The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade is a Combat Aviation Brigade

Combat Aviation Brigade

A Combat Aviation Brigade is a multi-functional brigade-sized unit in the United States Army that fields military helicopters, offering a combination of attack helicopters , reconnaissance helicopters , medium-lift helicopters , heavy-lift helicopters , and MEDEVAC capability.- History :Combat...

 of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

. It was first organized as the 12th Aviation Group at Fort Benning

Fort Benning

Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, on 18 June 1965.
The unit deployed to Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 in August as a command element for non-organic

Organic (military)

In military terminology, organic refers to a military unit that is a permanent part of a larger unit and provides some specialized capability to that parent unit...

 Army aviation

United States Army Aviation Branch

The Aviation Branch of the United States Army is the administrative organization within the Army responsible for doctrine, manning and configuration for all aviation units....

 units, and by November 1965, the group consisted of 11,000 personnel and 34 aviation units. Assigned to the III Military Region in Vietnam, the 12th Group was the largest unit of its type to serve in combat.