160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment ( Airborne ) The United States Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment ( Airborne ) , also known as Night Stalkers , is a special operations force of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for general purpose forces and special operations forces . Its missions have included attack , assault , and reconnaissance , and are usually conducted at night , at high speeds , low altitudes , and on short notice . The 160th SOAR is headquartered at Fort Campbell , Kentucky . Overview . The regiment consists of four " operations " battalion s : the 1st and 2nd at Fort Campbell , the 3rd at Hunter Army Airfield , Georgia , and the 4th at Joint Base Lewis - McChord , Washington . The 160th SOAR ( A ) consists of the Army ' s best - qualified aviators and support soldiers . Officers volunteer while enlisted soldiers volunteer or are assigned by the U . S . Army Human Resources Command . All soldiers receive intensive training upon joining the 160th and are required to pass the Green Platoon course . The basic Night Stalker course for enlisted soldiers lasts five weeks ; the officer course lasts 20 to 28 weeks . A new Night Stalker arrives to his unit Basic Mission Qualified ( BMQ ) , after a series of test qualifications , experience and leadership , the Night Stalker is designated Fully Mission Qualified ( FMQ ) . After three to five years as an FMQ , the Night Stalker will have the chance to assess for flight lead qualification . The 160th previously only recruited women for staff positions , but as of June 2013 has opened combat positions to females as well . Equipment . The 160th SOAR fly MH - 47G Chinooks , A / MH - 6M Little Birds , MH - 60K Black Hawks and MH - 60L Black Hawks . History . After the 1980 Operation Eagle Claw attempt to rescue American hostages held in Tehran , Iran , President Jimmy Carter ordered former Chief of Naval Operations Adm . James L . Holloway III to figure out how the U . S . military could best mount another attempt . At the time there were no U . S . helicopter units trained in this kind of stealthy , short - notice Special Operations mission . The Army looked to the 101st Aviation Group , the air arm of the 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) , which had the most diverse operating experience of the service ' s helicopter units , and selected elements of the 158th Aviation Battalion , 229th Aviation Battalion , and the 159th Aviation Battalion . The chosen pilots immediately entered intensive training in night flying . This provisional unit was at first dubbed Task Force 158 since the majority of the pilots were Blackhawk aviators detached from the 158th . Their distinctive 101st " Screaming Eagle " patches remained on their uniforms . The Blackhawks and Chinooks continued to operate around Campbell Army Airfield at the north of post , and Saber Army Heliport at the south . The OH - 6 Cayuse , an aircraft that vanished from the Division ' s regular inventory after Vietnam , were hidden out by the ammunition holding area at spot still known as the " SHOC Pad " , for " Special Helicopter Operations Company " . As the first batch of pilots completed training in the fall of 1980 , a second attempt to rescue the hostages was planned for early 1981 . Dubbed Operation Honey Badger , it was called off when the hostages were released on the morning of President Ronald Reagan ' s inauguration . The capability gained was judged too important to future contingencies to lose . The new unit was quickly recognized as the Army ' s premier night fighting aviation force , and its only Special Operations Aviation force . The pilots and modified aircraft would not be returned to the 101st . Original members of the Night Stalkers refer to it as " the day the Eagles came off " . The 101st ' s patches came off , the personnel and equipment would be reassigned , and a new tradition was born . The unit was officially established on 16 October 1981 , when it was designated as the 160th Aviation Battalion . The 160th first saw combat during 1983 ' s Operation Urgent Fury , the U . S . invasion of Grenada . In 1986 , it was re - designated as the 160th Aviation Group ( Airborne ) ; and in May 1990 , the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment ( Airborne ) . As demand for highly trained Special Operations Aviation assets bloomed , the regiment activated three battalions , a separate detachment , and incorporated one Army National Guard unit , the 1st Battalion , 245th Aviation ( OK ARNG ) . In 1987 and 1988 , its pilots took part in Operation Earnest Will , the protection of re - flagged Kuwaiti tankers in the Persian Gulf during the Iran – Iraq War . They flew from US Navy warships and leased oil barges in a secret sub - part called Operation Prime Chance , and became the first helicopter pilots to use night vision goggles and forward looking infrared devices in night combat . In June 1988 , the unit executed Operation Mount Hope III . Two MH - 47 crews flew deep into Chad to retrieve a crashed Mi - 24 Hind medium - attack helicopter . The Night Stalkers spearheaded Operation Just Cause , the 1989 invasion of Panama , and they were also used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 . In October 1993 in Somalia , Night Stalkers became involved in the Battle of Mogadishu , which later became the subject of the book " Black Hawk Down " , and its film adaptation . Two Night Stalker Black Hawks , Super 6 - 1 ( piloted by Cliff Wolcott ) , and Super 6 - 4 ( piloted by Mike Durant ) , were shot down in the battle . Five of the eighteen men killed ( not counting a nineteenth post - operation casualty ) in the Battle of Mogadishu were members of the SOAR ( A ) Night Stalkers team , who were lost along with the two Black Hawks . Afghanistan 2001 : On 19 October an MH - 47E carrying ODA 595 landed at Dehi . They flew over 150 miles from Karshi - Khanabad ( K2 ) in Uzbekistan . A few weeks later ODA 595 and ODA 555 along with the Northern Alliance retook the city of Mazari Sharif from the Taliban . In December the same year Night Stalker crews were essential in resupplying over 150 Delta Force , British SBS and CIA SAD operatives during their hunt for Osama bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountain complex . Philippines , 2002 : Chinook helicopter lost - 10 killed while supporting the Philippine Army special operations Soldiers trying to rescue American missionary Gracia Burnham , of Wichita , Kansas , held captive approximately two years . Her husband Martin was killed during the subsequent rescue . Later in 2002 , TF160th Soldiers supported a Philippine Army ambush at sea killing Abu Sayya , the terrorist organization founder and leader . Afghanistan , 2005 : Eight Night Stalkers were lost along with eight Navy SEALs on a rescue mission for Marcus Luttrell , after their MH - 47 Chinook helicopter was hit by an RPG ( rocket propelled grenade ) . They were sent out to look for Luttrell after Operation Red Wings , in which he was involved with three other SEALs , was compromised and Luttrell ' s teammates killed . The Night Stalkers lost on the search and rescue mission included : The 160th provided aviation support during numerous special operations raids during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 . One of them was the rescue mission of PFC . Jessica Lynch taken prisoner in 2003 , the raid in Al Qadisiyah , as well as the rescue of three Italian contractors and one Polish businessman held for ransom by Iraqi insurgents in 2004 . Night Stalker helicopters were present during the 2008 SOCOM counter - terror exercises in Denver . On 24 April 2008 , Company D , 160th SOAR was inactivated at a ceremony conducted at Hunter Army Airfield , GA , as part of an overall regimental transformation plan . The 160th SOAR also took part in the 2008 Abu Kamal raid . On 19 August 2009 , four Night Stalkers from D Company , 1st Battalion , 160th SOAR lost their lives in a MH - 60 Black Hawk helicopter crash in Leadville , Colorado , during a mountain and environmental training . On 22 October 2009 , a 3rd Battalion helicopter crashed into the USNS " Arctic " during a joint training exercise involving fast roping about 20 miles off Fort Story , Virginia . The crash killed a soldier , Sergeant First Class James R . Stright , 29 , and injured eight others , three seriously . The Night Stalkers provided insert and cover for the raid on Osama bin Laden ' s compound in May 2011 . Organization . Commander : COL John R . Evans Command Sergeant Major : CSM Gregory Chambers Regimental Warrant Officer : CW5 Ivan S . Murdock