Radio Check The theme of Rotor Review #154 is “Force of the Future.” As warfighting communities evolve to meet the demands of modern and future conflict, continuous innovation is essential. But new ideas that challenge the status quo are often initially met with skepticism and resistance prior to being accepted. Throughout your careers, what is one significant advancement in technology, procedures, or policy that you have encountered? How did your command adapt to this change? Was the development met with open arms, or did your organization experience considerable growing pains?
CDR Ed Berry, USN (Ret.)
I
was right out of Grad School with an MS in Logistics when Goldwater / Nichols Act came out. I was in the Pentagon with all the ships that start with “T” or “A” under my purview in Plans and Policy. The Joint Staff wanted to start the TPFID process and stand up the Joint Transportation Command (JTC). The Army and the Air Force were dead set against it and the Navy was all for it. It would allow us to use computers at MSC, something we were prevented from buying or even investigating by Congress. At the decision brief, the J-5 went round the table, Air Force no, Army no, Navy and USMC yes. The main point of rejection among the other services was cost. They didn’t realize that the cost would be minimal. I told them they could get a translator program for less than 5K, they changed their minds and the JTC came into being.
From Ray Colman
G
ood morning from Philadelphia… Birthplace of Vertical Lift!
BLUF: CRM and ORM combined was a Transformational advancement in safety not only in training but operational employment. As a young “nugget” H2P co-pilot with a late 1990s HMM conducting afloat pre-deployment training, the loss of two of our squadron mates and a AH-1W Cobra was a rude awakening to the “unforgiving” nature of Naval Aviation. I vividly remember that night, and I recall the briefing, CRM and ORM culture during that time period. Would the crew have survived with 21st Century crew coordination techniques, flight briefing minutiae, and risk analysis/mitigation ownership? That’s a question that will never be answered but we can make some assumptions. The Marine Corps defines assumptions as supposition of the operational environment that is assumed to be true, in the absence of positive proof, essential for the continuation of planning. Officers are by their nature Planners. Thus, as Captain Fisher USN, former Commodore TRAWING-5 liked to say, “As Naval Aviators we must have a Questioning Attitude.” The emergence and acceptance of CRM and ORM provided and / or contributed not only to the desired attitudes and behaviors deemed necessary for Navy, Marine and Coast Guard Aircrews but it demanded the development of skills to increase overall squadron, group, wing and enterprise safety. A byproduct of this was not simply a reaffirmation of the importance of the wonderful organization known as the Naval Safety Center. Instead, it also resulted in renewed vigor and focus on the vertical lift capability within the U.S. Naval Service and specifically the following: synthetic and flight training devices, improved planning techniques and tools, better overall training, optimized and improved maintenance training/procedures and practices, improved operational planning and scheduling, cross-cultural coordination within communities and services, and ultimately procurement of modern aircraft.
From CAPT Brian Buzzell, USN (Ret.)
T
he SH-60B was the first Fleet aircraft to be equipped with GPS. Although there were very few GPS satellites in 1984-85 where they were available, it revolutionized navigation and therefore, ASW operations. In fact, I received a message from a West Coast squadron stating that it was routine for the CO of the ship with LAMPS dets embarked, to ask the Det to position the aircraft on deck and turn on the GPS, so the ship could get a precise fix of its location. At the time I was OP-03H and the “Duty Aviator” in the Surface Warfare world.
Rotor Review #154 Fall '21
64
