(EDITOR’S NOTE: Charles Black, Enquirer military writer, recently spent two days at Fort Rucker, Ala., one of the primary training bases for Army Aviation personnel. This is the fourth of five articles by Black on the training facilities at Fort Rucker.)
By CHARLES BLACK
Enquirer Military Writer
There are five “tenants” at
Fort Rucker, Ala., who are star boarders where Army aviation and its
development are concerned.
The Army Aviation School,
commanded by Maj. Gen. John Tolson, is under the direct control of the
Continental Army Command for academic programs under the U.S. Third
Army for
administrative matters.
The Army Aviation Center,
which also is commanded by Gen. Tolson, is where the tenants of Fort
Rucker
live. They have command channels to
various other Army agencies through the second hat of Gen. Tolson.
The U.S. Army Aviation Human Research Unit is part of CONARC command. The Aeromedical Research Unit is directly under the surgeon general. The Test Board is under Army Material Command.
Combat Developments Command
Aviation Agency is under Combat Development Command at Fort Belvoir,
Va., and
the Army Board for Aviation Accident Research, part of the Department
of Army
Staff functions, is under the director of Army Aviation’s, Brig. Gen.
Robert
Williams.
Gen. Tolson’s second hat,
commanding the Army Aviation Center, is an intriguing one.
All five agencies there are engaged in
activities worthy of interest.
The Test Board does just
what the name implies, it tests aircraft and equipment.
There is an amphibious evaluation of the
CH47 Chinook, evaluation of the CV7 Buffalo transport, a full study of
the CH54 Flying Crane, and many other
evaluation
programs carried out under the direction of Col. R. E. (Johnny) Johnson.
The work done by USABAAR has
been one of the most important developments in the pioneering Army
Aviation
program.
As an example of what it
does: A 1st Cavalry Division Chinook
crashed in July after engine failure.
USABAAR investigation traced the cause of the crash to a small
metal
particle shorting an electrical connection and causing fuel valves to
close. This report went to Boeing, the
manufacturer, causing the plug to be modified to stop any recurrence.
(Some of the problems
entailed in this kind of detective work may be appreciated when the
sight of a
wrecked helicopter spread out in a complex and unrelated display in one
of the
hangars can be remembered. The work
which goes through twisted metal and wrecked parts to a single
electrical plug
failure is scientific detection of the highest order.)
© Columbus Ledger-Enquirer