Kralich at (210) 558- 7764.

September 21, 1970, General
William C. Westmoreland, Army
Chief of Staff, was officially rated,
an Army Aviator. The honor was
bestowed during a September 21 dinner, honoring four graduating classes of 209 commissioned and warrant officers from USAAVNS, from MG Delk M. Oden (right), who pinned on General Westmoreland’s wings with Mrs. Oden, as one of his last official acts as commandant of the School. General Westmoreland
began is flight training at
Fort Campbell some years
ago. Last year, he began an
intensive rotary wing flighttraining program underCWO Charles Astrike, an
IP. The general has continued his flight training
at both Fort Rucker andWashington, D.C. General William C. Westmoreland is the first
Army Chief of Staff to receive Army Aviator wings.

Brieﬁngs
A prototype of the E-Hunter
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV), a new derivative of the U.S. Government Joint Tactical
UAV ( JT-UAV), made its first flight 25 July 1995 at a testsite in Israel. This TRW/Israel Aircraft
Industries’ prototype of the E-Hunter
UAV, was developed, as was the E-Hunter,as a cost-effective-low mark approachto add long endurance capability to the
Hunter Joint Tactical UAV. The E-Hunter
will be able to loiter on station more than
25 hours at an altitude of 25,000 feet.

Sikorsky Unveils New Gunship
Upwards of 350 representatives and guests, ranging from government, the military, industry and the press, gathered to view
Sikorsky’s new high-speed twin-turbine attack helicopter. The
coming out party for the gunship was held at the Stratford Connecticut Sikorsky facility, September 22. Named the “Blackhawk,” the S-67 was financed by
Sikorsky, in an effort that took justnine months, from management approval to rollout. The S-67 is a version of the H-3 (S-61) military series;
which includes the U.S. Army and
USMC VH-3 helicopters, used to
shuttle the president and other government officials.See pages 38 and 39,“Sikorsky Unveils New Gunship,” Army
Aviation, October 1970 issue.

Multi-Service Bulletin Board System“The ‘educated bullets’ of today and tomorrow for the U.S.
Army in any combat situation will reside in its numerous
target sensing systems. “Their ability to be effective against the
rapidly-changing threat environment relies on the capability
to electronically receive updated programming data. “Toenhance this capability, the Army Reprogramming Analysis
Team has joined forces with the USAF at the Air Warfare
Center (AWC) to participate in the Multi-Service Electronic
Combat Data Distribution System, i.e. the Bulletin Board
System (BBS). See pages 27-29, “The Multi-Service Bulletin
Board System,” by LTC Peter McGrew, USMC, (Ret.), Army
Aviation, October31, 1995 issue.
ARMY AVIATION Magazine

90

October 31, 2020

Army Aviation

Hall of Fame
ColonelJohn C. Geary
The Army Aviation Hallof Fame, sponsored by
the Army Aviation
Association of America,
Inc., recognizes thoseindividuals who have madean outstanding contribution
to Army Aviation.

The actual Hall of Fame
is located in the
Army Aviation Museum,
Fort Rucker, Ala.

The deadline fornominations for the2022 induction isJune 1, 2021

Contact the AAAA
National Ofﬁce for details
and nomination forms at(203) 268-2450 or visit
www.quad-a.org

ARMY AVIATION Magazine

Army Aviation Hall of Fame 1989 Induction Atlanta, GA

I

n 1943 John Geary was already a MasterSergeant in the Army when appointed toattend the Military Academy at West Point.
After graduation he took pilot training at
San Marcos, Tex., and then graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School at
Edwards Air Force Base, California, where he achieved the highest academic
grade in his class as one of a very few U.S. Army pilots to undergo that training.
After earning his M.S. Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the University ofMichigan in ‘56, Geary eventually emerged as one of the Army’s most qualified
and experienced engineering test pilots, with flight time in 35 different varietiesof fixed wing aircraft (many of them experimental) and 20 types of helicopters.
A Master Army Aviator with more than 4,000 hours (including 300 logged
in combat in Korea and Vietnam), he pioneered the concept of “lead the fleet”
testing while assigned to the U.S. Army’s Transportation Test and Support
Activity at Ft. Rucker. Under his direction new model helicopters were flown
under a demanding, accelerated schedule to discover potential problems inmaintenance and logistic support requirements as early as possible.
On one occasion four helicopters of the same type were flown 1,000 hours eachin an elapsed time of 82 days, an astonishing accomplishment that under normal
circumstances would take six months to achieve the same results.
A CH-47 Chinook Project Manager at one point, his last post before retirement
was as Director of Research, Development and Engineering at the U.S. Army
Aviation Systems Command in St. Louis.
Above all, John Geary was a soldier, giving to the Army and his country 34 yearsof selfless, dedicated, highly effective service.

91

October 31, 2020

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ARMY AVIATION Magazine92© 2020 Lockheed
Martin Corporation

October 31, 2020