166th Aviation Brigade (United States)

The 166th Aviation Brigade is an aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

training

Training

The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...

brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

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...

headquartered at Fort Hood, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. It is a subordinate unit of First Army - Division West. An "AC/RC" (Active Component

Active duty

Active duty refers to a full-time occupation as part of a military force, as opposed to reserve duty.-Pakistan:The Pakistan Armed Forces are one of the largest active service forces in the world with almost 610,000 full time personnel due to the complex and volatile nature of Pakistan's...

/ Reserve Component) formation, the 166th Aviation Brigade is the sole organization responsible for the post-mobilization training of United States Army Reserve

United States Army Reserve

The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....

& National Guard

Army National Guard

Established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Army National Guard is part of the National Guard and is divided up into subordinate units stationed in each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia operating under their respective governors...

aviation units. The unit was formerly designated as 3rd Brigade, 75th Division.

Activated near the end of the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, the 166th Aviation Brigade was created specifically to serve as a training unit for aviation assets of other units. As such, it has never seen combat, and has thus never earned any campaign streamers or unit awards. As the only brigade in the First Army responsible for training aviation units, the 166th Aviation Brigade is the principal unit for training Army Reserve

United States Army Reserve

and Army National Guard

Army National Guard

assets preparing to deploy to contingencies around the world, which means it is responsible for 47 percent of all Army Aviation assets.

The 166th Aviation Brigade partners with its First Army - Division West sister brigade, the 479th Field Artillery Brigade for its combat

Combat

Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....

aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

brigade

Brigade

(CAB) mobilizations, but maintains validation authority, or final approval over a CAB's successful completion of mobilization training.

Organization

The 166th Aviation Brigade consists of eight battalions from five regiments. Its Headquarters and Headquarters Company

Headquarters and Headquarters Company

In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company is a company sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. In identifying a specific headquarters unit, it is usually referred to by its abbreviation as an HHC...

is located at Fort Riley, its Reserve Component battalions are located at Fort Des Moines

Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School

The Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School in Des Moines, Iowa was where African Americans were trained to be officers for the U.S. Army during World War I. The grounds of Fort Des Moines were used for U.S. Army training beginning in 1901, and the all-Black 25th Infantry Regiment...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, Fort Leavenworth

Fort Leavenworth

Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...

, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, Fort Riley

Fort Riley

Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...

, Kansas

Kansas

and Jefferson Barracks, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, and its Active Component

Active duty

battalions are located at Fort Riley

Fort Riley

, Kansas

Kansas

, Fort Stewart

Fort Stewart

Fort Stewart is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post primarily in Liberty County and Bryan County, but also extending into smaller portions of Evans, Long, and Tattnall Counties in Georgia, USA. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census...

, 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...

, Fort Knox

Fort Knox

Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

and Fort Hood, Texas

Texas

.

The 1st Battalion, 291st Aviation Regiment is the brigade's primary assault helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

training unit, specializing in fast-attack helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache

AH-64 Apache

The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...

. The 2nd Battalion, 291st Aviation Regiment is the brigade's primary utility, lift, and air ambulance

Ambulance

An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...

helicopter training unit, specializing in utility helicopters such as the UH-60 Black Hawk and the CH-47 Chinook

CH-47 Chinook

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...

. The 1st Battalion, 337th Regiment (Training Support) specializes in mobilization

Mobilization

Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...

and de-mobilization for aviation units. The remaining battalions, including the 1st Battalion, 351st Regiment (Training Support), 3rd Battalion, 382nd Regiment (Logistics Support), and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions of the 383rd Regiment (Combat Support/Combat Sustainment Support) specialize in areas of general instruction about other aspects of mobilization, conducting exercises, and logistics management.

While its Reserve Component battalions have somewhat maintained their former mission of training National Guard

Army National Guard

and Army Reserve

United States Army Reserve

units in Iowa

Iowa

, Kansas

Kansas

, Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, and Missouri

Missouri

as they did before the brigade reflagged, they have shifted toward supporting the brigade's primary mission - the mobilization of Combat

Combat

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

Brigade

s (CABs) by either assisting with ground training, or training and evaluating the CABs' aviation support battalions.

History

The 166th Aviation Brigade was first constituted 16 September 1988 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters, 166th Aviation Group. It took two years for the formation to be organized and the unit was finally activated on 16 September 1990 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It received a distinctive unit insignia

Distinctive unit insignia

A Distinctive Unit Insignia is a metal heraldic device worn by soldiers in the United States Army. The DUI design is derived from the coat of arms authorized for a unit...

on 3 April 1991.

The formation was inactivated on 15 June 1997 in Germany. Over the next four months, the unit's inactive components were reorganized and redesignated as a brigade

Brigade

sized unit, allowing it to take on a larger support staff that could command more soldiers. This transformation occurred as the brigade was reassigned to the continental United States. It was activated on 24 October 1997 as the 166th Aviation Brigade at Fort Riley, Kansas. It was also activated into the Active duty

Active duty

force.

The brigade began to undertake training support duties for units in the process of mobilization and de-mobilization. It was also tasked to provide support for local authorities in the event of peacetime crises and natural disasters. Soldiers of the brigade also participated in assistance with community projects around the Fort Riley community, including repairing and refurbishing run down properties for shelter house projects as well as disabled veterans. After two years of duty, the brigade was inactivated on 16 October 1999 at Fort Riley, Kansas.

As part of the Army's Transformation Plan

Transformation of the United States Army

Army Transformation describes the future-concept of the United States Army's plan of modernization. Transformation is a generalized term for the integration of new concepts, organizations, and technology within the armed forces of the United States....

, the 3rd Brigade, 75th Division was redesignated as the 166th Aviation Brigade, under the command of Division West of the First Army. Its mission would be to train and mobilize aviation units of the Army's reserve and national guard components. It was to be the only brigade under the First Army that specialized in training for Army aviation units. It was activated 1 December 2006 as a reserve unit at Fort Riley. The brigade became a partner organization of the 1st Infantry Division, which was stationed at Fort Riley and could provide better support than the headquarters of First Army Division West, which was headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

and maintained units all over the western United States. The brigade received a shoulder sleeve insignia on 13 June 2007, but it has not been authorized for wear due to First Army policy requiring its units to wear its SSI.

In the summer of 2008, the brigade's combat service/combat sustainment support battalions took part in equipment testing and training in Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...

. It tested the Multifunction Agile Remote Control Robot IV, a route clearance robot, with the assistance of the South Dakota National Guard

South Dakota National Guard

The South Dakota National Guard is part of the South Dakota Department of Military & Veterans Affairs.It consists of the:*South Dakota Army National Guard ** Joint Forces Headquarters** 196th Maneuver Enhanced Brigade** 196th Regional Training Battalion...

. The bulk of the brigade spent the summer at Fort Sill

Fort Sill

Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...

, Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

to train aviation assets for deploying units. In June 2008, the brigade trained the aviation assets of the 34th Infantry Division in air combat, air assault

Air assault

Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces...

, and other tactics related to aviation. For this mission, the brigade was assisted by the 479th Field Artillery Brigade, which handled ground exercises. As part of a new training routine, the brigade trained the 34th Infantry Division's aviation units at Fort Rucker

Fort Rucker

Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located mostly in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training base for Army Aviation and is home to the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and...

, spending a longer time training the unit because it continued to train the brigade as it mobilized and prepared to deploy. Other units trained with the Division, but none through the entire mobilization process. This process used new and never-before-used facilities to streamline training exercises. Purportedly, it gave the 166th Aviation Brigade much additional time for training, as the streamlining process made some programs more efficient, cutting time needed to prepare for them in half.

After extensive evaluation, the 166th Aviation Brigade completed training for the 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...

(CAB), 34th Infantry Division on 4 August 2008. The brigade returned to Fort Riley for a month before beginning the process over again with pre-mobilization training of the CAB, 28th Infantry Division, and returned to Fort Sill

Fort Sill

for post-mobilization training in late January 2008.

As part of a First Army realignment of training support brigades, the Department of the Army

United States Department of the Army

The Department of the Army is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Army is the Federal Government agency which the United States Army is organized within, and it is led by the Secretary of the Army who has...

approved a change of station for First Army - Division West and two of its training support brigades. The 166th Aviation Brigade moved to Fort Hood, Texas

Texas

on 15 July 2009. The brigade's Active Component

Active duty

battalions, all of which are aviation units, will move at a later date, most likely in summer 2010 (with the exception of 1st Battalion, 291st Regiment, which is already located at the installation).

Honors

As the brigade has been in a training and supporting role for the Army since its creation, the 166th Aviation Brigade has never been awarded a campaign streamer for campaign participation. It has also never been awarded a unit decoration.

External links

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