17th Aviation Brigade (United States)
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The 17th Aviation Brigade was a
military formation Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation ...
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 ...
. It was originally activated at
Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hòa District, Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh Distri ...
, Vietnam, as the 17th Aviation Group (Combat) on 15 December 1965 under the
1st Aviation Brigade The 1st Aviation Brigade commands three distinctly different battalions—the 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment; the 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment; and the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, the former Unmanned Aircraft System ...
. Later it moved to Tuy Hoa in November 1970 and then to Pleiku in January 1972. The group had the mission of commanding and controlling all non-divisional assets in II Corps Tactical Zone, under I Field Force. The
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,
14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...
, 52d, 223rd and 268th Aviation Battalions as well as the 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry served with the group.


Units

The following companies and detachments were also under the 17th Aviation Group: *I Corps (Provisional), December 1965 – July 1966; expanded into the I Corps Aviation Battalion (Provisional) * 57th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter), April 1972 – March 1973; departed Vietnam * 58th Aviation Detachment, October 1968 – January 1972; departed Vietnam * 60th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter), January 1972 – March 1973; departed Vietnam * 129th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter), April 1972 – March 1973; departed Vietnam * 180th Aviation Company (Assault Support Helicopter), January 1972 – February 1972; transferred to the 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry; second tour: April 1972 – February 1973; departed Vietnam * 220th Aviation Company (Surveillance Light Aircraft), December 1965 – August 1966; transferred to I Corps Aviation Battalion (Provisional) * 361st Aviation Company (Aerial Weapons), April 1972 – August 1972; departed Vietnam *Troop H, 10th Cavalry (Air), April 1972 – February 1973; departed Vietnam. Utilized assets of Troop C, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry *Troop H, 17th Cavalry (Air), April 1972 – February 1973; departed Vietnam. Utilized assets of Troop B, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry * Troop K, 17th Cavalry (Air), October 1970 – December 1970; departed Vietnam. Utilized assets of Troop D, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry


119th Aviation Company

During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, one of the units that became part of the 52d Aviation Battalion (Combat), 17th Aviation Group (Combat) was the 119th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter). The company operated throughout the Central Highlands of
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
during the war, from arrival in September 1962 until inactivation in November 1970. Originally designated the 81st Transportation Company and equipped with twin-rotor Piasecki CH-21 "Flying Banana" piston-engined helicopters, the company arrived in Pleiku, Vietnam, on 17 September 1962. On 25 June 1963 its assets were used to form the 119th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter)(Airmobile), and it was re-equipped with turbine-powered single-rotor Bell UH-1A and UH1-B Hueys. The company's area of operations included the entire Central Highlands of Vietnam, plus large portions of
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
and
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
. Eventually assigned to the 52d Aviation Battalion (Combat), 17th Aviation Group (Combat), 1st Aviation Brigade and headquartered at
Camp Holloway Camp Holloway is a former U.S. Army base near Pleiku in central Vietnam. History Camp Holloway was established in 1962. It was located along Route 19 approximately 3km east of Pleiku in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The camp was named in 1 ...
in Pleiku, the 119th was also based at
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(
Camp Radcliff Camp Radcliff (also known as An Khê Army Airfield, An Khê Base or the Golf Course) is a former United States Army base in the An Khê District in central Vietnam. History 1965–67 Camp Radcliff was established in late August 1965 by the 70t ...
) for a short time later in the war. The helicopters were equipped with 16 to 20 lightly armed UH-1Ds (or UH-1H model "Slick" troopships that used the radio callsign called "Alligator" or "Gator"), and approximately 8 Huey UH-1C model gunships known as "Crocodiles" or "Crocs." The company at one time also used the callsign called "Black Dragon" from which the 52d's "Flying Dragon" callsign evolved. The total company strength of approximately 225 included 50 to 60 pilots and an equal number of crewmembers, plus field maintenance and other critical support personnel. During over eight years in Vietnam, the 119th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter) provided helicopter support for the US Army 4th Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division,
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,
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and the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...
. They also flew many classified missions for MACV-SOG. Over 60 members of the 119th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter) were killed in action, with many more wounded. As the war in Vietnam wound down, the 17th Aviation Group was inactivated in Oakland, California, on 16 March 1973.


Korea and Inactivation

The 17th was reactivated in Korea on 1 June 1975. In Korea the group continued its logistics and combat aviation role in support of the US Forces Korea (USFK), ROK-US Combined Forces Command (CFC), and
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(EUSA). Equipment assets included UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters,
CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems#Background, Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is a ...
heavy lift choppers, and
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fixed-wing aircraft. In Korea the 17th received air traffic control from the 164th Air Traffic Services Group, which provided ATC services throughout the entire Korean theater in support of all Army aviation operations. On 17 October 1987 the group was redesignated as the 17th Aviation Brigade. As a brigade, it was authorized its own shoulder sleeve insignia, which became authorized on 9 June 1988, And Was Designed by CSM Jerry O Knap

As part of the overall restructuring of Army forces, in June 2005 the brigade was inactivated, along with the 6th Cavalry Brigade (Air Combat), and most of the assets of both brigades were merged into the Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (United States), 2d Infantry Division in Korea, although some aircraft were reallocated to units in Alaska and Hawaii. At the time of the 17th's inactivation it had one of the last
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units in the entire US Army, the other being assigned to the
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
(
Air Assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...
) at Fort Campbell, KY. The last pathfinder commander was Captain Derek Martin and the last pathfinder Team Leader was SSG Donald Jordan.


References

{{Reflist


External links


The Institute of Heraldry: 17th Aviation Brigade
017 Military units and formations established in 1965 Military units and formations disestablished in 2005