What is wrong with Army Aircrews?

We may be a different animal than most fields in the Army, but I dont think people really view us as lazy, or unproffessional. We are usually the ones pulling the long hours and busting our butts day in and day out.

In the mid-90's, my primary flight job, in addition to being the Battalion Standards Officer, was to fly the Command & Control Blackhawk in support of an Infantry Brigade. We were the first unit to have a Commo person assigned to flight status for the purpose of maintaining and operation of the C2 package in the back of the aircraft. I explained to the crew how important this mission was and the type/rank of people that would be onboard. I set a high standard for my crew chief and commo person. When anyone outside of the aircrew was in our presence, we addressed each other per Army regs and we treated our supported comrades with the respect afforded with their position and rank. Those guys busted their butts for the success of our mission. They were always on the limits of crew endurance but they never whined. The aircraft always made the mission because they, and many other unsung maintenance worker bees busted their butts making sure the aircraft was maintained properly. I was extremely proud of my crew chief and commo person.

And for their unending efforts and professionalism, I took care of my crew. I made sure they were fed, I would get them "goodies" from the mess tent, and any nicety that I could scrounge up from our supported units. I also communicated with their respective NCO's to ensure that they received an evaluation commensurate with their performance.

There were times that I ran interference for my crew from their NCO but I was always fully communicating with the NCO and they knew that I would provide any counseling needed for the issue. That is the unique thing about Army Aviation. Where else does a junior enlisted service member get to sit-down in a relaxed environment and talk to an officer (ranging from junior Officer to senior Officer) about their problems or issues? I have talked to my crew members about how to properly handle issues with their NCO without getting into trouble. I have talked to them about financial management, car buying, career planning, relationships, you name it.

That is the part that the rest of the Army doesn't see or understand. I remember during my enlisted days as a Combat Engineer (12B) that I didn't see my Platoon Leader for days at a time and I very rarely got to talk to him. When I was talking with my Platoon Sergeant, it was always a one-way conversation. There was never any interaction on how to handle our issues, especially non-military issues.

So, with this unofficial, off-the-record counselling, we built a very strong team environment. It works for Aviation but I know it will not work for Infantry.

The way that it was explained to me when I stepped into Aviation 2 years ago was that it was incredibly lax. And it was incredibly lax because of the risk involved in flying. To try to maintain a relaxed atmosphere in a stressful environment there are particular things that aren't worried about. The primary things that are focused on are safety, maintenance, and crew skills. When situation dictates, like when you're doing VIP missions or Hero missions, the soldier stuff gets turned on.

There are definitely egos and cowboys abound in Aviation, but there's no lack of professionalism in my opinion and experiences.

My experience with Army Aviation has been nothing but professional. While assigned to 3/4 CAV in Hawaii back in 04-06, we worked hand-in-hand with OH58D Kiowa's. I was a ground Scout Platoon Sergeant and I loved our KW pilots and their support personnel. They were angels on our shoulders every time we were out of the wire in Afghanistan. They fought tooth-and-nail to always be with us when we were out; even if their allotted time in the air was up they would request the extension to stay out. I loved those guys and still do. Air-Ground-Integration at its finest.

SSG Utter,my primary mos was 11b,Infantry.During the 1st gulf war I was assigned to 9th Battalion,101st Aviation Regiment as a gunner slash assistant crew chief.I was proud to be part of the best aircrew in the military.Aviators are not lazy they just have a diffrent mission.I had the unique opporrtunity to crosstrain.

CH53E the only heavy lift
Swing with the wing

We used to have Chinook's deliver nuclear warheads to our combat site, in the '70's & '80's and the aircrews were very professional. But, than again, perhaps having a payload of 150 KT of explosives made them more aware of their duties! I also had an experience with a dustoff crew when we had a vehicle accident on an FTX and they were very good. The pilots & crew most likely were Vietnam era in both cases.

I have briefed A few Army pilots and they seemed professional to me.

They are not Air Force Aircrews? lol

I was a 63D Arty Mechanic on a M88 recovery team before transitioning to Aviation maintenance. I will say allot of jokes and sarcasms went around in 2003-2005. The first two tours the Aviation MOS was characterized as lazy; reason being allot of the units were staged in Arifijan first few months(March thru April 03) until ground forces secured airfields and landing strips. Hell the TAJI airfield was used as a vehicle column staging area up through spring of 2004. No worries man as a 15D doing my part i worked my butt off to make sure combat arms personnel were not only offered maximum support by Aviation assets but within my little realm in my shop explained and showed pictures of life on the ground to my own subordinates and while we have a more technical job we have a duty to those who are in harms way on the battlefield everyday to support. I am not saying Aviation hasn't seen its fare share of engagements but comparatively and technologically ground forces always take the hits first especially with developing UAV technologies.... Danger for aviators and ground personnel will be quite less than previous wars.