2nd Battalion - 4th Aviation Regiment (GSAB) "Mustangs"
As of December 2005, the 1st Battalion 4th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), part of the Aviation Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, was operating out of Camp Taji, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On Order, 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment deploys to conduct platoon-level Air Assault and GS Aviation Operations to enable 4ID (M) to fight and win.
The heritage of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment began when the unit was constituted in the Regular Army on 21 August, 1963, as Company B, 4th Aviation Battalion, an element of 4th Infantry Division. The unit was activated on 1 October, 1963, at Fort Lewis, Washington.
After being sent to the Republic of Vietnam, the unit saw extensive action in the Vietnam conflict. The unit has campaign participation credit for the Counteroffensive Phase Two and Three; Tet Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive Phases Four, Five, and Six; Tet 69 / Counteroffensive; Summer-Fall 1969; Winter-Spring 1970; Sanctuary Counteroffensive; and Counteroffensive, Phase Seven. In addition to these campaigns, the unit earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation, Streamer embroidered Vietnam 1967-1968; the unit was also awarded two Republic of Vietnam Crosses of Gallantry with Palm, streamers embroidered Vietnam 1966-1969 and Vietnam 1969-1970. Finally, the unit received the Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class, streamer embroidered Vietnam 1969-1970.
Following participation in the Vietnam conflict, the unit was inactivated on 4 December, 1970, at Fort Lewis, Washington. After a twelve year absence, the unit was activated again on 17 March, 1982, at Fort Carson, Colorado.
It reactivated on 17 March, 1982 ,at Fort Carson, CO. It was reorganized and redesignated on 16 August, 1987, as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 4th Aviation, an element of the 4th Infantry Division. Organic elements were concurrently constituted and activated. It was concurrently relieved from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division and reassigned to the 8th Infantry Division (with its organic elements concurrently constituted and activated). The Battalion inactivated on 15 November, 1990, in Germany and was relieved from assignment to the 8th Infantry Division.
Assigned 16 January, 1996, to the 4th Infantry Division, the 2nd Battalion reactivated at Fort Hood, TX.
During 1997, the battalion was a key player in the Army's Force XXI experimentation. The unit deployed in March of 1997 to the National Training Center as part of the Advanced Warfighting Experiment (AWE). In November 1997, the battalion participated in the Division AWE, which validated concepts essential to the growth of the Army into the Twenty-First Century.
One of the most radically redesigned units of the 1997 Task Force XXI BCT was TF Aviation. Built around the 2d Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, TF subelements included B Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment and D Troop, 1st Battalion, 10th Cavalry Regiment. TF Aviation had two general support aviation companies, an attack helicopter company, reconnaissance troop and a new organization-the command, control and communications (C3) company
For its participation in the AWE, the battalion was awarded the Unit Superior Service Medal.
Since arrival to Fort Hood, the unit has provided air assault and GS aviation capability in support of 4th Infantry Division operational missions and major training events. The unit provided UH-60 aircraft in support of operational missions including SFOR in Bosnia, Wildland Firefighting, Homeland Defense, JTF-6, and most recently Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit provided continuous aviation support to each of the Division’s four Brigade Combat Teams at the National Training Center, Fort Hood, and Fort Carson. In 2001, the unit fielded the first Army Airborne Command and Control System (A2C2S) helicopter. In May 2003, during combat operations in Iraq, they fielded two more A2C2S helicopters. The battalion successfully tested this aerial Tactical Operations Center for the Army during 12 months of combat.
The unit’s most recent success, in OIF from March 2003 to March 2004, included over 12,500 accident free hours, as the only Utility Helicopter Battalion for the 4th Infantry Division. They flew in support of every major division operation in Iraq and flew over 20 air assault missions, including the division’s first combat air assault under Night Vision Goggles
