Army Aviation Advancing and Setting the Pace By BG E.J. Sinclair

Recent events at the Aviation Warfighting Center, as well as in Iraq, highlight many of the outstanding advancements the Aviation branch is pursuing as we continue our fight in the Global War on Terrorism. Progressive developments in the Army Warrant Officer Corps usher in a new level of professionalism. The dedication of the state-of-the-art LTG James H. Merryman building as the Attack and Reconnaissance Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker extends our aviator training far beyond current capabilities. The recent Aviation Senior Leader's Summit in Iraq, as well as a successful aviation training exercise here, provides significant insight into how we will improve our effectiveness on the current and future battlefields.

Future of the Warrant Officer Corps

The annual Warrant Officer Conference held here in mid-July provided the backdrop for a number of significant events. Designed to present a forum for senior warrant officers to discuss Army issues and develop solutions to aid the Army's senior leadership in accelerating changes needed to support the Army's transformation, conference participants represented a cross-section of the Army from fifteen separate branches and proponents, including active and reserve components, as well as representatives from Major Unit Commands and Department of the Army level staff.

On its 86th anniversary, the Army Warrant Officer Corps conducted formal branching ceremonies at Fort Rucker and on Army installations around the globe. Removing the “Eagle Rising” insignia from their collars, warrant officers donned the insignia of their respective branches. One of the most visible and symbolic changes made in recent history, the rebranching signifies the integration of all warrant officers into the larger officer corps. This integration is a direct result of the Army Chief of Staff's directive to implement the approved recommendations made by the Army Training and Leader Development Panel (ATLDP). Additionally, a new rank insignia was adopted for those holding the rank of chief warrant officer five (CW5). The new insignia more closely resembles that worn by Navy and Marine Corps warrant officers and reduces the potential for rank confusion of Army warrant officers serving in joint assignments.

The selection of CW5 Brent C. Driggers as the next Chief Warrant Officer of the Aviation Branch (CWOB) was announced at the beginning of the conference. CW5 Driggers assumes these duties from CW5 Stephen Knowles, the branch's first CWOB, on October 22, 2004. CW5 Knowles will retire this fall after serving 28 years in Army Aviation. A selection board at Fort Rucker selected CW5 Driggers for the position from a pool of 250 CW5 Aviation Warrant Officers. CW5 Diggers has served in Germany, Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iraq in positions of increasing responsibility at the company, battalion, brigade and division levels. CW5 Driggers is a warrior, leader and great officer who has the experience, energy, insight, leadership and technical skills to help lead the Aviation Branch through a major period of transformation while it simultaneously contributes to the Global War on Terrorism. As the new CWOB, he will provide a dedicated link for Aviation Warrant Officers within the Aviation Branch.

CW5 Swartworth Dedication

In a July 14 ceremony, the Warrant Officer Career Center (WOCC) held a building dedication in honor of CW5 Sharon T. Swartworth. Swartworth was killed on Nov. 7, 2003 when the UH-60 helicopter she was aboard was shot down near Tikrit, Iraq. Swartworth was performing her duties as the Judge Advocate General's Regimental Warrant Officer and visiting JAG Corps Soldiers stationed in Iraq. The Swartworth Building improves the WOCC's effectiveness in providing pre-appointment training for all Army warrant officer candidates, common core training for all CW4 and CW5 officers, and serves as the Army's executive agency for the Warrant Officer Education System.

On the day following the Swartworth Building dedication, the WOCC held a change of command ceremony hosted by LTG William S. Wallace, commanding general of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth. COL Richard Enderle relinquished command to COL Glenwood Norris Jr., who became the WOCC's sixth commandant. COL Enderle continues to serve Army Aviation in his new role as the commander of Fort Rucker's Aviation Center Logistics Command.

LTG James H. Merryman Building Dedication

On August 4, members of the Merryman family were among those who attended the dedication of the LTG James H. Merryman Building at Fort Rucker. LTG Merryman, a Master Aviator and member of the Army Aviation Hall of Fame, served his country with distinction for 34 years. More importantly, he was a visionary who recognized the importance of Army Aviation and how it could shape the battlefield. He was instrumental in the development and acquisition of such successful weapon systems as the AH-64 Apache, the M1 Abrams Tank and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle System. He was also responsible for initiating the Light Helicopter Experimental program and worked on what would later become the Longbow system.

It is appropriate that this building is dedicated to someone who played such a prominent role in Army Aviation, because the facility will serve a similar role and have its own important impacts on Army Aviation. First and foremost, this building will become home to the Attack and Reconnaissance Center of Excellence for Army Aviation. Inside the Merryman Building, Apache Longbow aviators and our future Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter aviators will attend academic classes and simulation exercises taught by the best instructors our branch has to offer. The technological capabilities this state-of-the-art facility brings to our programs of instruction will help craft the type of aviators we need to win today's and tomorrow's wars.

Other capabilities that the Merryman Building presents to the U.S. Army Aviation Warfighting Center include the ability to conduct instruction for the Tactical Operations Officers Course, the Electronic Warfare Officers Course, and the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Course. With the creation of our new SERE level C course, aviators will obtain critical survival skills training which was previously available only at Fort Bragg. Additionally, the facility provides a secure forum to conduct these courses along with a secure forum for us to relay critical lessons learned from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom as we continue to fight the Global War on Terrorism. The potential impacts and improvements the Merryman Building brings to the Aviation Warfighting Center's instructional capabilities are immeasurable.

For more on the Merryman dedication, please see Erin Shinn's story on page 31. U.S. Soldiers conduct daily operations in OIF.

Aviation Senior Leader Summit

Senior leaders from our branch recently participated in an Aviation Senior Leader Summit held in Iraq from July 20 to 24. This provided an excellent opportunity to visit Aviation Soldiers and units located in that theater. All of our aviation units in theater are conducting critical missions in support of the combat operations. We are very proud of their accomplishments. Every Army Aviation organization in Iraq was represented at the summit, which centered on three main focus areas. First, to discuss current issues regarding Army Aviation in OEF and OIF. Second, to brief all senior aviation leaders in Iraq about Army Aviation transformation. The last focus area was to address how to better prepare units for upcoming OIF rotations.

Some of the topics discussed during the summit included the effectiveness of particular munitions, mission execution, airspace deconfliction, air traffic services to include flight following, the effectiveness of aircraft survivability equipment, contractor and unit maintenance, parts flow, resupply, mobilization facilities and training, simulation, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, fixed wing assets and medical evacuations. There was also a large focus on facilities and living conditions in Iraq. BG Joseph Smith, commanding general of the U.S. Army Safety Center, addressed safety trends, risk management and risk mitigation, and MG James Pillsbury, commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Com-mand, addressed aviation maintenance.

OIF Aviation Training Exercise (ATX)

Units preparing for deployments to Iraq conducted an Aviation Training Exercise (ATX) from July 9 to 12. The exercise emphasized the planning, preparation and execution of complex aviation operations in the Iraq environment with essential ground and air integration tasks built into every scenario. The extremely successful ATX was conducted in the Seneff Aviation Warfighting Simulation Center, in the Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer, and at the Combat Aviation Virtual Simulations Facility by Soldiers of the 42nd Avn. Bde. headquarters from New York; the 8th Bn., 229th Avn. Regt. (USAR) from Kentucky; the 1st Bn., 150th Avn. Regt. (ARNG) from New Jersey; and the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry from Fort Bragg. The exercise combined brigade and battalion level staff training in digital tactical operation centers with pilot training in virtual simulators to immerse the units in a multi-echelon training environment. The units developed crew-level pilot skills, as well as platoon and company level collective training skills. The units improved their overall operational effectiveness, as they were engrossed in a virtual Iraq terrain database.

Setting the Pace

The Army continues to progress forward at an ever-increasing pace. It is extraordinarily important that Army Aviation not only keeps up with that pace, but instead takes the lead as we transform to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

ABOVE  THE BEST!!! 

BG E. J. Sinclair is the commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Warfighting Center and chief of the aviation branch.