FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(MONROE, Conn., Sept. 25, 2020) – The Army Aviation Association of America has named retired U.S. Army colonel, Dr. F. Harold “Hal” Kushner as its first Vice President for Member and Family Wellness effective September 1, 2020.

This new National Executive Board (NEB) Vice President will also serve as a member of the National Executive Group, AAAA’s leadership team, and will report directly to the AAAA National President, Major General Jeff Schloesser, Ret.

Particularly during this pandemic COVID-19 period, and then on an ongoing basis, Dr Kushner will 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 contribute to the health and safety of the Association members and families. He will also serve as the professional medical liaison to outside organizations, activities, and agencies.

Following graduation from the Medical College of Virginia in 1966 with an MD degree, Kushner was four months into his deployment as an Army flight surgeon in the Vietnam War when the Huey he was in crashed. He survived his injuries but was captured and spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war. After his release, he completed an internal medicine and ophthalmology residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. Now an accomplished ophthalmologist and surgeon in Daytona Beach, Florida, he was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001, later served on the Board of Trustees, and then as the chairman of the Hall of Fame from 2012 to 2017.