Story by Lt. Col. Cain Claxton POZNAN, Poland – V Corps and Poland’s 1st Aviation Brigade conducted their third Polish Apache Initiative Summit Aug. 27-29 at Poland’s Air Force Training Center near Ustka, Poland, and Drawsko Combat Training Center near Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland. Since 2024, Poland and U.S. Army aviators have worked together to establish Poland’s Apache aviation program through a series of meetings called Polish Apache Initiative Summits. After Poland signed a procurement deal for 96 Apaches in 2024, the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade saw an opportunity to help Poland accelerate the integration of the new capability when the...
Learn MoreStory by Leslie Herlick FORT RUCKER, Ala. — In a bold move to modernize battlefield capabilities and close critical training gaps, the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence (AVCOE) has launched its inaugural Unmanned Advanced Lethality Course (UALC) at Fort Rucker. Designed to rapidly train soldiers on the lethal employment of small UAS (SUAS), including First Person View (FPV) drone operations. The course lays the foundation for standardized UAS employment across warfighting functions, redefining how small UAS platforms are used in reconnaissance, fires, and maneuver operations. Maj. Wolf Amacker, the chief of the AVCOE Directorate of Training and Doctrine UAS...
Learn MoreStory by Cheryl Marino As the battlefield evolves, so must the aircraft that support and protect Soldiers on the ground. The Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) aims to do just that—ushering in a new era of speed, range and adaptability. Backed by cutting-edge digital engineering, FLRAA isn’t just a new rotorcraft, it’s a leap forward in how the Army plans, flies and fights in tomorrow’s conflicts. “It’s a game-changing capability in terms of speed and range,” said Col. Jeffrey Poquette, FLRAA project manager at Program Executive Office (PEO) for Aviation. He characterized the next-generation tiltrotor assault aircraft (designed...
Learn MoreStory by Maj. Ryan Finnegan A HH60M Blackhawk medical evacuation helicopter of the Montana Army National Guard’s 1-189th General Support Aviation Battalion rescued three hikers from the Princess Lake area of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness on August 17, safely transporting them to receive medical attention. After getting a mission request for Guard assistance early Sunday morning, the aircraft departed from the Billings Army Limited Aviation Support Facility at 7:50 a.m. The hikers, suffering from hypothermia and illness, were recovered and transported to Columbus to receive further medical care. The helicopter returned to Billings by 9:20 a.m. The crew onboard the aircraft...
Learn MoreStory by Cameron Porter POWIDZ, Poland – Poland’s 33rd Army Prepositioned Stocks Battalion (33rd APS Bn.) at the Powidz Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 (APS-2) worksite in Poland received some valuable training on Supply and Support Activity (SSA) operations and Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSS-Army) from a small team of U.S. Army automated logistics specialists from the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division (1st AD CAB), recently. Invited to the APS-2 worksite by the commander of Army Field Support Battalion-Poland (AFSBn-Poland), the 1st AD CAB Soldiers spent a couple of days with their Polish counterparts in August explaining the systems and processes...
Learn MoreLooking Back: A monthly look into the history of Army Aviation based not only on the evolution of Army Aviation itself, but events in military history that certainly influenced the evolution of the Aviation Branch of the United States Army.
View ArchiveLooking Back, September 2025 By Mark Albertson Part II: Army Aviation and its, Magna Carta December 1961, the 8th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter) and the 57th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter) had arrived in Vietnam. These were followed in January by the 93rd Transportation Company (Light Helicopter). Two developments were evident here: America’s commitment to Saigon; and, the Airmobility Concept was on trial. Only the troops to be shuttled were not going to be American, but instead, those of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Meanwhile events in the United States proceeded apace . . . . . . with...
Learn MoreLooking Back, August 2025 By Mark Albertson Genzai Bakudan The essence of war is violence. Moderation in war is imbecility. . . Sir John “Jackie” Fisher. See page 55, Chapter 4, “Genzai Bakudan,” by Mark Albertson * * * * * “Ahead there was only destruction. A wasteland of shattered buildings, incinerated homes, and scorched earth. A desolate moonscape that became more horrifying as the great steel prow cut lazily through the black waters, pushing though a flotsam of burned and bloated bodies that bobbed like corks in the creamy wake. Occupation troops were set to go ashore. They would...
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