The 1st Aviation Brigade is an aviation brigade of the United States Army, stationed at

Fort Novosel Fort Rucker is a United States Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was formerly named in honor of Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, an Army aviator and Medal of Honor recipient. It was previously name ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. It commands three distinctly different battalions—the 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment; the 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment; and the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, the former Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Battalion at

Fort Huachuca Fort Huachuca is a United States Army military base, installation, in Cochise County, Arizona, Cochise County in southeast Arizona, approximately north of the Mexico–United States border, border with Mexico and at the northern end of the Huac ...

, Arizona.

History

Formation and Vietnam service

The 1st Aviation Brigade traces its origins to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. In April 1965 the U.S. Army Aviation Brigade (Provisional) was activated with the existing

13th In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the Musical note, note thirteen scale degrees from the root (chord), root of a chord (music), chord and also the interval (music), interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is m ...

, 14th, 52nd, and 145th Aviation Battalions,September 24th, 1963 brought to a close the 45th Transportation Battalion and gave birth to the 145th Combat Aviation Battalion. already in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

, reporting to it. In August 1965 it became the 12th Aviation Group, which then doubled in size and was used to form the 1st Aviation Brigade in March 1966. Dunstan, in ''Vietnam Choppers'' writes that the numerous independent aviation companies deployed during the war's early years had become difficult to move between sectors because they had developed 'individual means of operating in conjunction with the formations they supported.' Thus the brigade was formed to achieve standardization. Brigadier General George P. Seneff Jr., the Staff Aviation Officer at

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense, composed of forces from the United States Army, United States Navy, and United States Air Force, as well as their respecti ...

(MACV), became the brigade commander. Because the requirements varied in each part of South Vietnam, the brigade tried to collocate one assault helicopter company with each U.S. brigade and in course of time each Republic of Korea brigade. The companies supporting

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

units were located in centralized positions to best provide support. The brigade assigned one combat aviation battalion headquarters in direct support of each infantry division and this battalion headquarters normally worked with that division no matter how many companies might be assigned for a specific mission. The Brigade

Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...

was located in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

from May 1966 until August 1967. Then the HQ moved to Long Binh where it remained until Long Binh was closed in the early autumn of 1972. The HQ then moved to the MACV compound at

Tan Son Nhut Tan Son Nhat International Airport is an international airport serving Ho Chi Minh City, the most populous city in Vietnam. The airport is located in the Tân Bình district within the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area. It is the busies ...

, where it stayed until withdrawal. At this time the 52nd Aviation Battalion supported the 4th Infantry Division in the Central Highlands, the 10th Aviation Battalion supported the brigade of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

and the Republic of Korea division, the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion supported the 1st Infantry Division, the 214th supported the 9th Infantry Division and the 269th Aviation Battalion supported the 25th Infantry Division. The 13th Battalion, which was later to become a full group, remained in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

. Two aviation groups, the 17th and the 12th, supervised the aviation assets in the II and III Corps Tactical Zones respectively. The aviation group commander was also the aviation officer for the U.S. Field Force commander. During June 1970, the 1st Aviation Brigade reached its largest size: four combat aviation groups, 16 combat aviation battalions and 83 companies totaling over 4,000 aircraft and 27,000 personnel.Constituted 25 April 1966 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 222d Aviation Battalion. Activated 25 May 1966 in Vietnam. The 34th General Support Group (Aviation Maintenance and Supply) was transferred to the control of 1st Aviation Brigade in November 1971 where it continued in operation well into 1972. On the signing of the

cease-fire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

on 28 January 1973, the Brigade, then commanded by Jack V. Mackmull, had been reduced to 5,000 personnel and 420 aircraft in four combat aviation groups. The brigade returned to Fort Rucker, Alabama, on 24 March 1973, and was inactivated on 6 April 1973. According to Shelby Stanton's ''Vietnam Order of Battle,'' subordinate brigade units in South Vietnam included: * 11th,

12th Twelfth can mean: *The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution *The Twelfth, a Protestant celebration originating in Ireland In mathematics: * 12th, an ordinal number; as in the item in an order twelve places from the beginning, follo ...

, 16th, 17th, 160th, 165th Aviation Groups *the 164th Aviation Group was activated from the assets of a Provisional Aviation Group in the IV Corps Tactical Zone in 1968, and was located at

Can Tho Can may refer to: Language * A verb for ability * A verb for probability Containers * A container used for food preservation in canning ** Aluminum can ** Drink can ** Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Oil can * Petrol can Music * Can (band ...

throughout its time in Vietnam. * 10th, 11th,

, 14th, 52nd, 58th, 145th, 210th, 212th, 214th, 222nd, 223rd, 268th, 269th,Note the 187 Aslt Hel Co served with this battalion March 1967-Apr 1971, before being transferred to the 11th Avn Bn., with which it served Apr 1971-14 Feb 72, inactivated that day. Stanton, Vietnam Order of Battalion, 113, 119. 307th, 308th Aviation Battalions *PHANTOM, DELTA, CAPITAL, I Corps, BUFFALO Aviation Battalions (Provisional) *7th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (12th, then 164th Aviation Group); 1st Squadron,

9th Cavalry The 9th Cavalry Regiment is a parent cavalry regiment of the United States Army. Historically, it was one of the Army's four segregated African-American regiments and was part of what was known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The regiment saw combat d ...

(after 10 April 1973, when the 1st Cavalry Division left Vietnam); 3rd Squadron,

17th Cavalry The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottab ...

(part of the 12th Aviation Group); 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry (attached to 17th Aviation Group). These units were all Air Cavalry Squadrons

Current formation

On 18 February 1977 the brigade was reactivated at Fort Rucker as a training formation. Vietnam War combat veteran John Bahnsen commanded the 1st Aviation Brigade in the late 1970s and early 1980s.U.S. Army Aviation Center
United States Army Aviation Digest
1980, page 26 The 1st Aviation Brigade's primary mission has been to train and develop future aviation warfighting leaders. Including the lessons learned from deployed units, instructors and students write, review, and coordinate Army Aviation combined arms doctrine for aviation units below brigade level. The course curriculum consists of a wide range of professional military education subjects, with emphasis on combined arms battlefield integration. The tactical training is further reinforced with state-of-the-art simulation, allowing students to assume various command and staff positions at all command levels while fighting simulated battles throughout a wide spectrum of tactical scenarios. Equally important is the initial entry training (IET) taught to entry level Aviation Branch Soldiers. IET teaches fundamental skills for U.S. Army personnel to perform their occupational specialties in an aviation unit.

In popular culture

*In the TV-series

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

(1983–87), the fictional character of Army

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Howling Mad Murdock wears the

shoulder sleeve insignia Shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) are distinctive cloth patches worn on the left sleeve of the United States Army uniform just below the shoulder seam by soldiers assigned to divisions, corps, armies, and other specifically authorized orga ...

of the 1st Aviation Brigade in the episode "A Nice Place to Visit". *In the 2017 movie, Kong: Skull Island the U.S. Army Aviation unit assigned to support the scientific research team, wear the 1st Aviation Brigade patch on their jungle fatigues and flight suits.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * CMH Pub 90-4; Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-600371. Accessed at https://web.archive.org/web/20160507194243/http://www.1stavnbde.com:80/genesis_1st_brigade.html, January 2025

External links

* {{official, https://home.army.mil/novosel/usaace/units/1AB 001 001 001