Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (United States)

The Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division was activated on September 16, 1984. The brigade is composed of:

*Headquarters and Headquarters Company
*1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment
*2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment
*3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment
*4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment
*615th Aviation Support Battalion

History

CAB, 1st Cavalry Division traces its history to early 1963, when the Army began to gather helicopters into the 11th Air Assault Division to test the airmobile concept. Shortly thereafter, they were reassigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. On 1 August 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division was sent to Vietnam. Aviators participated in 14 campaigns and received seven decorations during its seven years of duty in Vietnam. The first Army aviator to win the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War was a member of the 227th Aviation Battalion.

Gulf War

In late 1990, the brigade deployed overseas to Saudi Arabia, where the unit postured for combat in Operation Desert Shield. On 25 February 1991 with the onset of Operation Desert Storm, the brigade conducted a raid as a part of the 1st Cavalry Division's deception plan to throw Iraqi forces off guard. The units of the brigade would serve as the vanguard of the division's movement north to cut off a retreating Iraqi Republican Guard division at Basra. In late spring of 1991, the units of the brigade redeployed to Fort Hood and their home stations.

Other operations

In January 1993 the brigade deployed command and control aircraft to Kuwait. With 48 hours notice, the brigade deployed to Somalia, where it flew over 500 hours of combat missions. In Bosnia, in 1999, the brigade deployed to Operation Joint Forge. Units flew in the Balkans in support of Stabilization Force 4. Missions performed ranged from multi-national general support and airborne command and control, to air movement operations.

Iraq War

With the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003, the brigade deployed the 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation to Iraq to exercise their Longbow Apaches in combat operations for the first time. There, they assisted in setting the conditions for the defeat of the Iraqi Army and the liberation of Baghdad. In the early hours of 24 March 2003, Apache Longbows of the 1st Cavalry Division, fought a fierce battle with units of Iraq's Republican Guard Medina Division between the cities of Karbala and Al Hilah, south of Baghdad.

During March 2004 the Brigade deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom II as part of Task Force Baghdad. The brigade fought throughout the Baghdad Area of Operations and in Fallujah, An Najaf, Al Kut, Karbala, and Balad. The brigade flew over 70,000 hours and was recognized with 84 awards for valor including a Silver Star and seven Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Peacetime operations

After the devasatation caused by Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, the Brigade deployed 2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation and the brigade command team to Louisiana to support disaster relief operations in New Orleans. Immediately upon redeployment, 2-227 AVN and the brigade command team redeployed to East Texas to assist relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Rita. Shortly after returning from the hurricane relief effort, the 2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment and elements of the 615th Aviation Support Battalion were called upon to support a humanitarian aid mission in the aftermath of the October 2005 earthquake that devastated northern Pakistan.