2d Battalion , 135th Aviation Regiment ( United States ) The 2nd Battalion 135th Aviation Regiment is an Army helicopter battalion which deployed to Iraq in September 2006 through August 2007 as part of Task Force Mustang , Operation Iraqi Freedom . The battalion flies the UH - 60 Black Hawk , CH - 47 Chinook and the OH - 58 Kiowa . They are based out of Buckley AFB , Colorado , as part of the Colorado Army National Guard Aviation Command . Current units . The current units of the 2 – 135th are : History . Pre - GWOT . The 2 / 135th first became a part of the Colorado Army National Guard in the mid - 1970s . The original unit , a single company , was made a part of the 40th Infantry Division ' s aviation brigade , predominantly located in California . Global War on Terror . The 2 / 135th deployed on 19 March 2006 for five months of Theatre Immersion training at Fort Hood , Texas and Fort Sill , Oklahoma . They were certified " Fit to Fight " by Lt . Gen . Russel L . Honoré , commanding general , First U . S . Army , on 30 July 2006 . The unit shipped to Kuwait in August 2006 , completed a couple of weeks of " boots on the ground " training at Camp Buehring , and entered Iraq in the first half of September as one of five battalions of Task Force Mustang in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The battalion principally flies out of Balad Air Base ( aka Camp Anaconda ) and is flying missions all over Iraq . The total deployment for the 2 / 135th was expected to last approximately 18 months . The battalion became fully engaged in the OIF mission on 17 Sep 2006 , crosstraining with the previous unit , and had an official transfer of responsibility from the 7 – 101st on 24 Sep 2006 . Soldiers wear the shoulder sleeve patch of the U . S . 36th Infantry Division while in Iraq . The Iraq formation of the 2 / 135th ( as a unit of Task Force Mustang ) consisted of approximately 550 soldiers and was approximately 60 % made up of Colorado Army National Guard personnel . It also included Army aviation guard personnel from three additional primary states , Minnesota , Nebraska , Utah with smaller contingents from Arkansas , Wyoming , Missouri and Florida . The Iraq mission involved operations over a large expanse of the country of Iraq . The unit distinguished itself as one of the premier air assault units in the US Army , conducting 111 major , multinight air assault operations — inserting over 15 , 500 troops into enemy landing zones across the Iraq theater in the span of only a year . " The Blackjacks " earned the Army Aviation Association of America ' s top national guard aviation unit in 2007 for this . 2006 – 2007 Iraq units . Company A of the 2 / 135th from the Colorado ARNG was deployed to Iraq for one year , from the fall of 2005 to October 2006 . This company is the normally organic Company A located with the battalion in Colorado . This company was selected to deploy with the 7th Battalion , 101st Aviation Regiment as the first Guard aviation unit to deploy from Colorado . They also informally served as a year - long advanced party for the battalion until they took over the mission of 7 / 101st in September 2006 . 2005 – 2006 Iraq units . A Company 2 / 135th during the Iraq deployment is ( attached ) Company A of the 2 / 211th from the Utah ARNG ( home base West Jordan , Utah ) serving , in Iraq as part of the beefed up 2 / 135th . They replaced Colorado ' s Company A after cross - training and handoff in September 2006 . B , C , D , E and HHC Companies of the 2 / 135th of the Colorado Army National Guard are all currently deployed to Iraq . B Company 2 / 135th ( Colorado ) is augmented by Company B of the 2 / 211th GSAB , Minnesota ARNG from Holman Field , St Paul , Minnesota . C Company 2 / 135th ( Nebraska ) is augmented by a detail from the Colorado ARNG . All six companies were augmented for the Iraq deployment by additional ARNG personnel from other states as well as a few Individual Ready Reserve soldiers from across the United States . The battalion has approximately 550 personnel in Iraq fully augmented , whereas the more normal staffing in the Colorado guard is 300 . The total distribution of personnel at the brigade level is available on the 36th CAB state personnel contributions page . Company C , 1st Battalion , 111th of the Florida National Guard , and Detachment 1 Company C , 1st Battalion , 111th of the Arkansas National Guard are commanded by LTC Michael J . Rung , and were attached the 2nd Battalion , 135th Aviation for additional medevac support during the current OIF 06 - 07 rotation . 2010 - 2011 Afghanistan units . F CO 2 / 135th ( California and Louisana ) deoployed to RC west in direct support of MEDEVAC missions for all coalition forces . While depolyed and supporting MEDEVAC missions , F CO 2 / 135 AVN GSAB received the Valorous Unit Award ( VUA ) for " extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy " .