FORT NOVOSEL, Ala.--Aviation leaders across all Army components gathered at the home of Army Aviation at Fort Novosel, Ala., to focus on current and future operations, training and leader development Jan. 28-30.
With a theme of “Army Aviation--Ready to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges Today,” the event included a three-day lineup of guest speakers and breakout working group sessions.
Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, Army Aviation branch chief, said Army aviation must prepare to defeat an enemy that is evolving at the rapid pace of technology and also maintain the readiness to be able to “fight and win tonight.”
“We have to have a sense of urgency and purpose about our collective readiness,” Gill said. “We have to adapt to the challenges of the future, while we are tethered to the reality of the here and now.”
History repeats itself, and Gill said the branch has been here before:
“We’ve seen belligerent nations and non-state actors, we’ve weathered changing administrations and inconsistent funding, and we’ve pushed through recruiting challenges as the economy has ebbed and flowed,” he said.
“So we find ourselves in another interwar period again. Once again our Army is in transition--transformation, in fact. We have clear guidance from our leadership to enhance warfighting readiness, deliver combat ready formations, transform at scale/pace, and continue to foster our profession of arms” as the Army shifts its focus to Large Scale Combat Operations, he explained.
Key topics included the changing nature of modern warfare, including drones, human-machine integration, additive manufacturing, machine learning, autonomous systems, AI-enabled maintenance conditions, resilient networks, rotorcraft with an open architecture and modularity.
“Our ‘Big Five’ is rapidly being fielded across the entirety of our Army right now,” he said. “The Future Long Range Assault Aircraft is bringing a generational leap forward in range and speed we haven’t seen in our lifetime. Army Aviation is the proponent for integrating UAS at every echelon while also serving as the trail boss for synchronizing airspace management in a complex operating environment.”
Dependence on legacy systems cannot be neglected though.
“We will always fight with what we have,” he said.
This makes the Army’s partnership with industry even more vital.
“Not only must our industry partners provide the technology for the future, they also must ensure that our legacy systems are sustained and can keep pace to fight and win today,” he said.
He also said the leaders at the event shared the same passion “for how we leverage the talent that emulates from training right here on Fort Novosel, and graduates to our warfighting formations to create war-winning advantage for our Army and the Joint Force.”
In his update about the state of the branch, Gill covered topics including flight school, unit aircrew experience, aviation and transformation, unmanned aviation, airspace, safety trends, professional military discourse and aviation warfighter culture.
Gen. Gary M. Brito, who commands U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, greeted industry partners, legacy leaders, experts and Army aviation leaders, and spoke about TRADOC’s ongoing efforts to help brigade commanders in the field to build warfighting readiness as they continue to focus on transformation.
“Aviation has always been extremely relevant,” he said. “I sense it’s going to be even more relevant as we transition…and maintain overmatch in LSCO and MDO. Fires, sensor to shooter, support to casualty evacuation, deliver of our troops, long range fires, you name it. That’s no different than what we’ve done before, but it speaks to the relevance (as we transform) the types of aircraft and the way we train.”
This includes adapting Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training, to ensure they are learning what they need in the future, which includes understanding what it means to be a member of a cohesive team and squad.
As to the speed of institutional transformation to accommodate commanders’ warfighting readiness, Brito said it’s not perfect but it will enable commanders to train their forces and meet the warfighting demands that the Chief of Staff of the Army has laid out in his Army priorities.
Participants heard from Army aviation branch senior leaders and experts, the director of Army Aviation, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-3/5/7; Program Executive Office for Aviation; Army Futures Command including the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team; U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center; and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command.
The forum included multiple scheduled breakout working group sessions focused on a variety of topics including mission command, extending operational reach, combat aviation brigade as division reconnaissance, and aviation sustainment.
Gill said the feedback from the working group sessions will feed into how he envisions the future of the branch.
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