4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 4-227th ARB


caption= 227th Aviation Regiment Insignia
dates= August 31, 1920 - Present
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Army
type= Attack Reconnaissance Battalion
role= Support ground units with reconnaissance, anti-personnel, and anti-armor firepower.
size= Battalion
command_structure= 1st Cavalry Division
U.S. Army III Corps
current_commander= LTC Randall Haws
current_Sergeant_major= CSM David Howard Jr.
garrison= Fort Hood, Texas
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= Guns
patron=
motto= "GUNS ATTACK"
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles= Vietnam War
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Iraqi Freedom
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=

The 4th Battalion 227th Aviation Regiment is an attack reconnaissance battalion, also known as 4-227 ARB supporting the 1st Cavalry Division. They fly the AH-64D Apache Longbow and are based at Fort Hood, Texas.

History

The 4-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion traces its origins to two distinct lineages: the regimental affiliation with the 227th AVN REGT and its roots as the Army’s first armed helicopter unit- the Utility Tactical Transport Company (UTT)- known simply as “First with Guns!”. Constituted on 15 JUL 1961, BG Joe Stilwell. Jr. led the UTT to develop attack helicopter tactics- evolutionary concepts as relevant today as they were innovative then. The UTT was re-flagged on several occasions in Viet Nam: in AUG 1964, as the 68th Armed Helicopter Company (AHC); in MAR 1965, as the 197th AHC; and in SEP 1966, as the 334th AHC- the first AHC in Viet Nam equipped with the advanced AH-1G Cobra. During the same period, the Battalion’s regimental roots were constituted on 1 FEB 1963 as Company D, 227th Aviation Battalion, an arial weapons company assigned to the 11th Air Assault Division. On 1 JUL 1965, it was reorganized and re-designated as Company D, 227th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. The D Company “Guns” served valorously in support of 1st Cavalry Division operations, in Viet Nam, until it was inactivated on 30 AUG 1971. The unit was awarded two Presidential Unit Citations and two Valorous Unit Awards for its sustained actions in the A-Shau Valley, and the provinces of Pleiku Binh Thuan, and Bien Hoa, from 1966-1971. While the Guns of 227th de-activated, the Guns of the 334th AHC deployed to Hanau, Germany, in 1973, and were later re-flagged the 503rd Aviation Battalion. The units of the 503rd would ultimately re-flag as AH64 units in the 227th AVN REGT, sustaining the First with Guns lineage in Europe. Back at Fort Hood, D Company, 227th was re-activated on 16 JUL 1987, deploying with the Division to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, in support of the Defense of Saudi Arabia and the Liberation of Kuwait. The Unit was again reorganized and re-designated, on 16 NOV 1993 as the 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment at Fort Hood, TX, serving the Division proudly until its deactivation as a regular Army unit on 15 FEB 1997. During this Aviation Restructuring Initiative, the Army also down-sized the 2nd and 3rd (AH-64) Battalions of the 227th AVN REGT, activating the 1-501st AVN REGT (ATK) at Hanau, Germany as part of the 1st Armored Division. Following distinguished tours to Bosnia and Kosovo, the Battalion deployed on a 15 month combat tour to Operation Iraqi Freedom, in April 2003, earning the Valorous Unit Award for its actions in the Baghdad area of operations. In 2005, the 1-501st ATK deployed from Germany to Fort Hood to undergo the AH-64D Unit and Fielding Training Program and re-join the 1st Cavalry Division. The Guns deployed to OIF 06-08 with the First Team on 24 SEP 06 and conducted sustained attack and reconnaissance operations for 15 months over Baghdad, in support of MND-B and MND-C. The unit redeployed to Texas in January 2008 to prepare for future operations in support of the war against terrorists and extremists.

:::(article needs historical information for the period June 2003 through fall 2006)

External links

* [http://pao.hood.army.mil/1stcavdiv/units/1acb/4-227/4-227.htm 4-227's Official Website]