MG James D. Thurman, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Hood, Texas

The Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) has announced its Calendar Year 2004 National Award Winners. Winning units and individuals are being recognized at the AAAA Annual Convention, being held this week, May 9-11, 2005, in Orlando, Fla. The AAAA Annual Convention provides an opportunity for its members to gather with government and industry representatives concerned with Army Aviation and participate in the professional program and exhibits.

The first AAAA Annual Convention was held in June 1959 and has taken place every year since then. In recent years, the sites of the AAAA Annual Convention have included Atlanta, Ga.; Fort Worth, Texas and Nashville, Tenn.

In late 2003, the Army Chief of Staff, GEN Schoomaker stated that Army aviation needed to be fixed. To achieve this goal, the CSA appointed MG Thurman, an Army aviator with broad combat arms experience and a former commanding general of the National Training Center, to stand up the Aviation Task Force. His mission was to make Aviation more combined arms capable with a shortened logistics tail and to optimize it for the joint fight. Thurman quickly assembled a team of experts representing Army aviation across the active, Guard and Reserve components.

After two intense months of detailed work, the Aviation TF addressed all aspects of aviation functionality across the total Army force. The end product was the Aviation Transformation Restructure Initiatives, which recommended sweeping changes within the Branch and across the force. GEN Schaomaker approved the most significant changes to the Aviation force structure, which reorganized 11 active component multi-functional aviation brigades (MFAB), and eight-reserve component MFABs to support full spectrum operations and homeland security. In addition, as a result of the TF's recommendations, the Comanche Program was terminated, which caused the reprogramming of 13 billion dollars back into Army Aviation to procure over 900 new armed reconnaissance, light utility, cargo, Black Hawk helicopters, and Fixed Wing aircraft. Thurman's exceptional management of the Aviation Task Force and recommended solutions continue to correct decades of neglect. Now commanding the 4th Infantry Division, Thurman's efforts will have a monumental and lasting impact on the future of Army Aviation.

FMI: www.quad-a.org