4th Aviation Brigade - 4th Infantry Division (Mech)
Iron Eagles
As of December 2005, the Aviation Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division was operating out of Camp Taji, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Aviation Brigade was assigned to support the 4th Infantry Division in a wide array of combat and logistical operations during its deployment.
Constituted 1 April, 1957, in the Regular Army as the 4th Aviation Company, assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, and activated at FT Lewis, Washington. Reorganized and redesignated 1 October, 1963, as Headquarters Company, 4th Aviation Battalion.
The 4th Aviation Battalion distinguished itself in support of military operations in the Republic of Vietnam during the period 1 December, 1967, through 31 May, 1968. During this period, the battalion supported combat operations from Ban Me Thout and the VC Valley to Dak Pek and staging areas of the Cambodian border. Further, with the installation of Xenon searchlights on numerous helicopters, they denied the enemy the opportunity to move during hours of darkness, significantly hampering the capability of the North Vietnam/Viet Cong forces, which had far-reaching effects throughout the theater. Realizing the importance of civic action to the ultimate success of the war effort, the soldiers of the battalion organized a vigorous civic action program and voluntarily conducted medical treatment clinics and renovated the Plei Do Lim school. The battalion was inactivated on 4 December, 1970, at FT Lewis, Washington.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Aviation Battalion, redesignated 21 November, 1972, as the Aviation Company , 4th Infantry Division, and activated at FT Carson, Colorado. B Company and A Company, 4th Aviation Battalion were activated 17 March, 1980, and 16 March, 1982, respectively. The 4th Aviation Brigade was constituted 1 September, 1986, in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, FT Carson, Colorado. 16 August, 1987, A Company reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Aviation. At the same time B Company reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation, as an element of the 8th Infantry Division. It later inactivated on 15 November, 1990, in Germany and was relieved from assignment to the 8th Infantry Division.
In 1995 the 2nd Armor Division reflagged as the 4th Infantry Division and the 4th Aviation Brigade relocated it's Headquarters to FT Hood, Texas. On 15 March, 1996, the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry consolidated with the 4th Reconnaissance Company, redesignated as the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry, and activated at FT Hood, Texas. The 4th Brigade currently consists of the 1st Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment (Attack), the 2d Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment (General Support) and the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry.
On 16 December, 2004, the 4th Infantry Division formally moved into a new era of organization and effectiveness when it officially became the Army's newest "modular" division. Major additions to the division include nearly doubling the Aviation Brigade, which includes a new attack helicopter battalion, a new assault helicopter battalion and a new company of CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Seven Chinook-47 helicopters from Company C., 7th Battalion, 101st Airborne Aviation Brigade, Fort Campbell, Ky., deployed to a hangar Nov. 18, 2004, at Hood Army Airfield, Fort Hood, Texas. It had been 30 years since Chinooks were assigned to the division. The multifunctional aviation brigade increased from 16 AH-64D Apache helicopters in one attack battalion to 48 Apaches in two battalions and added a general support battalion that includes CH-47D Chinook helicopters and more UH-60 Black Hawks. The aviation support battalion moved from the division support command and now falls under the aviation brigade.
