The 135th Aviation Regiment is an Aviation Branch regiment of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, first formed in August 1985. The regiment was constituted in August 1985 with the activation of the 35th Infantry Division as an Attack Battalion flying AH-1S Cobra's. The regiment was originally formed as a part of the 135th Aviation Regiment with Regimental Headquarters located in Frankfort, Kentucky, 1st Battalion in Missouri and 2nd Battalion as a part of the Colorado Army National Guard as 2nd Battalion 135th Aviation, under the

United States Army Regimental System The United States Army Regimental System (USARS) is an organizational and classification system used by the United States Army. It was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to provide each soldier with continu ...

. It was concurrently organized from new and existing units to consist of the 1st and 2d Battalions and Companies D, E, and F, elements of the 35th Infantry Division, and Company G. It was reorganized 1 December 1987 to consist of the 1st and 2d Battalions and Companies D, E, and F, elements of the 35th Infantry Division, the 3d Battalion, and Company G. Reorganized 1 September 1996 in the Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri Army National Guard to consist of the 1st and 2d Battalions and Company F, elements of the 35th Infantry Division, the 3d Battalion, and Company G. Reorganized 1 September 1998 to consist of the 1st and 2d Battalions and Company F, elements of the 35th Infantry Division, and the 3d Battalion.

1st Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment

1st Battalion currently only flies the Boeing AH-64D Apaches but a number of

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...

are to join during 2016.

2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support)

The 2nd Battalion (General Support), 135th Aviation Regiment first became a part of the Colorado Army National Guard in the mid-1980s. The original unit, a single company, was made a part of the 40th Infantry Division's aviation brigade, predominantly located in California. The battalion flies the UH-60 Black Hawk, Boeing CH-47 Chinook. They are based out of

Buckley Space Force Base Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units including the U.S. Space Fo ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, as part of the

Colorado Army National Guard The Colorado Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army, United States National Guard, and Colorado National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat force ...

Aviation Command. The 2-135th deployed to Iraq in September 2006 through August 2007 as part of

Task Force Mustang Task Force Mustang is the deployment unit name for the Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard. The CAB completed a tour of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the fall of 2007 when it was rel ...

. In 2006 the 2d Battalion was deployed for

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

service. The 2-135th deployed on 19 March 2006 for five months of Theater Immersion Training at

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

, Texas and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. They were certified "Fit to Fight" by Lt. Gen.

Russel L. Honoré Russel L. Honoré ( ; born September 15, 1947) is a retired lieutenant general who served as the 33rd commanding general of the U.S. First Army at Fort Gillem, Georgia. He is best known for serving as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina resp ...

, commanding general,

First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Kore ...

, on 30 July 2006. The unit shipped to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

in August 2006, completed a couple of weeks of " boots on the ground" training at Camp Buehring, and entered Iraq in the first half of September as one of five battalions of

. The

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

principally flew out of

Balad Air Base Balad Air Base ( ar, قاعدة بلد الجوية) , is an Iraqi Air Force base located near Balad, Iraq, Balad in the Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad, Iraq. Built in the early 1980s, it was originally named Al-Bakr Air Base. In 2003 the base ...

(aka Camp Anaconda) and is flew missions all over Iraq. The total deployment for the 2-135th was expected to last approximately 18 months. The battalion became fully engaged in the OIF mission on 17 Sep 2006, crosstraining with the previous unit, and had an official transfer of responsibility from the 7–101st on 24 Sep 2006. Soldiers wore the shoulder sleeve patch of the 36th Infantry Division while in Iraq. The Iraq formation of the 2-135th (as a unit of Task Force Mustang) consisted of approximately 550 soldiers and was approximately 60% made up of Colorado Army National Guard personnel. It also included Army aviation Guard personnel from three additional primary states,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

with smaller contingents from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The Iraq mission involved operations over a large expanse of the country of Iraq. The unit distinguished itself as one of the premier air assault units in the US Army, conducting 111 major, multi-night air assault operations—inserting over 15,500 troops into enemy landing zones across the Iraq theater in the span of only a year. "The Blackjacks" earned the Army Aviation Association of America's top National Guard aviation unit in 2007 for this.

2006–07 Iraq units

* HHC – "Headhunters" – Headquarters and Headquarters Company * Company A – "Rumrunner" – Blackhawks * Company B – "Bootlegger" – Chinooks (Mile High Hookers) * Company C – "Cutter" – Blackhawk

MedEvac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

, including attached units ** Company C 1–111th – "Painkillers" – Blackhawks ** Detachment 1, Company C, 1–111th – "Razorback Medevac" * Company D – "Dagger" – Aviation Maintenance * Company E – "Marauder" – Ground Maintenance, Aviation/Ground Fueling, Food Services Company A of 2-135th from the Colorado ARNG was deployed to Iraq for one year, from the fall of 2005 to October 2006. This company is the normally organic Company A located with the battalion in Colorado. This company was selected to deploy with the 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment as the first Guard aviation unit to deploy from Colorado. They also informally served as a year-long advanced party for the battalion until they took over the mission of 7-101st in September 2006.

2005–06 Iraq units

* Company A – Blackhawks Company A, 2-135th during the Iraq deployment was (attached). Company A of the 2-211th from the Utah ARNG (home base West Jordan, Utah) serving, in Iraq as part of the beefed up 2-135th. It replaced Colorado's Company A after cross-training and handoff in September 2006. Companies B, C, D, E and HHC of the 2-135th of the

were all deployed to Iraq. Company B, 2-135th (Colorado) was augmented by Company B of the 2d Battalion (General Support), 211th Aviation Regiment, Minnesota ARNG from Holman Field, St Paul, Minnesota. Company C, 2-135th (Nebraska) was augmented by a detail from the Colorado ARNG. All six companies were augmented for the Iraq deployment by additional

ARNG The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized militia force and a federal military reserve force of the United States Army. They are simultaneously part of two different organizations: the Army N ...

personnel from other states as well as a few

Individual Ready Reserve The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) is a category of the Ready Reserve of the Reserve Component of the Armed Forces of the United States composed of former active duty or reserve military personnel. Its governing statute is codified at . For so ...

soldiers from across the United States. The battalion had approximately 550 personnel in Iraq fully augmented, whereas the more normal staffing in the Colorado guard is 300. The total distribution of personnel at the brigade level is available on the CAB, 36th Inf Div state personnel contributions page. Company C, 1st Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment of the Florida National Guard, and Detachment 1, Company C, 1st Battalion, 111th of the Arkansas National Guard were commanded by LTC Michael J. Rung, and were attached the 2d Battalion, 135th Aviation for additional medevac support during the OIF 06–07 rotation.

2010–11 Afghanistan units

Company F, 2-135th (Louisiana and California) deployed to RC West and RC North in direct support of MEDEVAC missions for all coalition forces. While deployed and supporting MEDEVAC missions, CO F, 2-135th received the Valorous Unit Award (VUA) for "extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy."

2012–2013, OEF-KU

Soldiers of the 2d Battalion (General Support), 135th Aviation Regiment were deployed as part of two Combat Aviation Brigades in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While deployed, the 2-135th played a significant role in more than 3,000 flight missions, accounting for more than 9,800 hours of flight moving 9,658 passengers and more than 825,000 pounds of cargo. The unit also helped transport nearly 5,600 distinguished visitors. CAB medevac companies completed 234 medevac missions, four mass-casualty rehearsals and exercises, more than 25 medevac training iterations, and logged more than 765 hours. On three separate expeditionary partnership missions, Task-Force Blackjack forward deployed to three additional countries, all while sustaining flight operations in Kuwait.

Current structure

The current units of the regiment are: * 1st Battalion ** Company C -

AH-64 Apache The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin- turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night v ...

(MS ARNG) * 2d Battalion (General Support) ** HHC – "Headhunters" – Headquarters and Headquarters Company ( CO ARNG) ** Company A – "Smugglers" –

UH-60 Blackhawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...

SAR, Ft Bragg, NC** Company B – "Bootlegger" –

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, C ...

*** Detachment 1 (CO ARNG) *** Detachment ? ( NE ARNG) ** Company C – "Adrenaline" – UH-60 Blackhawk

MEDEVAC Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

** Company D – "Dagger" – Aviation Maintenance (CO ARNG) *** Detachment 6 at Topeka ( KS ARNG) ** Company E – "Marauder" – Ground Maintenance, Aviation/Ground Fueling, Food Services (CO ARNG) ** Company F – "Hooker" – CH-47F Chinook, USAR, Fort Lewis, WA (Heavy Lift) ** Company G – "Ventilator" – UH-60 Blackhawk

*** Detachment 2 *** Deployed to Afghanistan November 2013 – September 2014 (KS ARNG) ** Aviation Intermediate Maintenance (AVIM) – "Helmsmen" * 3rd Battalion ** Company B *** Detachment 1 -

C-12 Huron The Beechcraft C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, United States Army, United ...

( FL ARNG),

Northeast Florida Regional Airport Northeast Florida Regional Airport , is located approximately four miles (6 km) north of historic St. Augustine, in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. NFRA serves as a key connection point for air travel in the Northeast Florida regio ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

A brief history of the 2-135th

2-135th Deployment Ceremony newscast
– 19 March 2006

135 135 may refer to: * 135 (number) * AD 135 * 135 BC * 135 film, better known as 35 mm film, is a format of photographic film used for still photography *135 (New Jersey bus) 135 may refer to: * 135 (number) * AD 135 * 135 BC * 135 film, better know ...

135 02 Military units and formations established in 1987