November 2001 - ARNG  Aviation Training

By: MG John M. Curran

                 The Army National Guard (ARNG) Aviation Training Sites (AATSs) are the ARNG's premier aviation training facilities. Here soldiers and aviators can train, learn and improve their aviation skills. Each is truly a center of excellence that clearly evidences ARNG aviation as relevant within the aviation branch. 

                Under the Total Army School System (TASS), each of the four sites is a training battalion under the control of the National Guard Bureau, coordinated through the U.S. Army Aviation Center (USAAVNC), to meet the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) training mission assigned by Department of the Army.  The sites also provide consolidated unit training to augment the Army aviation support facilities in each state. Additionally, staff members are traditional guard members, responding to state missions in times of crisis.

                These ARNG training sites are located in areas that have ample airspace and classroom facilities.  Each site provides comprehensive training programs tailored to meet unique requirements of the citizen soldier. They conduct aircraft qualifications, refresher courses, standardization and instructor pilot courses, maintenance and aviation MOS-producing courses, and a host of other programs of instruction designed to qualify new personnel and enhance aviation skills for our seasoned crews. 

                ARNG aviation units require experienced soldiers and aviators to provide effective aviation support, whether it be aviation task forces for Presidential Select Reserve call-ups (Bosnia, Kuwait, Kosovo), or for the Combat Training Centers (National Training Center, Joint Readiness Training Center), or providing military support to civilian authorities (fires, floods and other emergencies), and ultimately providing aviation expertise designed to wage and win future wars.  Real-world and real-time hazardous conditions are not the place to learn from mistakes.

AATS Core Missions

                - To conduct safe and realistic aviation training focused on developing soldiers, aviators and leaders for ARNG units and facilities.

                - To be a vital source of experience-based information essential to equipment, safety, flight operations, training and individual development in order to improve and ready the force to perform its missions.

                - To augment the TRADOC aviation mission during mobilization as an activity under USAAVNC command and control.

AATS Common Training Features

                - Comprehensive aviation training, including modernized AQCs, enlisted MOS qualification (MOSQ) and NCO Education System (NCOES), and National Guard Bureau (NGB) safety and standardization courses.

                - TASS-accredited training provided for all components of the Army and select foreign military services.

                - State-of-the-art simulation systems.

                - Small group and limited instructor/student ratios.

                - Training environments conducive to learning.

                - Courses of instruction validated and approved by certifying Department of Defense (DOD) agencies.

                - Take-home packages/material.

The AATSs

                The Eastern ARNG Aviation Training Site (EAATS), at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., is committed to training the most qualified aviators and maintainers available to ARNG aviation. The EAATS primarily focuses on utility and cargo helicopter skills.

                Having just completed its 19th year training pilots, maintenance and aviation-operations personnel, the EAATS accomplishes its go-to-war mission daily, at operational and personnel tempos (OPTEMPO/PERSTEMPO) that exceed standards. The training site is at the forefront of modernized training, providing UH-60A/L and CH-47D qualification training to pilots and enlisted crewmembers. UH-1 IPC, AQC and enlisted MOSQ are provided for both the active component (AC) and ARNG. ARNG safety and standardization courses are provided through resident and distance learning (DL) courses. Aviation- and ground-safety courses provide force protection training to all branches. 

                The site's unique location in the Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania affords the challenges of both pronounced terrain flight for aircraft transition courses, and complex airspace for instrument flight training.      

                The training site is postured to lead aviation training into the future, as all CH-47s are equipped with 714 engines. Aircraft qualifications include HUD qualifications and enlisted training utilizes computerized HMTs. Classroom academics utilize computer-based training aides and modern facilities.

                The Western ARNG Aviation Training Site (WAATS) is located in Marana, Ariz., in the heart of the Sonora Desert. The weather and flying conditions allow for 360 training days per year, and the variety of terrain elements include high desert and mountainous areas. It is an ideal region in which to conduct demanding flight scenarios and aerial gunnery training. 

                The WAATS is the premier training site for attack and aeroscout training for the ARNG and also the RAID/counterdrug mission.  The WAATS also provides both AC and ARNG aviators with simulation training. 

                The aviation warfighter - aviator, mechanic, crewchief, technical inspector or flight operations specialist and their capabilitiesC is the focus of the WAATS training philosophy.

                The High-altitude ARNG Aviation Training Site (HAATS), in Eagle, Colo., conducts graduate-level flight training. Basic yet complex tasks that allow aircrews to succeed in hostile, power-limited environments are HAATS' strength. Trained aircrews are deployable worldwide, and are capable of deriving maximum utility from their aircraft without compromising force protection.  Utilization by all DOD services flying most aircraft demonstrates HAATS training relevance and uniqueness. 

HAATS is "America's highest level of training." Operating from 6,500 to over 14,000 feet, aircrews learn to manage an environmental enemy that is as formidable as any weapon system. Power management and environmental mastery are the countermeasures necessary to defeat this enemy. Helicopters are used to overcome austere terrain, where roads do not exist and ground vehicles cannot go. The history of modern warfare demonstrates best that aircrews must master this flight regimen. Fewer airframes, reduced flight hours, more complex aircraft flown by less experienced aviators - coupled with high operations tempo - demands maximum efficiency from all aircrews.  HAATS exists to ensure aviators are not the limiting factor in successful aviation operations.  We cannot win wars if we crash getting to the battles. 

                The Fixed Wing ARNG Aviation Training Site (FWAATS) in Bridgeport, W.Va., conducts individual aircrew training in modernized fixed-wing aircraft operated by the ARNG. FWAATS conducts individual aircrew training, instructor qualification, instrument examiner, standardization training and flight-engineer qualification courses for the C-12, C-26 and C-23 aircraft.

                FWAATS routinely trains between 200 and 300 aircrew members per year, hosting aviators and flight engineers from across the country.  Additionally, FWAATS provides aviation quality assurance by performing flight evaluations, develops courses of instruction that standardize flight procedures, and operates flight simulators in support of both courses of instruction and regional training requirements as directed by the chief of the NGB.

Preparing For the Future

                Countless changes have taken place within the ARNG in years past, and many more will certainly take place in the future. The impending Army transformation and Aviation Modernization Program will certainly have significant impacts upon the ARNG's aviation force structure and its training requirements.  The UH-60 fielding and OH-58 transitioning - for division cavalry and attack battalions - will generate substantial training requirements, particularly for EAATS and WAATS. 

                As the Army strives to meet the challenges of the 21st century, ARNG units will become even more critical components of the total force - a force comprised of members of all the components of the Army and DOD, and our allies abroad. ARNG aviation units play, and will continue to play, a vital role, accomplishing the mission during real-time operations under adverse conditions. The AATSs have the responsibility to teach critical and essential aviation skills that will meet the ongoing requirements of operating in today's environment, while maintaining relevance and ensuring a solid future for ARNG aviation.

 MG John M. Curran is the commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Center and chief of the aviation branch.