185th Aviation Brigade ( United States ) The 185th Aviation Brigade ( Theater ) is an aviation brigade of the United States Army . It is a unit of the Mississippi Army National Guard with units throughout the state of Mississippi . History . US Army Aviation units were first organized in Mississippi in 1948 to support artillery units in the northern part of the state and Hattiesburg . These aviation units were located at Grenada Airport 100 miles north of Jackson , Mississippi , the state capitol . In January 1951 , all army aviation units in Mississippi were ordered to active duty and sent to Fort Jackson , South Carolina . Six of the original ten aviators saw combat duty in the Korean War . The Grenada facility was closed during this time leaving no active army aviation programs in Mississippi . In early 1953 , the Mississippi Aviation program was reorganized at Hawkins Field in Jackson . Mississippi received its first helicopters , two Bell OH - 13 s , in 1954 . By 1958 , the program had expanded to include a total of 40 aviators . The Mississippi Army Aviation program began operations as separate companies in 1959 and continued until 1968 . During this time full - time maintenance support facilities were opened in Tupelo and Meridian . The state ’ s first battalion sized aviation unit , the 131st Aviation Battalion , was formed on 15 February 1968 . The 131st was in service until 1986 when it was restructured to become an aviation group . In 1987 , the 131st Aviation Group was redesignated as the 185th Aviation Group . In 1992 , Company E , 185th Aviation in Meridian was redesignated Company G . This resulted in the company ’ s CH - 54 Sky Crane s being replaced by twin - rotor CH - 47 Chinook medium lift helicopters . In 1994 the mission of Company C , 1 – 185th Aviation in Tupelo was changed to armed aerial assault using the OH - 58D / I Kiowa Warrior . Company C was then redesignated Company H , 185th Aviation . During 1996 Companies C and D , 1 – 185th Aviation in Jackson replaced their aging UH - 1H s with the UH - 60 Blackhawk . On 1 October 1999 , Company H was reformed as Company D , 1 – 159th Aviation based at Fort Bragg , North Carolina . They are one of the first reserve component units in the nation to be part of an active component aviation battalion . The company is still located in Tupelo , Mississippi . Aviation assets under the 185th that are presently located in Mississippi are the 1 – 185th Aviation Battalion ( flying the UH - 60 Blackhawk ) at Tupelo and Jackson ; Company B , 1 – 111th Aviation ( flying the CH - 47 Chinook ) at Meridian ; Company C , 1 – 114th Aviation ( RAID ) at Jackson ; Troops D , E , and F , 1 – 104th Cavalry ( AH - 64 Apache ) in Tupelo , Mississippi ; and 2 / 185th Aviation Regiment ( ATS ) at Southaven , Mississippi . Headquarters , 185th Aviation Brigade was deployed to Iraq and stationed at Balad , Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom - II from January 2004 to December 2004 . The 185th Served as the Aviation Brigade for the entire theatre and controlled all Aviation assets in the country of Iraq during their deployment . The 185th Group returned on 24 December 2004 . In September 2006 the 185th Aviation Group was redesignated to the 185th Aviation Brigade ( Theater ) .