• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division
"4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Armored Division"
Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division
"Iron Eagle"

As part of the reorganization of the 1st Armored Division under the Army's new modular force structure, the Aviation Brigade was redesignated and reactivated as the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division.

Prior to the modular reorganization, the Brigade was also known as 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Armored Division. During the 1st Armored Division's time in Germany, the 4th Brigade was headquartered in Hanau. The 4th Brigade had also been headquartered at in Katterbach, Germany for a time. However, the Brigade's footprint included multiple kasernes throughout the Ansbach and Illesheim communities, all the nestled in the hills of Bavaria. Its maneuver units were the 1st Battalion, 501st Aviation (Hanau); 2nd Battalion, 501st Aviation (Hanau); the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry (Budingen); and the 127th Aviation Support Battalion.

The Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, was first constituted on 16 April 1986 in the regular United States Army at Ansbach, Germany. Named the "Iron Eagle Brigade," it originally provided Command and Control for the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, the 501st Attack Helicopter Battalion, the 220th Assault Helicopter Company and the 224th Assault Helicopter Company. In December 1990, the Iron Eagle Brigade deployed to southwest Asia with the 1st Armored Division to support Operation Desert Shield. In February 1991, the Brigade participated in Operation Desert Storm as part of VII Corps and engaged Iraqi units, including the Republican Guard.

In September 1991, the 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Armored Division, colors were relocated from Ansbach to Erlensee, Germany. There the Brigade assumed command of the Battalions of the 227th Aviation Regiment and the 4th Squadron, 7th Cavalry, which were formerly under the control of the 4th Brigade (Aviation), 3rd Armored Division. On 21 October 1991, the 4th Squadron, 7th Cavalry was reflagged as the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry.

From December 1995 to December 1996, the 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Armored Division, was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of a multi-national peace implementation force during Operation Joint Endeavor. Aviation Task Force Comanche was the Command and Control Headquarters for 120 Task Force Eagle Helicopters that flew 33,000 hours to compel peace in the war-ravaged Balkans. On 28 February 1997, 4th Brigade (Aviation) had its affiliation from the 227th Aviation Regiment changed to the 501st Aviation Regiment, with the relevant battalions being reflagged.

From June 2000 to June 2001, the 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Armored Division, was again called upon to enforce peace in the Balkans. The Brigade deployed 2 Task Forces, Knightmare and Dragon, to Kosovo. The overwhelming success of this operation helped stabilize the region and saved countless lives.

In mid-2000, the 4th Brigade (Aviation) and 2-3rd Field Artillery combined the bone-jarring shock of the M109A6 Paladin with the lethality and pin-point-precision of Apache and Kiowa Warrior helicopters in a Fire Control Exercise.

From April 2003 until July 2004, the Aviation Brigade deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Iron Sabre, where they played a significant role in the security and stabilization of Iraq and its people. Consisting of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-501st Aviation (Flying Dragons), 2-501st Aviation (Iron Knights), 1-1st Cavalry (Blackhawks), the 69th Chemical Company (Triple Threat), the 127th Aviation Support Battalion (Workhorse), and various other attached units, the 4th Brigade Combat Team flew over 39,000 hours in the course of executing 6,747 missions, pumped 3,826,000 gallons of fuel, and apprehended over 100 insurgents and their weapons.

The 1st Armored Division conducted a Transfer of Authority effective 28 May 2003. A day prior, the 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Armored Division assumed control of flights over Baghdad, with an official Transfer of Authority occurring on 27 May 2003. These 2 transfers in authority denoted a relief of duty in Baghdad for 3rd Infantry Division, particularly its Aviation Brigade. The unit from Savannah, Georgia stood solid after it rolled into Baghdad. For nearly a month after its rapid advance on Baghdad the unit worked to return the city and surrounding countryside to normal after intense conflict and battle.

4th Brigade (Aviation), 3rd Infantry Division controlled multiple MEDEVAC flights,reconnaissance flights, and gunship support mission. 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Armored Division deployed from the desert of Kuwait, rolling acrossthe over 560 kilometers stretch of pavement and desert sand to relieve 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and allow them to initiate redeployment from Baghdad International Airport (BIAP).

The delay of movement orders for the bulk of 3rd Infantry Division left twice too many soldiers occupying limited space on BIAP. This created cramped living conditions, with 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Armored Division soldiers living on the hangar floor until recently beginning to occupy living quarters on the airfield. In spite of these conditions, 4th Brigade (Aviation) soldiers had persevered and accomplished unprecdented mission success. The leaders, crews, and soldiers of 4th Brigade (Aviation) conducted a seamless assumption of existing missions and operations. Immediately upon taking the mantle of responsibility for rotary wing aircraft operations over Baghdad, multiple support and reconnaissance missions were launched to ensure that noncompliant forces were controlled or detained.

Those joining the Brigade in 2005 had an opportunity to contribute to a new chapter in this history, as the Brigade began transformation and assumed the role as the USAREUR Multi-Functional Aviation Brigade (MFAB). The MFAB included a General Support Aviation Battalion, Air Assault Battalion, 2 Attack Battalions, and an Aviation Support Battalion. Organic to the MFAB were Air Traffic Services, Air Ambulance, Transportation, and Communication slices that enabled the Brigade to take the Battlefield as a lethal and self-sufficient combat organization.

On return to Germany, the Brigade was habitually attached to the 1st Infantry Division to provide Aviation support. As part of the larger Army transformation and realignment, the Brigade was selected to return to the United States with 1st Infantry Division in the summer of 2006. On 7 July 2006, the Brigade cased colors and was inactivated in Germany. Its personnel were subsequently reflagged as the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.

On 1 September 2011, the Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas was inactivated and its units and personnel reflagged as the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, which, along with its subordinate units, was subsequently reactivated at Fort Bliss, Texas.