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SOLDIERS WITH C Company, 2-210th Aviation Regiment, 128th Aviation Brigade, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, learn to repair a T700 engine as part of Military Occupation Specialty 15B training at 128th Aviation Brigade at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA. U.S. ARMY PHOTO ROTORCRAFT 28 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY wing maintainers are trained. The aim: to produce more holistic technicians, maintainers capable of better troubleshooting problems. The aviation main- tenance training program (AMTP) is "on track for initial implementation in FY '19," says Chambers. "The [Aviation] Branch is very, very good at removing and re-installing a component on a heli- copter," says Chambers. A good example is the intermediate gearbox on the AH64E. The compo- nent is critical. It drives the tail rotor on the aircraft. What maintainers have been less adept at is troubleshooting certain components, such as the General Electric T701 powerplant that propels both the Apache and the ubiquitous UH-60 Blackhawk. "We've taken a lot of good engines off helicop- ters," says Chambers, "where we thought there was something wrong, removed them and sent to the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) to have them repaired. The problem is when they put them on [diagnostic equipment] they couldn't find a fault." As a result he says, "The Combat Aviation Brigade spends a lot of money buying brand new engines." The solution: instilling understanding on how a particular component works, not merely how to remove it and convey it on to CCAD. The inter- mediate gearbox once again illustrates Chambers' point. The Army now wants soldiers to understand how exactly it works, how fast it spins, how it interacts with the driveshaft, and how it fits with the aircraft in its entirety. "It's important that our soldiers understand the interaction with the heli- copter [as a whole]," says the Command Sergeant Major, and how it's dependent on other compo- nents in the aircraft.