The 159th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) formerly supported the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. While active, 159th CAB made the 101st Airborne Division the only US Army Division with two organic aviation brigades, and currently the 101st CAB is the only CAB supporting the unit at Fort Campbell. The 159th CAB was inactivated on 15 May 2015.

The lineage of the 159th Aviation Brigade is separate from that of the Vietnam-era 159th Aviation Battalion and the later 159th Aviation Regiment. Thunder History. (n.d.). Retrieved 17 November 2014, from http://www.campbell.army.mil/units/101st/159th/Pages/history.aspx

Composition

Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 159th CAB ("Dragonlords") 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment ("Pale Horse") 3rd Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment ("Eagle Attack") 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment ("Wings of the Eagle") 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment ("Eagle Lift") 563rd Aviation Support Battalion ("Keep Them Fighting")

Formation and initial deployments

The Vietnam-era 159th Aviation The 159th Aviation Battalion (Assault Helicopter) was a Vietnam War-era heavy lift helicopter unit formed on 1 July 1968 from the assets of the 308th Aviation Battalion (Combat). The spiritual ancestor (separate lineage) to the 159th CAB was organized as the medium and heavy lift Assault Helicopter Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division, and composed of three Boeing CH-47 Chinook companies (Pachyderms - A Company; Varsity - B Company; Playtex - C Co) and 1 Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe company (Hurricanes).Liftmaster. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 December 2014, from http://www.geronimos.org/Liftmaster/Liftmasterx.htm In the modern formation, only "Varsity" Company remained as Company B, 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 159th CAB.

From January 1969 through February 1972, the battalion provided lift support to the 101st Airborne. The unit conducted airmobile artillery raids, troop movements, flare drops, fire-base insertions and extractions, IFR airdrops, and flight support and aircraft recovery missions. The 159th Aviation Battalion received the Valorous Unit Award for services in the Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1970 through May 1971. In February 1972, the 159th Aviation Battalion returned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky as the only CH-47 Chinook battalion in the United States Army.

In November 1987, the 159th Aviation Battalion headquarters was inactivated at Fort Campbell and the 159th Aviation Regiment was activated under the new U.S. Army regimental system at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Later, the unit would be redesignated as 4th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment and was activated at Kitzingen, Germany, and then relocated to Giebelstadt, Germany.Thunder History. (n.d.). Retrieved 18 November 2014, from http://www.campbell.army.mil/units/101st/159th/Pages/history.aspx From this point on, the 159th Aviation Regiment would have no further affiliation with either Fort Campbell, the 101st Airborne, or the 159th Aviation Brigade - the 159th Aviation Regiment continues to exist as a separate unit affiliated with 12th Aviation Brigade.

101st Aviation Regiment

Meanwhile, the same 1987 reorganization that removed the 159th Aviation Battalion lineage left nine active aviation battalions which had existed beneath it at Fort Campbell. As such, these units were assigned lineage to the 101st Aviation Regiment, and initially reformed under the headquarters of the 101st Aviation Brigade.

As originally formed, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks were in the 4th, 5th and 9th Battalions, 101st Aviation; Bell UH-1 Iroquois were in the 6th Battalion, 101st Aviation; CH-47D Chinooks were in the 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation;Wright, Jr., R., Boggs, R., & Lippard, C. (5 June 1991). Air Assault in the Gulf: An interview with MG J. H. Binford Peay, III Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). and Boeing AH-64 Apache were in 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalion, 101st Aviation.1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment. (n.d.). Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/1-101avn.htm2nd Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment. (n.d.). Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/2-101avn.htm3rd Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment. (n.d.). Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/3-101avn.htm Aviation support was provided by 8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment.8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment. (n.d.). Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/8-101avn.htm

Serious flaws with this arrangement would become apparent during the First Gulf War, as the resulting nine Battalion unit was the size of some regiments yet lacked an adequately sized staff element, headquarters, or officer rank to control such a large unit over a wide area. As a result, the 101st Airborne headquarters considered breaking the 101st Aviation Brigade in half and establishing a second headquarters.

The 159th Aviation Brigade On 9 October 1997, the largest aviation brigade in the Army split nine battalions into two brigades, the 101st Aviation Brigade (Attack) and the 159th Aviation Brigade (Assault). Between 1997 and 2001, the Brigade deployed units to Bosnia, Kosovo, Trinidad and Tobago, and Central America.

Post 9/11

2002 Afghanistan deployment

Following 9/11, elements of the 4-101st (Blackhawk), and 7-101st (Chinook)Billingsley, D. (2002). Chopper in the Coils: Operation Anaconda was a back to basics campaign for US combat helicopters. The Journal of Electronic Defense (JED). Retrieved from http://www.combatfilms.com/articles.asp Aviation Battalions, 159th Aviation Brigade deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Deploying 29 January 2002 for OEF, 159th elements prepared and strategically deployed 5 UH-60L Blackhawk aircraft and 6.5 aircrews to Kandahar, Afghanistan. 159th Brigade also deployed 8 UH-60L Blackhawk and 13 CH-47 Chinook aircraft to Bagram.Kugler, R. (2007). Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan: A Case Study of Adaptation in Battle. Case Studies in Defense Transformation, 5.

The unit deployed another 5 UH-60L aircraft to Bagram Air Force Base, Afghanistan on 3 May 2002. In September 2002, two elements of A Company, 4-101st Aviation Regiment redeployed from Afghanistan where they supported OEF in the fight against the Taliban.

Operation Anaconda

Chinook and Blackhawk aircraft from 159th Aviation Brigade provided direct lift support for Operation Anaconda. U.S. Army intelligence had located a large number of Taliban and al Qaeda personnel operating in the Shah-e-Kot Valley, near the Pakistani border. Within the valley were the three villages of Sherkhankhel, Babukhel, and Marzak. Operation Anaconda would block Taliban and al Qaeda forces inside the valley where they could be destroyed before escaping into Pakistan.Billingsley, D. (2002). Chopper in the Coils: Operation Anaconda was a back to basics campaign for US combat helicopters. The Journal of Electronic Defense (JED).

159th Aviators began pre-flight checks for departure at 4:30 am, 2 March 2002. The air mission consisted of eight 7-101 CH-47 aircraft divided into two flights of four, carrying infantry from the 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions. As resupply was not guaranteed at the time, the onboard infantry were heavily laden with ample food, water, cold-weather clothing, night-vision and communications equipment in addition to weapons and ammunition. Some individuals carried a hundred pounds or more.

The air assault into Shah-e-Kot would be supported by five Apaches from the sister 101st Aviation Brigade. The date for the attack had initially been planned for 25 February, but bad weather forced a delay until 2 March. The helicopters would land just after the start of morning nautical twilight, as mission planners weighed the options of attacking under the cover of darkness or during daylight hours. It was finally decided to insert at sunrise to catch the enemy asleep yet provide optimal vision for the forces entering the valley.

The Apaches entered the valley first to provide overwatch of the helicopter landing zones. The attack aircraft radioed back the call of "ice", a military term for an uncontested landing. Though the aircraft were able to disembark infantry without incident, the ground force began taking small arms fire immediately after their departure. After this initial period, the infantry and supporting Chinooks would require repeated air to ground fire support from the accompanying Apaches and USAF assets. The Taliban began to target the aircraft, and on the first day of the operation, five out of seven AH-64s were put out of action by ground fire.

After the initial engagements on his forces, Colonel Frank Wiercinski (ground forces commander), decided to move his mobile command team off of the airborne command post and directly control fighting from the ground. The 159th Blackhawks would insert this element as wave two of the operation, and proceeded directly to the pre-designated HLZ. As there was only room for one Blackhawk at this landing site, the aircraft would take turns making use of the location to land, disembark the passengers, and quickly take off again. On ingress to this HLZ, the lead helicopter began to take small arms fire. Just before touch down, a RPG exploded below the lead Black Hawk and sent shrapnel into the airframe directly under the pilot's seat. The pilot continued the approach and safely deposited half the Brigade TAC before departing. The second aircraft immediately followed with the rest of the TAC.

Resupply and reinforcement efforts were further complicated by the then-standard use of VHF and FM radios for air-to-air and air-to-ground communication. Both types of radios are limited by line of sight, and as aircraft were divided by mountain ridges communication was at times interrupted.

A third lift of reinforcement and medical evacuation aircraft were sent to the area just before darkness on day one. During this third insertion, overhead Apache crews observed several RPG near-misses on the first aircraft, falling short, and another fired between the following two. White trails of smoke showed the path the RPGs had taken. An RPG strike to the tail rotor of one of the few remaining Apaches rendered further attack air support no longer effective. Reinforcements hovering outside the objective area could no longer be safely inserted due to intense ground fire, and supply drops for friendly positions were likely to be shot down. Given the unarmored nature of the CH-47s and UH-60s, the ground force commander ordered the supporting aircraft to return to Bagram Air Base.

During most of day two, infantry on the ground faced repeated close-range attack by enemy small arms, RPG, and mortar fire. Though only two Apaches remained serviceable to provide support, 24-hours of air force bombing began to have an effect and Taliban attacks slowly diminished. Just after sunset, Task Force Summit and the ground forces Brigade command post was extracted via CH-47.

159th Aircraft would continue to support the operation until it ended on 18 March 2002.

Images of 159th Aviation During the Battle.

2003 Iraq deployment