Whatever Happened to 'A-E-D?'

摘要

Shortly after our last special focus article on airworthiness preparations for the future vertical lift aircraft appeared in the December 2019 issue of Army Aviation magazine, the engineering support capabilities of the widely-known Aviation Engineering Directorate (AED) were significantly increased through a mission-focused reorganization at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Aviation & Missile Center (CCDC AvMC). Within this article, I will summarize some of those recent changes that have left us even better prepared to provide life-cycle engineering support for aircraft and missile system readiness, as well as to provide responsive support for the Army's modernization priorities. Although the former AED served the Army Aviation community for over two decades, it, too, evolved through a series of reorganizations. From roots planted in 1952 at the Transportation Corps' Army Aviation Field Office, Army airworthiness and aviation engineering support functions transitioned through at least six different commands before landing at CCDC in early 2019. Also, at that time our immediate higher headquarters, the former Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center, became AvMC and began to reassess the Center's legacy, five directorate organizational structure with respect to new mission priorities.