The 501st Aviation Regiment is an aviation regiment of the

US 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 ...

. It draws its history from the original aviation battalion of the 1st Armored Division, the 501st Aviation Battalion. The 501st Aviation Battalion was active with the division in the mid-1980s. It has always been associated with the 1st Armored Division. The 501st Combat Aviation Battalion was activated 21 August 1978 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

; inactivated 16 November 1987 in Germany. Relieved from the 1st Armored Division, reorganized and re-designated 16 October 1988 as the 501st Aviation, a parent regiment 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 ...

with headquarters in

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. The regiment has undergone numerous changes and has served in numerous conflicts including Joint Endeavor (Bosnia/Herzegovina),

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 ...

(OIF III),

Operation Spartan Shield Operation Spartan Shield (OSS) is a United States Army Central operation in the Middle East. OSS is commanded by United States Army Central and includes units from all service branches. Task Force Spartan is the U.S. Army component of OSS. The ...

(

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 ...

Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military's operational name for the International military intervention against IS, including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely-related campaign in Libya. Throu ...

(

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

) and Operations

Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

and Freedoms Sentinel (2013 and 2019 respectively) in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. In addition to combat actions, the regiment has taken part in relief efforts in several operations including

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

(

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...

), San Antonio (

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...

), and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

(

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5, Category 5 Tropical cyclone, hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the wo ...

) The regiment remains currently assigned to the 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade, located at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

(Texas), where it moved to when the brigade was inactivated in Germany in 2006 and reactivated in 2011.

Structure

The current battalions of the 501st Aviation regiment are as follows: * 1st Battalion (Attack Reconnaissance) "Iron Dragons" **Afghanistan (February 2019 - October 2019) ** Headquarters and Headquarters Company ** Company A "Assassins" (AH-64D) ** Company B "Death Dealers" (AH-64D) ** Company C "Steel Hunters" (AH-64D) *** Iraq 2003 - 2004 ** Company D "Dark Knights" (Maintenance) ** Company E "Renegades" (Forward Support Company) * 2nd Battalion (General Support) "Desert Knights" **Afghanistan (February 2019 - October 2019) ** Headquarters and Headquarters Company "Crusaders" ** Company A "Black Cats" (UH-60M) ** Company B "Black Knights" (CH-47F) ** Company C "Lonestar Dustoff" (HH-60 MEDEVAC) ** Company D "Dragonslayers" (Maintenance) ** Company E "Templars" (Forward Support Company) ** Company F "Knight Watchers" (Air Traffic Control) * 3rd Battalion (Assault)"... en we have to mass combat power in a decisive-action training environment … We have to mass the whole of our combat power to a landing zone to support ground force commanders,” Arriaga said. " �
3-501ST conducts air assault Battalion-sized formation takes flight on training mission, ''Fort Bliss Bugle'' (5 July 2017)
accessdate=2017-07-07 "Apocalypse" (Previously 6-6th Cavalry) **Afghanistan (February 2019 - October 2019) ** Headquarters and Headquarters Company "Hellhounds" ** Company A "Archangels" (UH-60M) ** Company B "Beast Assault" (UH-60M) ** Company C "Chaos" (UH-60M) ** Company D "Demons" (Maintenance) **Company E "Enforcers" (Forward Support Company) * Company E, 501 Aviation Regiment "Executioners" (MQ-1C) Gray Eagle UAS Company * 4th Battalion Reflagged as 1st battalion after 1st Bn reflagged as 3/6 Cav "Heavy Cav" in 2015.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*{{cite book , last1=Bernstein , first1=J, title=AH-64 Apache Units Of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom , year=2005 , publisher= Osprey Publishing Ltd, location= UK , isbn=1-84176-848-0

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1978 establishments in West Germany