Representatives from the militaries of the U.S. and eight of its partner nations came together for Third Army/U.S. Army CentralAca,!a,,cs fourth-annual International Aviation Symposium May 3 through 7 in Atlanta.
The IAS is part of Third ArmyAca,!a,,cs theater security cooperation program, which is designed to foster relationships with the more than 20 countries in its area of responsibility.
Third Army has held more than 200 TSC events like this over the past two years. Lt. Col. Jason Morris, Third Army G-32 deputy chief of staff, explained the history of the IAS.
Aca,!A"Events such as this are bringing mid-level officers from partner nations together,Aca,!A? Morris said. Aca,!A"Hopefully, they will go back to their countries with what they have learned here. We are trying to gain understanding across our partner nations. The best way to do that is with a couple of people at a time through key events like this.Aca,!A?
In 2009, participants from nine countries came to Atlanta for the symposium.
After attending briefings and a hands-on exercise, they traveled to Fort Rucker, Ala., to the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence where they watched the mission they had created during the group exercise unfold before them in a simulated battlefield on the computer.
Medal of Honor recipient Col. Bruce P. Crandall delivered the opening comments and gave a brief history of Army aviation.
Aca,!A"When I started flying, the U.S. Air Force trained Army pilots,Aca,!A? Crandall said. Aca,!A"This was shortly after the U.S. Air Force became what it is today from being the U.S. Army Air Corps. Today the Army has its own program. I was in the first class at Camp Rucker, Ala. (now Fort Rucker) back in 1954 and we started doing our own training. Then, 27 years ago, we became a branch in the Army as aviation.Aca,!A?
This year, Brig. Gen. William T. Wolf, commanding general, U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center, spoke about lessons learned in Army aviation.
In addition to reviewing case studies on Army aviation accidents, Wolf explained that composite risk management is how the Army identifies hazards, reduces risk, and prevents both accidental and tactical loss.
After answering questions, Wolf invited participants to look into attending Army aviation safety training classes located at Fort Rucker.
Representatives from the Pakistan military also spoke about lessons learned in maintenance operations over the last 12 months, and representatives from Jordan discussed the importance of balancing maintenance requirements against operational requirements.
For the hands-on portion of this yearAca,!a,,cs symposium, the group traveled to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, where they toured the maintenance facilities and saw a Forward Aerial Refueling Point demonstration.
Col. Farhod Azizou, chief of staff of the Air Force and Air Defense for Tajikistan, explained the symposium is important because it is increasing interoperability between countries in the region.
Aca,!A"We are exchanging information here during this week,Aca,!A? Azizou said. Aca,!A"We are looking at the countries that might have problems with maintenance and we are looking at the opportunities to help each other and actually come to some form of understanding and compromise.Aca,!A?
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