Combat Aviation Brigade, 28th Infantry Division
The Combat Aviation Brigade, 28th Infantry Division is a heavy aviation unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) is one of five brigades of the 28th Infantry Division. It provides aviation assets for both federal and state active duty missions. The aviators of the CAB fly the AH-64D Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk, UH-72 Lakota and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The CAB headquarters is at Muir Army Airfield, Fort Indiantown Gap, located north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The command team is as follows:
- Commander: Colonel Dennis Sorensen
- CSM: Command Sergeant Major Dell Christine
Creation
The Aviation Brigade traces its heritage to 1 June 1959 with the activation of the 28th Aviation Company at the Capital City Airport, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. The unit was reorganized as the 28th Aviation Battalion on 1 April 1963 and later relocated to 18th and Herr Streets (1976) and 21st and Herr Streets (1980) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
On 1 October 1986, the Aviation Brigade was organized under the Army of Excellence (AOE) design.[1] Station relocation to the World War II barracks in area 2, Fort Indiantown Gap, occurred on 1 May 1992 for HQ & HC Avn Bde, and Det 1 HHT, Troops C & D (Air) 1 Bn 104th Cavalry, ending 33 years of service in the Harrisburg area.
As of mid-1999, the brigade operated 86 UH-1 Huey and AH-1 Cobra helicopters, as well as a supporting element of 27 M-1 tanks and other ground combat equipment. Although training in the brigade is focused on possible employment in time of war, its soldiers are frequently called on to rescue endangered citizens and perform other emergency missions across the state.
The brigade is composed of the following units:
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company
1st Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment (Attack) (PA NG)
1st Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment (Attack)
1st Battalion, 150th Aviation Regiment (Assault) (NJ NG)- 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment (General Support)
- 25px 628th Support Battalion (Aviation)
Iraq deployment
Soldiers of the CAB, 28th Infantry Division began mobilization on 29 January 2009 for Operation Iraqi Freedom 09-11. Over 2,000 soldiers from multiple states completed validation training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma before moving to Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Throughout the opening days of May 2009, soldiers flew into multiple forward operating bases across Iraq and Iran with the majority of the brigade based out of Tallil, Al Kut, and Basrah.[2]
Brigade composition for OIF
- HQ CAB
- 2nd Battalion (General Support), 104th Aviation Regiment
- Company A (Assault), 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment
- Company B (Heavy Lift), 2d Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment
- Company C (Attack), 3d Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment***
- Company C (Medical Evacuation), 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment
- Company D (Maintenance), 2d Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment
- Company E (Supply), 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment
- 25px 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment (Montana Army National Guard)
- 1st Battalion (Assault Helicopter), 150th Aviation Regiment
- 1st Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment
- 25px 628th Support Battalion (Aviation)
(*** Co C, 3d Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment is a Regular Army unit that was OPCON to the 2d Battalion (General Support), 104th Aviation Regiment during OIF 08-10. They are currently task organized as a part of 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, stationed in Germany.)
References
- ↑ Brigade Facebook.com page, accessed January 2014.
- ↑ Pennsylvania National Guard's 28th Combat Aviation Brigade Assumes Authority of Multi-National Division – South Aviation Operations
