Photo By Kelly Morris | Flight school students don their colored hats as part of a Class Colors Ceremony at...... read more read more
FORT NOVOSEL, Ala. – A new class of U.S. Army flight school students who donned their green hats for the first time had the opportunity to hear from fellow green-hatter, Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Novosel commander, during a Class Colors Ceremony Oct. 7, 2024.
In the past year, it has become the norm once again to see the colored hats around campus. The renewed flight school tradition actually dates back to the 1960s, but was paused for a time and reinstituted last year as part of a renewed focus on Army aviation branch history and legacy.
The time-honored tradition intends to help foster a culture focused on increased cohesion, technical and tactical rigor and personal accountability, while also reinforcing Army aviation’s long-standing commitment to the sacred trust with Soldiers on the ground in harm’s way.
“Good afternoon, green hat class,” he said. “Congrats on making it here. This is a huge step in the progression of your career. This is one of those things that should stick with you.”
The traditional hatting ceremony dates back to Army aviation’s first major period of transformation when the Army was generating UH-1 aviators en masse to support the Vietnam conflict. Leaders needed a symbol to easily identify the different levels of technical proficiency across separate classes in multiple phases of flight school. The answer was colored hats.
Gill explained that the colored hats tradition dissolved during the Global War on Terror, and over the years other customs also changed, including the older-style flight suits that went away.
“As a branch we wanted to identify with the rest of the Army, we didn’t want to be treated different, we just wanted to be thought of as combined arms warfighters. Not special, not privileged, not less, not more. We wanted to be the same, so we got rid of the flight suit,” Gill said.
Gill explained Army Aviation became a separate branch in 1983.
“We used to be artillerymen and infantrymen,” Gill said. “Operation ’83 is really us getting back to who we are in connecting with our culture and our history.”
Gill called for seamlessness between the ground Soldier and the aviation professional.
“I really want you to think about having that warfighting mentality,” Gill said.
“Inside of two weeks you’re going to break friction with the ground, and that’s going to be an incredible feeling,” Gill said. ‘I’m proud to share this color hat with you.”
After Gill gave his remarks, the students rose to their feet and as a group put on their green hats on for the first time, followed by applause.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Thomas K. Henderson, 110th Aviation Brigade UH-60M Black Hawk standardization instructor pilot, explained the origin of class colors and the rules for wearing the hats, in accordance with DA PAM 670-1 as described for the OCP patrol cap, paragraph 4-10.
After completing their first solo flight, the students are to wear the colored hats with solo wings. The student pilot rank and solo wings are the only approved devices that may be added to the hat.
The hats are worn with the Army Aircrew Combat Uniform and the Army Combat Uniform at Fort Novosel and its adjoining properties and while transiting to and from individual residences.
Col. Dennis K. (“Keith”) Hill, 110th Aviation Brigade commander, shared some information to help them succeed during flight school.
“Flight school is your priority for the next 14 to 18 months,” Hill said, as he explained some family/life event exceptions.
He said flight school is about mastering the fundamentals.
“What you’re going to do here is just the beginning,” Hill said. “Army aviation is when you go out to your unit and you find yourself halfway across the world at 2 a.m. freezing because it’s five below zero and you’ve got a Chinook full of Rakkasans from the 101st (Airborne Division), and you’re about to take them to some bad guy’s front doorstep – that’s when you’re going to know you’re in Army aviation.”
He asked them to recall learning to drive an automobile when they were in high school.
“What you’re doing here is Driver’s Ed. You have to master the fundamental basics while you’re here,” he said.
He explained the criteria the students will be evaluated on, including flight performance and academics, motivation and military bearing. He spoke about the honor code, the importance of making good decisions, and he also shared tips on how to study.
Though all the cadre at USAACE genuinely want to see the students succeed, Hill added, “you have to earn it here.”
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.15.2024 09:12 |
| Story ID: | 482941 |
| Location: | FORT NOVOSEL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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