5th Battalion (General Support), 159th Aviation Regiment
"Press On"
The mission of the 5th Battalion (General Support), 159th Aviation Regiment is to train, mobilize and deploy to a directed theatre of operation to provide general aviation support to the ground commander in the form of medium lift, command and control and MEDEVAC rotary wing operations that support his combat, combat support, and combat service support needs across the full spectrum of military operations.
The 5th Battalion (General Support), 159th Aviation Regiment consists of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company, one medium lift company with CH-47 Chinook helicopters, and one combat aviation company with UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters, and one medical evacuation company (MEDEVAC) with HH-60L helicopters. The Battalion also has a Aviation Unit Level Maintenance Company (AVUM) and a forward support company. The Battalion's HHC, B, D, and E Companies are colocated at Fort Eustis, Virginia. The Battalion's A and F Companies are located in Clearwater, Florida. The Battalion also exercises administrative control over B Company, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment based in Fort Lewis, Washington.
With all of these elements, 5-159th Aviation was the largest and most geographically dispersed subordinate command under the 244th Aviation Brigade. It's structure provided for the full organic support of aviation maintenance, mess, refueling, flight operations and wheeled vehicle support. The Battalion had a mix of Active Guard/Reserve (AGR), and Troop Program Unit (TPU) soldiers, as well as Department of the Army civilian employees and contractors.
The 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment was first constituted on 16 November 1987 in the Army Reserve as the 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation, and activated (less Company A) at Fort Meade, Maryland. The Battalion's Company A was concurrently allotted to the Regular Army and activated in Germany.
Under Permanent Order F-137, dated 30 August 1995, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment received a Permanent Change of Station order relocating the unit from Aviation Support Facility, Tipton Army Airfield, Fort Meade, Maryland to Aviation Support Facility, Felker Army Airfield, Ft Eustis, Virginia on 30 September 1995.
Company A was inactivated on 15 October 1997 in Germany, concurrently withdrawn from the Regular Army, and allotted to the Army Reserve. By 2000, 5-159th Aviation, part of the 244th Aviation Brigade, consisted of its Headquarters and Headquarters Company at Fort Eustis, Virginia, along with B Company, and A Company at Fort Lewis Washington.
Prior to 1998, the National Park Service had turned to an element of the 214th Aviation based Fort Lewis, Washington for vital air support. In early 1998, the Army inactivated that unit to save money. Reservists, whose normal duties were troop and equipment transport, stepped in to fill the gap. Members of the unit, A Company, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment learned the unique tricks of their trade: perching a 50-foot Chinook on an icy saddle at 10,000 feet, bucking the gales that roar up the mountain's ridge lines, and flying search patterns above crevasse-scarred glaciers, looking for signs of life, or death.
During the summer of 2000, wildfires caused havoc to lives and routines throughout the American West. This havoc included almost canceling an important geological survey in Oregon. A Company, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation came to the rescue. On 20 July 2000, the National Park Service, in cooperation with the US Geological Survey, announced plans to conduct sonar mapping of Crater Lake at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Crater Lake was the nation's deepest lake. It was accessible only by a one-mile long footpath from the rim of the crater down to the lake's surface. Prior the wildfires, the plan had been to conduct the mapping using an 11,200 pound research boat would be airlifted onto the lake.
The fire situation in the intermountain west only got worse. By 26 July 2000, more than 27 new major fires were raging. It became clear that all of the commercial helicopter companies would be tied up on the fires. Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment was available however. As recently as 24 July 2000, a CH-47D Chinook and crew from Company A had flown to the 12,000-foot level of Mount Rainier to rescue a man injured in a rock avalanche. Another CH-47D Chinook and its crew airlifted the research vessel onto the lake's surface on 27 July 2000. The sonar mapping began the next day.
Between 2 February 2003 and 1 February, 2004, Detachment 1, B Company, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation conducted strategic air missions to hunt for weapons of mass destruction while under operational control of the 75th Exploitation Task Force. A Company deployed a few days later to Balad, Iraq to support the 12th Aviation Brigade. Between 26 May 2003 and 26 June 2004, B Company (-) followed with assignment to Task Force Hawk and Task Force Kuwait in support of Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) Kuwait. The Battalion's Headquarters and Headquarters Company deployed thereafter and served as the headquarters for Aviation Task Force Kuwait at Camp Udairi. Aviation Task Force Kuwait assumed command of the CFLCC mission from 244th Aviation Brigade Headquarter's Task Force Hawk, commanding all rotary and fixed wing units assigned to CFLCC.
In August 2004, C Company, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation deployed and conducted combat aviation operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operating from Camp Anaconda in Balad, Iraq the "Ghostriders" were the "go-to" Company for Task Force Renegade and participated in every major combat aviation operation for the Multi-National Corps - Iraq. The Ghostriders executed over 4,000 accident-free flight hours supporting combat operations to include a joint special operations task force, general support operations, personnel recovery missions, and direct actions and air assaults on enemy targets. C Company redeployed from Iraq in November 2005.
Starting on 4 September 2005, A and B Companies conducted humanitarian missions in support of Hurricane Katrina / Rita Relief Operations under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); Commander, US Northern Command; and the Defense Coordinating Officer for Disaster Relief-Emergency Operations. They played a vital role in the overall success of citizen rescues. By 10 October 2005, the Companies had flown 467 hours, 105 multi-aircraft mission, rescued 135 citizens, and transported 2,046 persons and 4,539 tons of materials and supplies.
Between April and September 2008, elements of B, D and E Companies provided aviation support and 4 aircraft to US Southern Command in Operation New Horizons 2008. They flew approximately 320 hours providing vital airlift to the US Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps, and Peruvian Army personnel, while moving over 500,000 pounds of materials and supplies in a joint operating environment.
In 2009, 5-159th Aviation had elements deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom.
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