I can raise the issue to the right folks at NAVAIR, BUT Pags is on the right track....if you don't raise it as an issue, NAVAIR can't do boo about it because it's not NAVAIR that is the issue, it's your own chain of command.
NAVAIR does what the Warfare Sponsor tells them and under the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE), the fleet has a bigger say than ever. The head of the NAE is Commander Naval Air Force (CNAF) and all the commodores report to him for requirements. The current NAVAIR program office, PMA-202 is well aware of the issues, BUT they have been stripped to the bone as far as funding and the fleet did away with the ALSS OAG a few years ago SO anything to do Aviation Life Support System (ALSS) is only given priority/funding if the individual platforms/community raise ALSS as an issue against other things they ask for in their OAG (or its new incarnation).
PMA-202 recently sat with Commander Naval Air Force reps at AIRLANT in an attempt to bring the commodores at the Type Wings into the picture and get them to respond to addressing these issues as a united voice. As you might have guessed, a strong showing by the aviators was absent. There is a network of AMSOs out there in both Naval And Marine aviation communities, but aviators have to step up and speak out as to what they want. Most of you are shooting at the wrong target as NAVAIR has been trying to raise the issue for years as their budget was slashed in the Naval Capability Development Process (NCDP) because ALSS doesn't fit that model as a warwinning "capability". It's your own chain that is letting you down. Start speaking up in a formal manner and your voice will be heard where it counts.
