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449th Aviation Support Battalion

The Texas Army National Guard's 449th Aviation Support Battalion uses Black Hawks to fight wildfires in Texas. The copters drop water and fire retardent from 660-gallon "Bambi" buckets suspended below the aircraft.

In June 2001 nearly 400 Texas Army National Guard soldiers assisted local, state and federal aid workers as the nation's fourth-largest city dried-out and began assessing the damage caused by Tropical Storm Allison. Guard aviators helped evacuate several area hospitals over the weekend. Five downtown hospitals lost all or some of their power due to flooding, and Houston's Memorial Hermann Hospital closed its doors for the first time since it opened in 1925, transferring all 540 of its patients to other facilities. Ten of those patients may go on record as the youngest-ever passengers aboard a UH-60 Black Hawk -- four infants from the neonatal unit at Memorial Hermann to a hospital in Austin, and six infants to a hospital in Temple. Staff Sgt. Frank Veliz of Austin, a Black Hawk crew chief from Co. A, 449th Aviation Support Battalion, called the baby evacuation "pretty unusual."

The Joint Shipboard Helicopter Integration Process (JSHIP) is a $22.5 million project based at Patuxent River Naval Air Station. It is designed to demonstrate interoperability between Army helicopters and Navy vessels. The Army group was made up of the Texas Army National Guard's 49th Armored Division, the headquarters of the 4th Brigade and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Aviation Regiments (flying Apaches, Blackhawks and Chinooks, respectively). Other Army units involved were the 449th Aviation Support Battalion and the 3rd Battalion of the 144th Infantry regiment of the 3rd Infantry Brigade.

The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 9 September 1998, consisting of a shield blazoned: Per chevron invecked Azure and Buff/Gold, two lightning bolts saltirewise Argent debruised by a pale Gules bearing an open-ended wrench Or surmounted by a mullet of the first fimbriated of the fifth. Attached below the shield is a red scroll inscribed "FIX FORWARD" in gold. Buff and scarlet are the colors traditionally used by Support organizations. Gold is emblematic of excellence and high achievement. The divided shield underscores the unit's air and ground maintenance support missions. The blue alludes to the sky and the division line suggests clouds. The chevron denotes support and forward movement reflecting the units' motto. The lightning bolts, crossed for strength and cooperation, represent swiftness. The colors red, white and blue, and the star are adapted from the Texas State flag, home of the battalion. The wrench symbolizes the vital role of maintenance and the unit's mission.