166th Aviation Brigade ( United States ) The 166th Aviation Brigade is an aviation training brigade of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Hood , Texas . It is a subordinate unit of First Army - Division West . An " AC / RC " ( Active Component / Reserve Component ) formation , the 166th Aviation Brigade is the sole organization responsible for the post - mobilization training of United States Army Reserve & National Guard aviation units . The unit was formerly designated as 3rd Brigade , 75th Division . Activated near the end of the Cold War , the 166th Aviation Brigade was created specifically to serve as a training unit for aviation assets of other units . As such , it has never seen combat , and has thus never earned any campaign streamers or unit awards . As the only brigade in the First Army responsible for training aviation units , the 166th Aviation Brigade is the principal unit for training Army Reserve and Army National Guard assets preparing to deploy to contingencies around the world , which means it is responsible for 47 percent of all Army Aviation assets . The 166th Aviation Brigade partners with its First Army - Division West sister brigade , the 479th Field Artillery Brigade for its combat aviation brigade ( CAB ) mobilizations , but maintains validation authority , or final approval over a CAB ' s successful completion of mobilization training . Organization . The 166th Aviation Brigade consists of eight battalions from five regiments . Its Headquarters and Headquarters Company is located at Fort Hood , its Reserve Component battalions are located at Fort Des Moines , Iowa , Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , Fort Riley , Kansas and Jefferson Barracks , Missouri , and its Active Component battalions are located at Fort Riley , Kansas , Fort Stewart , Georgia , Fort Knox , Kentucky and Fort Hood , Texas . The 1st Battalion , 291st Aviation Regiment is the brigade ' s primary assault helicopter training unit , specializing in fast - attack helicopters such as the AH - 64 Apache . The 2nd Battalion , 291st Aviation Regiment is the brigade ' s primary utility , lift , and air ambulance helicopter training unit , specializing in utility helicopters such as the UH - 60 Black Hawk and the CH - 47 Chinook . The 1st Battalion , 337th Regiment ( Training Support ) specializes in mobilization and de - mobilization for aviation units . The remaining battalions , including the 1st Battalion , 351st Regiment ( Training Support ) , 3rd Battalion , 382nd Regiment ( Logistics Support ) , and the 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Battalions of the 383rd Regiment ( Combat Support / Combat Sustainment Support ) specialize in areas of general instruction about other aspects of mobilization , conducting exercises , and logistics management . While its Reserve Component battalions have somewhat maintained their former mission of training National Guard and Army Reserve units in Iowa , Kansas , Nebraska , and Missouri as they did before the brigade reflagged , they have shifted toward supporting the brigade ' s primary mission - the mobilization of Combat Aviation Brigade s ( CABs ) by either assisting with ground training , or training and evaluating the CABs ' aviation support battalions . History . The 166th Aviation Brigade was first constituted 16 September 1988 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters , 166th Aviation Group . It took two years for the formation to be organized and the unit was finally activated on 16 September 1990 in Germany . It received a distinctive unit insignia on 3 April 1991 . The formation was inactivated on 15 June 1997 in Germany . Over the next four months , the unit ' s inactive components were reorganized and redesignated as a brigade sized unit , allowing it to take on a larger support staff that could command more soldiers . This transformation occurred as the brigade was reassigned to the continental United States . It was activated on 24 October 1997 as the 166th Aviation Brigade at Fort Riley , Kansas . It was also activated into the Active duty force . The brigade began to undertake training support duties for units in the process of mobilization and de - mobilization . It was also tasked to provide support for local authorities in the event of peacetime crises and natural disasters . Soldiers of the brigade also participated in assistance with community projects around the Fort Riley community , including repairing and refurbishing run down properties for shelter house projects as well as disabled veterans . After two years of duty , the brigade was inactivated on 16 October 1999 at Fort Riley , Kansas . As part of the Army ' s Transformation Plan , the 3rd Brigade , 75th Division was redesignated as the 166th Aviation Brigade , under the command of Division West of the First Army . Its mission would be to train and mobilize aviation units of the Army ' s reserve and national guard components . It was to be the only brigade under the First Army that specialized in training for Army aviation units . It was activated 1 December 2006 as a reserve unit at Fort Riley . The brigade became a partner organization of the 1st Infantry Division , which was stationed at Fort Riley and could provide better support than the headquarters of First Army Division West , which was headquartered at Fort Carson , Colorado and maintained units all over the western United States . The brigade received a shoulder sleeve insignia on 13 June 2007 , but it has not been authorized for wear due to First Army policy requiring its units to wear its SSI . In the summer of 2008 , the brigade ' s combat service / combat sustainment support battalions took part in equipment testing and training in Rapid City , South Dakota . It tested the Multifunction Agile Remote Control Robot IV , a route clearance robot , with the assistance of the South Dakota National Guard . The bulk of the brigade spent the summer at Fort Sill , Oklahoma to train aviation assets for deploying units . In June 2008 , the brigade trained the aviation assets of the 34th Infantry Division in air combat , air assault , and other tactics related to aviation . For this mission , the brigade was assisted by the 479th Field Artillery Brigade , which handled ground exercises . As part of a new training routine , the brigade trained the 34th Infantry Division ' s aviation units at Fort Rucker , spending a longer time training the unit because it continued to train the brigade as it mobilized and prepared to deploy . Other units trained with the Division , but none through the entire mobilization process . This process used new and never - before - used facilities to streamline training exercises . Purportedly , it gave the 166th Aviation Brigade much additional time for training , as the streamlining process made some programs more efficient , cutting time needed to prepare for them in half . After extensive evaluation , the 166th Aviation Brigade completed training for the Combat Aviation Brigade ( CAB ) , 34th Infantry Division on 4 August 2008 . The brigade returned to Fort Riley for a month before beginning the process over again with pre - mobilization training of the CAB , 28th Infantry Division , and returned to Fort Sill for post - mobilization training in late January 2008 . As part of a First Army realignment of training support brigades , the Department of the Army approved a change of station for First Army - Division West and two of its training support brigades . The 166th Aviation Brigade moved to Fort Hood , Texas on 15 July 2009 . The brigade ' s Active Component battalions , all of which are aviation units , will move at a later date , most likely in summer 2010 ( with the exception of 1st Battalion , 291st Regiment , which is already located at the installation ) . Honors . As the brigade has been in a training and supporting role for the Army since its creation , the 166th Aviation Brigade has never been awarded a campaign streamer for campaign participation . It has also never been awarded a unit decoration .