Soldiers now able to get their wings

Sierra Vista Herald, Sierra Vista Arizona ^ | Bill Hess

[SandRat]

FORT HUACHUCA — Soldiers engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle operations can now wear winged badges to show others they are an important part of the Army, a two-star general said.

And the general expects Fort Huachuca will see an increase of pilotless plane training with the returns of Marines before the end of this year, as well as the Army starting training on its larger Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle in the next 12 to 18 months. On Thursday, Maj. Gen. Virgil L. Packett II symbolically pinned three versions of the Army Aviation Crewmember Badges on to the uniforms of three soldiers stationed at the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Battalion on this Southern Arizona post.

The Army Aviation Crewmember Badge comes in three types — basic, senior and master.

“We are a nation of symbols,” said the general, who commands the Army Aviation Warfighting Center at Fort Rucker, Ala.

“These wings we place on the chest are symbols of another step,” Packett said, adding the badges recognize the importance of the Army’s unmanned aerial system program.

There was a steep hill to climb in obtaining the Army’s senior leadership to approve the wings policy, the general noted.

“It’s a great day for me personally,” Packett said about placing the wings on the chests of the three representative soldiers.

The soldiers were Chief Warrant Officer David Ellis, who received master wings; Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Larussa, who was awarded senior wings; and Sgt. Todd Sherman, the recipient of the basic wings.

The threesome represented soldiers who stood behind them who were to be pinned by company commanders, first sergeants and others after Packett placed the wings on the chosen trio, slapping the badges with the cupped palm of his right hand.

Command Sgt. Maj. Franklin Saunders and Sgt. Maj. Daniel Green also were pinned, receiving master wings from Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, commander of the Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca. Saunders is the center’s command sergeant major, and Green is assigned to the center’s Noncommissioned Officers Academy.

A total of 11 soldiers received the master badge, three the senior device and 81 the basic wing.

Of the connection between the Aviation Corps and the Intelligence Corps, Packett said both Army branches stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” when it comes to the fight against terrorism.

Both functions are intertwined in combat, with the intelligence community obtaining critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information using pilotless planes.

An unmanned aerial vehicle is a single aircraft, the general clarified. An unmanned aircraft system includes the aircraft and ground equipment.

The future for the UAV and UAS programs is still being defined, Packett remarked.

“We don’t know what all it can do,” he said.

There are many issues, which some may call problems, that must be addressed, the general said.

Crowded airspace over Iraq and Afghanistan is an issue, he said. The Army, Air Force and Navy have claims to the airspace, and the skies are crowded with unmanned aircraft, fixed-wing planes, helicopters and commercial aircraft of all sizes and speeds.

Those who operate pilotless planes, and that includes soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, have an important job, and the responsibilities will increase as the systems mature, the general said.

Before the end of the year, the Marines will be returning to the post to train personnel how to operate and maintain their unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Marines left the post a couple of years ago, taking their training to a Navy installation in Florida. When that happened, Fast told the Marines there always will be a place on the fort for when they returned.

The Navy also is using the fort for unmanned aircraft training.

As for the Army’s Warrior, which is a larger pilotless plane that can fly for more miles and longer hours, as well as releasing munitions on targets, Packet said the fort’s capabilities make it the best place to train the operators and maintainers.

Instead of flying out of smaller airfields on the post, the Warriors will have to be launched and recovered from the post’s Libby Army Airfield.

“Fort Huachuca is really a crown jewel in the UAV business,” Packett said.

SENIOR REPORTER Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.

[SandRat]

(Army photo by Rob Martinez) Maj. Gen. Virgil L. Packett II, commander of the Army Aviation Warfighting Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., pins the Senior Aviation Crewmember Badge on Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Larussa on Fort Huachuca on Thursday. There are three badges — basic, senior and master. The general symbolically presented all three to a trio of soldiers. Besides Larussa, Chief Warrant Officer David Ellis, left, was awarded the master badge, and Sgt. Todd Sherman, far right, was awarded the basic badge. The first Army Aviation Crewmember Badges were awarded Thursday to soldiers assigned to the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Battalion on Fort Huachuca.

[AlaskaErik]

My wings...

And on Monday I hang up my flight suit for the last time and retire after serving for more that 31 and a half years.

[SandRat]

Good Show!!

[Wu]

Congratulations!

[ErnBatavia]

Congratulations - and thanks!

[cll]

Congratulations on your retirement.

[stand 4 something]

Thank you for your many years of service! My dear pilot husband retired ten months ago and his flight suit is still hanging proudly in his closet. He misses his “hog” everday.
Happy Retirement!

[oneolcop]

"FORT HUACHUCA — Soldiers engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle operations can now wear winged badges to show others they are an important part of the Army", a two-star general said.

An interesting comment. NOW soldiers can wear a badge that shows they are an IMPORTANT part of the Army.

So what were they before? An unimportant part?

[razorback-bert]

So what were they before?

Grunts.

[Chode]

Outstanding...

[awjenni]

Wearing winged badges to show they are an important part of the army? What is that?? What about the infantryman and the artilleryman?? what about the communicator or mechanic?? Aren’t they “important” parts of the army??

The army has this terrible habit of making second class citizens of most of their soldiers. If you aren’t wearing some sort of proper badge, trinket, or hat, you ain’t poop.

How about wearing ONE badge, the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, where EVERYONE is important?

[GoldCountryRedneck]

Congrats Alaska ...

But, ya' know, UAV "Wings" indeed....(*snort*). So an underwater drone camera operator/technician would rate Dolphins???

I think that, unless they've personally put that precious rear-end at risk held up between several slabs of aluminum and experienced first hand the hours of boredom broken by moments of stark terror, a person has NO idea what "flying" is about.

But then, that's just me...

[SandRat]

I just report ‘em, I don’t always agree wit’em in this new modern Army.

[ASOC]

LOL

Thanks for posting SR.

I had thought the device would be a square (like a monitor) with a pair of joysticks jutting out of the sides....

The Army still has a long way to go to beat out the USAF on "wings for something job related" - seems just about every zoomie has wings for something.

But everyone knows which ones *really count* (snikers)

The one badge that I earned while in (and most proud of) is this one

[SJSAMPLE]

I always get a kick when I see Marines wearing Army basic parachutist badges.

[BlackbirdSST]

Thank you for your service from a (former) Paratrooper, Air Assaulter, and FE of various versions of the CH-47. Not enough salad on the chest to suit me, but enough wings to keep me aloft forever more. Good luck in your coming retirement. Blackbird.