Whereas Naval Aviation is conscious of the contributions of flight surgeons, much less is understood in regards to the aeromedical twin designator (AMDD) program and the advantages it gives to Naval Aviation. The AMDD program is often for medical officers to hunt a twin qualification in Naval Aviation to raised perceive the consequences of flight on the human system; nonetheless, for the primary time in this system’s almost 100-year historical past, a non-medical physician has been winged as a twin designator, and only recently accomplished his fleet utilization tour flying the MH-60R Seahawk.
As a Medical Service Corps (MSC) Officer who’s designated as an Aerospace Experimental Psychologist (AEP) and now Naval Aviator, Lt. Cmdr. David Rozovski, the lead Human Methods Engineering Teacher with the U.S. Naval Check Pilot Faculty (USNTPS), is devoted to making use of his analysis into human elements to raised decide why mishaps happen to forestall them.
USNTPS is situated at Naval Air Warfare Heart Plane Division (NAWCAD), at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.
His dual-qualification serves for instance of the distinctive calls for of Naval Aviation and the brand new air weapon techniques which were developed with excessive sensitivity to human elements engineering. This has triggered a requirement for a restricted officer stock expert concurrently within the skilled {qualifications} of a Naval Aviator and an aeromedical skilled.
“Inside the check neighborhood, there are a mess of engineering disciplines. Because the human component gives such a fancy interplay between the consumer and people disciplines, aeromedical professionals type that bridge between the engineers and the pilot,” mentioned Rozovski, who has accomplished an undergraduate pre-medical diploma in psychology. He has additionally obtained a grasp’s in aviation human elements particularly finding out the V-22 Throttle-interface Design.
Simply previous to getting into the Navy, he accomplished his Ph.D. from Purdue College in Industrial Engineering, Human Elements, the place he constructed and examined his grasp’s work.
“The good thing about the aeromedical neighborhood is that we are able to function that middleman between the designers and finish customers almost about human elements engineering points, successfully serving as a translator,” he mentioned.
That advantage of the AMDD program, in line with Rozovski, is help in lowering mishaps by way of human elements engineering.
“Human elements are the primary causal issue, accounting for roughly 85 % of aviation mishaps,” mentioned Rozovski, who has logged greater than 1,600 hours in over 55 several types of plane.
Rozovski added that completely different disciplines strategy Naval Aviation engineering in another way which may influence how an issue is solved by way of immersive inclusion on and off the flight line.
“Check flying itself focuses on making goal, non-emotional observations which can be communicable to each the engineers and pilots with the tip objective of enabling design modifications in a significant and descriptive method,” he mentioned.
From 1918 to 1935 no official designations have been authorised to coach medical officers to determine their twin qualification. Nevertheless, in 1935, the primary twin doctor/aviator was designated, giving rise to the AMDD qualification. The AMDD program was created to offer human techniques specialists extra coaching to additional their understanding of the consequences of flight on the human physique to enhance their contributions to their space of experience. So far, there have solely been 71 people to bear this extra coaching. Their assignments have been selectively made to satisfy the recognized necessities of billets, initiatives and packages requiring the abilities of each disciplines in a single particular person. The billets have predominantly remained with Navy analysis and improvement (R&D) and Check and Analysis (T&E) instructions and related actions.
Rear Adm. W.A. Moffett, who is taken into account the primary Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics and the “Father of Naval Aviation,” referred to as for a small variety of naval medical officers to be educated as flight surgeons. At the moment, Moffett believed that every one naval flight surgeons must be educated as pilots so they may deal with in-flight emergencies, and in the end have a greater understanding of the consequences of flight on the human physique to contribute in a extra direct and significant method.
“Admiral Moffett’s brilliance in understanding human design almost 100 years in the past was method forward of his time,” Rozovski mentioned. “Whereas plane are vastly completely different right now then the place we began, he nonetheless acknowledged that constructions, and aerodynamics weren’t going to be the key explanation for mishaps, it could be folks.”
At NAWCAD, Naval Aviation bridges medication with know-how the place each civilians and navy companion to reinforce security amongst aviators, air crewmembers and maintainers. NAWCAD is the Navy’s largest warfare heart with over 300 labs advancing functionality and operational readiness for naval aviation and warfighters.
Of the 300 labs, greater than a dozen are devoted to human techniques analysis. Groups of scientists and engineers work to enhance warfighting gear together with visors, goggles, listening to safety, helmets, seats, fits and mission techniques. In addition they conduct different analysis devoted to the advance of human capabilities and security that require this kind of gear.
Rozovski mentioned that his mixture of skillsets of a human techniques specialist and Naval Aviator enable him to view Naval Aviation by way of a number of lenses whether or not on a weapon system, a cockpit design or an merchandise of non-public flight gear. AMDD medical officers bridge a niche by offering a fleet operational perspective and human elements engineering experience to energetic responsibility and civilian engineers, advancing Navy and Marine Corps platforms and gear.
“An improved understanding of the roles and capabilities of dually designated, aeromedically educated officers has now led to the extra exact codification of the twin designator program, with the inclusion of naval flight officers (NFO), in addition to aerospace physiologists, aerospace experimental psychologists, aerospace doctor assistants and aerospace optometrists. This actually is one in every of our strongest instruments in working in direction of enhancing aviation human elements functionality and security,” he mentioned.
For questions in regards to the AMDD program or if concerned with making use of, contact Rozovski at david.rozovski2.mil@us.navy.mil.
Jennifer Cragg is a communications specialist with Naval Aviation Enterprise Public Affairs.
