Photo By Jeremy Coburn | U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command Deputy to the Commanding General Don Nitti...... read more read more
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The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command welcomed leaders from throughout the Army aviation enterprise to its annual AMCOM 101 Aviation on Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, Oct. 23-24.
The interactive event provided commanders, command sergeants major, senior warrant officers and senior noncommissioned officers with information, resources and points of contact to help them sustain their fleet. AMCOM Deputy to the Commanding General Don Nitti said it was also an opportunity for AMCOM to gather feedback from the attendees.
“It’s for us to hear from you,” Nitti told the crowd. “To get feedback from the field on what your pain points are, how we can potentially help you, point you in the right direction to solve those pain points, or, if required, change policies to relieve some of those pain points.”
The two-day event was primarily composed of panels of subject matter experts, and Nitti said that was by design. Each of the seven panels discussed a topic and opened the floor to questions. The back-and-forth discussions and dialogue have proven to provide the most value, so that was the format for this year.
Before the first panel, Nitti provided a command update to familiarize the Soldiers with AMCOM and the full scope of its responsibilities and capabilities.
He talked briefly about each of the six AMCOM subordinate commands and organizations and described how they fit into the overall mission. He discussed modernization efforts across the Army’s Organic Industrial Base and the improvements AMCOM will see. He touched on how AMCOM is responsible for managing the Army’s supply chain for both aviation and missile systems, roughly about 4,000 items. He talked about training, invited attendees to visit all AMCOM facilities and reminded the Soldiers that AMCOM is also responsible for the Army’s entire calibration mission, not just the aviation and missile assets.
“[The U.S. Army Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment Activity] has 42 locations worldwide, and they not only calibrate the equipment in your formation but also calibrate the equipment that calibrates the equipment in your formation,” he said.
Nitti spoke for nearly an hour, getting into the details at times to help the attendees fully understand how AMCOM fits into the aviation enterprise as a whole. He answered questions and outlined the objectives that he and AMCOM Commander Maj. Gen. Lori Robinson would like to achieve from the event. First and foremost was improving readiness, followed by reducing costs and educating the force.
Aviation Branch Maintenance Officer Chief Warrant Officer 5 Paul McNeill said AMCOM 101 affects the first two objectives through the last objective; it all comes down to educating the force.
“The more you learn about the resources available, the faster you can get after the dreaded NMCM time or non-mission capable maintenance time,” he said. “You have the parts, you have the tools, you have the people; you just need to execute the maintenance itself. So the more resources you have, the smarter your maintainers can be, the faster they can take action and plan and execute the maintenance or the task at hand.”
As for reducing costs, McNeill said the Army is in a resource-constrained environment regarding money, so supply management at the brigade level and controlled exchanges will ultimately reduce costs. Those items were addressed in detail during the panel discussions.
Before arriving at AMCOM earlier this year, McNeill attended AMCOM 101 Aviation many times throughout his career. He said seeing the enormity of the aviation maintenance enterprise and realizing how many resources were available was helpful to him as a young Soldier.
“Normally, at a unit level, our field-of-view is so scoped down so small that by the time you come to a conference like this and learn about all of the resources out there, it really gives the user the tools to be successful, which is the primary focus of these events,” he said.
As an AMCOM 101 Aviation event planner, McNeill wants Soldiers to leave with the information they need and the awareness that they can always reach back to AMCOM for assistance.
“When in doubt, reach out,” he said. “My primary purpose in this role is to help the field and the user. I want to help everyone I can."
AMCOM hosts 101 Aviation twice each year, in the fall and spring. McNeill said once the spring date is set, it will be publicized through all of the command's channels.
To see photos from the event, visit the AMCOM Flickr album, https://www.flickr.com/photos/amcompao/albums/72177720321460289
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.31.2024 09:46 |
| Story ID: | 484302 |
| Location: | HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 32 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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