1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 1st Battalion 227th Aviation Regiment


caption= 227th Aviation Regiment Insignia
dates= August 31, 1920 - Present
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Army
type= Attack helicopter battalion
role=
size=
command_structure= 1st Cavalry Division
U.S. Army III Corps
current_commander= LTC Charles Dalcourt
current_Sergeant_major= Ismael Medina
garrison= Fort Hood, Texas
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= First Attack
patron=
motto= "ATTACK"
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles= Vietnam War
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Iraqi Freedom
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=

The 1st Battalion 227th Aviation Regiment is an attack helicopter battalion supporting the 1st Cavalry Division. They fly the AH-64 Apache and are based at Fort Hood, Texas.

Current Units

* HHC "Knight Riders"
* A Company - "Avengers"
* B Company - "Reapers"
* C Company - "Vampires"
* D Company - "Bone Crushers"
* E Company - "Darkhorse"

History

Vietnam War

On the 1 February 1963, the Army began to gather helicopters into the 11th Air Assault Division to test the airmobile concept. The 31st Transportation Company was re-designated as the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion. In June 1965, the 11th Air Assault was joined with the 2nd Infantry Division. Shortly thereafter, the division exchanged colors with the 1st Cavalry Division. On 1 August 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division was sent to Vietnam. The battalion participated in 14 campaigns and received seven decorations during its 7 years of duty in Vietnam.

Upon return from Vietnam, the 227th Aviation Battalion was inactivated on 19 November 1974 at Fort Hood, Texas. After a brief reactivation from 21 May 1978 until 30 September 1983, it was re-designated as 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, the first divisional Apache Attack Helicopter Battalion to be formed. Upon re-designation, the 1-227th underwent an intensive 6-month unit training program and began to training for combat operations.

The Gulf War & the 1990s

On 29 September 1990, the battalion deployed overseas to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where the unit postured for combat in Operation Desert Shield. On 25 February 1991, with the onset of Operation Desert Storm, the battalion conducted a raid as a part of the 1st Cavalry Division's deception plan to throw Iraqi forces off guard. The battalion would serve as the vanguard of the division's movement north to cut off retreating an Iraqi Republican Guard Division at Basra. On 7 March 1991, the battalion would return as part of the advance party back to Fort Hood, Texas.

On 2 June 1998, after years of testing and preparation, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment began to field the most advanced attack helicopter ever built, the AH-64 Apache "Longbow".
[
Operation Iraqi Freedom task force from 1-227]

Global War on Terror

With the onset of Operation Enduring Freedom, the 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, on 14 February 2003, arrived at Camp Udari, Kuwait, and was attached to Task Force 11th Aviation Regiment operating under the command of the U.S. Army V Corps. In the early hours of 24 March 2003, Apache Longbows of the 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation, 1st Cavalry Division, engaged units of Iraq's Republican Guard Medina Division between the cities of Karbala and Al Hilah, about 96 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad. On 21 May 2003, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment redeployed to Fort Hood.

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

External links

* [http://pao.hood.army.mil/1cd_1-227cav/ 1-227's Official Website]