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Fort Monroe, Virginia. The requirements spelled out enough information, along with available parallel U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy studies, to enable industry to explore technical approaches to meet the requirements.

On 15 January 1960 the Army Chief of Staff established the Army Aircraft Requirements Review Board chaired by Lieutenant General Gordon B. Rogers, the Deputy Commanding General of the Continental Army Command, to consider the Army Aircraft Development Plan and to review the industry proposals. Other members of the Board were Major Generals Robert J. Wood, Hamilton H. Howze, Thomas F. Van Natta, Alva R. Fitch, Richard D. Meyer, and Ernest F. Easterbook; and Brigadier Generals Lawrence J. Lincoln, William M. Thames, Jr., and Clifton F. von Kann. The Board was supported by the Army general staff and elements of the Continental Army Command. Colonel Robert R. Williams, then Chief of the Airmobility Division, Office of the Chief of Research and Development, was the guiding genius behind the formation of the Rogers Board and Secretary (without vote). As the Deputy Director of Army Aviation, I also served on the Board without vote.

On 1 February 1960, forty-five companies submitted 119 designed concepts as their solutions to the problems posed by the Army Study Requirements. These concepts were evaluated in two phases—a technical evaluation under the direction of the Chief of Transportation from 1-15 February and an operational evaluation from 16-28 February under the direction of the Office of the Chief of Research and Development.

It is important to note that this was the first time that most of the major aircraft companies took official notice of the aviation potential within the Army. Before the Rogers Board, only the helicopter manufacturers and a few light airplane companies had any comprehension of the Army's requirements.

After the evaluation period, the Rogers Board met at Fort Monroe from 29 February to 6 March. During that time it reviewed the Army Aircraft Development Plan, discussed roles and missions of Army aviation, projected Army funding, assessed combat surveillance requirements, and detailed procurement plans.

The Rogers Board made recommendations regarding three types of aircraft—observation, surveillance and transport. In the observation field it advocated conducting an immediate design