Brigade Aviation Elements Assignment

The topic of this writing assignment is the Brigade Aviation Element. In today’s day and age, waging a war has never been more complex for commanders. In an ever-evolving battlefield advanced weapons, assets, technology, and information have become both a blessing and a curse to commanders. In a high-paced unforgiving environment, commanders are required to make accurate effective decisions at a moment’s notice. One of the greatest challenges for ground force commanders has been effectively utilizing Army aviation assets in coordination with the ground effort. As aviation is the number one force multiplier on today’s battlefield Brigade Aviation Elements (BAE) were incorporated into all Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) starting in 2006,

Many leaders, both ground and aviation, recognized the need for aviation planning abilities at the BCT level. The BAE would be able to provide well rounded aviators and enlisted aviation personnel that can assist ground forces in full spectrum aviation operations. The structure has changed since 2006 as the BAE continues to evolve to meet the demands of the current fight. As a basis, each BAE will have a Brigade Aviation Officer, a BAE Plans Officer, an Aviation Tactical Operations Officer, an Aviation Operations Sergeant, and an Aviation Operations Specialist (Headquarters Department of the Army, Army Training Circular 1-400, 2006). The duties that each of these personnel will have are largely dictated by the mission. There are also multitudes of Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) that can serve in the BAE. Originally, it was intend for Aviation Operations Specialists to serve in the operations sergeant and specialist position, but the position has opened up to allow Air Traffic Controllers and UAS Operators in order to have a plethora of aviation knowledge at the ground force commander’s

Effective air and ground integration are required to be successful on the modern battlefield. This requires a great amount of coordination and understanding. There are certain fundamentals needed to increase the effectiveness between aviation and ground assets: Understanding of the capabilities and limitations of each force, use of standard operating procedures, regular training events, employment methods, maximizing effects of available assets and synchronization (Headquarters Department of the Army Field Manual (FM) 3-04.111, 2007). Honing these skills will occur very early on in the unit by involving the BAE in the planning and preparation process. Prior to any mission the BAE will provide critical guidance on a multitude of tasks, such as close air support (CAS) request procedures, coordination with the aviation task force, and employment advice and planning for attack elements, assault elements, heavy helicopters, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) helicopters, and unmanned aerial systems(UAS). As we refine our fighting force the ground commander must rely more heavily on his or her BAE cell during joint operations, which are becoming more and more common place in the large scale