The 168th Aviation Regiment is an aviation regiment of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
.
History
The 1st Battalion (General Support), 168th Aviation Regiment (GSAB), can trace its history back to 1959 when it was originally organized as the 41st Aviation Company in the
Washington Army National Guard
The Washington Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the Washington National Guard based in Washington. The history of the Washington Army National Guard dates back to 1854 with formation of the Washington Territorial ...
located at Camp Murray, Tacoma, Washington.
Over the next fifty years the battalion would be reorganized several different times to meet the changing needs of the U.S. Army.
In 1988 the 1-168th AVN was designated as an attack battalion consisting of
AH-1 Cobras and
OH-58 Kiowa
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A ...
helicopters. With the retirement of the AH-1 Cobra from the Army inventory, the 1-168th AVN was designated a Theater Army Fixed Wing Battalion and equipped with CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black-Hawk helicopters. These two airframes would form what would become the 1-168th Assault Battalion.
In 2006 the battalion transformed to meet the needs of the U.S. Army by creating the 1-168th General Support Aviation Battalion. The battalion consists of units located in six Western states. Prior to its transformation, subordinate units supported multiple deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Spartan Shield, and Inherent Resolve. The battalion has also supported NATO operations with International Allies in Kosovo during
Operation Joint Guardian
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
. During the transformation to its current configuration, the battalion was alerted for deployment in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
07-09. The 168th has been designated CENTCOM Aviation Task Force with its headquarters located at Udari Army Airfield,
Camp Beuhring, Kuwait several times.
Composed of units from Washington, Alaska, Iowa, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, and Minnesota, the Raptors deployed in 2011, in support of Operation New Dawn 11-12. In 2015 elements of the Battalion deployed to CENTCOM areas of operation in support of Operation Spartan Shield. The 1-168th returned to CENTCOM in support of Operation Spartan Shield and
Inherent Resolve in 2021-22
Structure
* 1st Battalion (General Support):
** Headquarters and Headquarters Company
*** Detachment 1
*** Detachment 2 (
OR ARNG)
*** Detachment 3 (
CO ARNG)
** Company A at
Gowen Field Air National Guard Base
Boise Airport (Boise Air Terminal or Gowen Field) is a joint civil-military airport in the western United States, south of downtown Boise in Ada County, Idaho. The airport is operated by the city of Boise Department of Aviation and is overse ...
(
ID ARNG)
** Company B
[
*** Detachment 1 (OR ARNG)][
]
References
{{Reflist
168
Military units and formations established in 1987