11th Theater Aviation Command The 11th Aviation Command ( Theater ) is a United States Army aviation formation consisting of a headquarters company , one aviation brigade , three separate aviation battalions , and an aviation operations battalion , as follows : If federalized , the 77th Aviation Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard may also be placed under the command and control of the 11th Theater Aviation Command . The 11th Aviation Command was activated on 16 September 2007 and incorporated the prior lineage and shoulder sleeve insignia of the 11th Aviation Group , which was last headquartered in Illesheim , Germany . World War II legacy era ( 1941 – 1961 ) . The 11th Aviation Command incorporates the history of the 11th Aviation Group which can be traced to the 11th Airborne Division , which served in the Pacific Theater during World War II and in the Army of Occupation in Japan after the war . The division returned to the United States in May 1949 and established its headquarters at Fort Campbell , Kentucky . The Angels moved to Germany in 1956 and subsequently inactivated on 1 July 1958 when it was reflagged as the 24th Infantry Division . The 24th temporarily retained a partial Airborne capability to include the 1st Airborne Battle Group , 187th Infantry ; the 1st Airborne Battle Group , 503rd Infantry ; and the 11th Quartermaster Company , a parachute rigger unit . Within a year 1 – 187th and 1 – 503rd rotated to Fort Bragg , North Carolina , to become part of the 82nd Airborne Division while the rigger company relocated to the 8th Infantry Division in Mainz , where a new Airborne component was being formed within the division . Vietnam era ( 1962 – 1972 ) . The colors remained dormant until the requirement for air mobility ( heliborne tactical movement ) of infantry units was established by the Department of the Army in 1962 . Secretary of the Army Cyrus R . Vance envisioned that the Army required its own organic aviation assets to meet immediate combat needs of infantry units . The XVIII Airborne Corps began experimenting with this new concept by using borrowed helicopters . By the end of the year Secretary Vance decided to form a test division to further evaluate this new concept . On 1 February 1963 , Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 11th Aviation Group , was activated for testing purposes as a Regular Army element of the 11th Air Assault Division ( Test ) . Under the leadership of Major General Charles W . G . Rich , the Test Director , and Brigadier General Harry Kinnard , the Division Commander , the group worked to formulate a unit that could move one - third of the division ' s infantry battalions and supporting units in one single helicopter lift . The unit operated out of Fort Benning , Georgia . The testing process proved highly successful and on 1 July 1965 the group was reassigned to the 1st Cavalry Division ( Airmobile ) when the assets of the 11th Air Assault Division and the 2nd Infantry Division were merged into a single unit . Within several months the division deployed to the Republic of Vietnam . The mission of the 1st Cavalry in Vietnam was to " fight battles of movement , ranging swiftly to places where they are needed . " Secretary of Defense Robert S . McNamara described the new 428 helicopter - equipped 1st Cavalry Division as " an entirely new approach to the conduct of land battle which will result in the exploitation of the principle of surprise to an unprecedented degree . " As part of the 1st Cavalry , the 11th Aviation Group controlled the 227th , 228th and 229th Aviation Battalions , whose helicopters were the lifeblood of the Army ' s first airmobile division . From 1965 through 1968 the 11th Aviation Group saw combat in the I and II Corps areas of Vietnam . The Group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for the Pleiku Campaign of 1965 and the Meritorious Unit Commendation for the period September 1965 to November 1966 . In 1968 , the Group moved to Phuc Vinh in III Corps and remained there until early 1971 where the Group was awarded the Valorous Unit Award for the period 6 May 1969 through 1 February 1970 . In February 1971 the Group was assigned to the 1st Aviation Brigade and redeployed to Marble Mountain Army Airfield near Da Nang ; it was officially released from the 1st Cavalry Division on 5 May 1971 . In August 1972 the Group departed Marble Mountain Army Airfield and resettled at Da Nang Air Base . Germany era ( 1973 – 1989 ) . The colors of the 11th Aviation Group left Vietnam in March 1973 , bound for Dolan Barracks in Schwäbisch Hall , Germany , where they were used to reflag an existing aviation group . The Group ' s mission was to support Headquarters US Army Europe and the Seventh Army . In November 1979 the 11th Aviation Group became a major subordinate command of VII Corps . During the period 1980 – 1987 , while the 11th Aviation Group was at Dolan Barracks in Schwäbisch Hall in the German State of Baden - Württemberg , another unit , the 11th Aviation Battalion ( later the 11th Aviation Regiment ) was based in the neighboring German State of Hesse at Wiesbaden Air Base under the 12th Aviation Group and V Corps . The proximity of the unit ' s locations in the former West Germany may be a source of confusion , as the distinctive unit insignias of the 11th Aviation Brigade and 11th Aviation Regiment ( formerly the 11th Aviation Battalion ) are sometimes confused , with the insignia of the latter being mistaken as the insignia for the former . The insignia of the 11th Aviation Regiment can be seen here , while the insignia of the 11th Aviation Brigade can be seen as an external link here . The 11th Aviation Regiment still exists and currently performs a training support role at Fort Rucker , Alabama , as the 1st Battalion , 11th Aviation Regiment , part of the 110th Aviation Brigade . The 11th Aviation Group was reorganized and redesignated 16 October 1987 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 11th Aviation Brigade , and three months later the brigade fielded the first AH - 64 attack helicopter unit in Europe , the 2d Squadron , 6th Cavalry Regiment . This firmly established the brigade ' s role as a decisive combat element in the NATO alliance . In August 1988 , the 11th Aviation Brigade moved to Storck Barracks in Illesheim . During its years in Germany , the Group had a pathfinder platoon of about a dozen personnel . The unit traced its lineage back to the 11th Airborne Division pathfinders of World War II and the post - war years , as well as the pathfinders of the 11th Aviation Group in Viet Nam . The authorization for a pathfinder platoon was dropped in the late 1980s and personnel departed as their tours were completed . Desert Storm era ( 1990 – 1995 ) . At the conclusion of Operation Desert Storm , the Brigade was assigned to sector security in the former XVIII Airborne Corps area of responsibility . The front covered more than 200 kilometers . The 11th Aviation Brigade began redeployment to Germany on 22 April 1991 . It was then reorganized and redesignated 17 November 1993 back to being Headquarters and Headquarters Company ( HHC ) , 11th Aviation Group . It was at this time that the 11th began to be erroneously referred to as a regiment , rather than a group , and this error continued until the unit ' s inactivation in 2005 ; however , the U . S . Army Center of Military History confirmed that the 11th ' s HHC was organized as an aviation group , not a regiment . The CMH clarified the matter by stating , " Although the unit is frequently referred to as the 11th Aviation Regiment , it is actually organized under the TOE for an Aviation Group and its official designation is HHC , 11th Aviation Group . " Bosnia and Kosovo era ( 1996 – 1999 ) . In April 1996 , C Troop ( + ) , 6th Squadron , 6th Cavalry Regiment deployed to Camp Hampton , Bosnia and Herzegovina in support of Operation Joint Endeavor and the 1st Brigade , 1st Armored Division . The deployment was critical to Implementation Force ' s success in establishing stability in the Multi - National Division ( North ) sector . In the summer of 1996 , the 11th Aviation Group received a warning order to form and train an aviation task force for possible deployment to Bosnia - Herzegovina . The deployment was to be as a part of the Task Force Eagle Covering Force , overseeing the withdrawal of the 1st Armored Division . On 4 October 1996 , the unit received its deployment orders , and within five days HHC , 11th Aviation Group ; 2nd Squadron , 6th Cavalry Regiment ; 2nd Battalion , 1st Aviation Regiment ; Companies A and B , 7th Battalion , 159th Aviation Regiment ; 147th Maintenance Support Team ; Company C , 3rd Battalion ( Air Traffic Services ) , 58th Aviation Regiment ; and the 45th Medical Company ( Air Ambulance ) began departing Germany en route to Bosnia - Herzegovina in support of Operation Joint Endeavor . Assembling at Comanche Base , the 700 soldiers of Task Force 11 transferred authority with their 1st Armored Division counterparts on 4 November 1996 , and immediately provided critical support to MND ( North ) , where tensions between the Former Warring Factions were high . On 20 December , the covering force completed its mission as a part of the Implementation Force and transitioned to operations as a part of the Stabilization Force . On 15 May 1997 , the 229th Aviation Regiment executed transfer of authority with Task Force 11 as the Multi - National Division ( North ) Aviation Brigade . After processing at the intermediate staging base in Taszar , Hungary , the last elements of Task Force 11 closed on their home stations on 25 May 1997 . In May 1998 11th Aviation Group deployed to Tuzla , Bosnia with HHC and 6th Squadron , 6th Cavalry Regiment as part of Operation JOINT GUARD / FORGE . From May to October the Task Force performed as the Strategic Reserve for SFOR and the 1AD led Multinational Division North ensuring the continued implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords . Following transfer of authority to elements of the 1st Cavalry Division , the Group redeployed to Illesheim , Germany . Following notification in late March 1999 , the 11th Aviation Group was once again deployed on 8 April 1999 to Tirana , Albania in support of NATO Operation ALLIED FORCE in Kosovo . Over the next three months the Group remained postured for combat operations as the main effort for Task Force Hawk . TF Hawk deployed two attack helicopters squadrons of pilots , both aviation unit maintenance ( AVUMs ) , 24 of their 48 AH - 64s and a partial aviation maintenance ( AVIM ) unit to Albania . The remaining aircraft and AVIM ( - ) were left in Germany , where the AVIM ( - ) took control of the 24 AH - 64s and readied them for possible deployment . Early on TF Hawk determined that the 11th Aviation Group , the two squadrons and the CORPS DOCC did not have enough aviation staff officers to simultaneously plan , rehearse and execute the current mission and the upcoming missions . Following the success of the air campaign , 6th Squadron , 6th Cavalry Regiment deployed forward to Camp Able Sentry , Macedonia and were the first members of the NATO alliance to enter Kosovo in the implementation of peace accords as part of Operation JOINT GUARDIAN . With the groundwork for peace and resettlement of refugees established , the Group once again redeployed to Illesheim with the final aircraft returning 4 August 1999 . Colonel Douglas MacGregor ( US Army , Retired ) , who served as Director of Strategic Planning and Joint Operations at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe prior to and during the Kosovo War , provided an analysis and after - action summary of TF Hawk ' s performance . He wrote , in part , " TF Hawk , the Army helicopters that never saw action due to their acute vulnerability to Serb air defenses that annihilated anything that flew under 15 , 000 feet , deserves more critical attention . Other than killing Army pilots in training while in Albania , after 30 days of training TF Hawk did nothing to attack a single Serb tank or armored fighting vehicle . It never crossed into Kosovo ! " He attributed success in the campaign , not to military action , but diplomatic negotiations that ended Russian support for the Serbs , adding that " Serb forces withdrew in good order and intact suffering modest losses ( fewer than 14 tanks and about 500 military casualties contrary to what General Clark insisted at the time . ) Operation Iraqi Freedom Sep 2002 – Dec 2003 . WARNO was issued in Aug 2002 for Apache assets to be forward deployed to Kuwait in preparation for an invasion of Iraq . The 2nd Squadron , 6th Cavalry deployed to Camp Doha Kuwait ( later Ali Al Salem Airbase , Kuwait ) to prepare for an eventual move into Iraq . 2 / 6 Cav flew numerous training scenarios and prepared themselves for operation in the challenging environment . In Feb 2003 , 2 / 6 Cav moved from Ali Al Salem to Camp Udari , a forward staging base for the units preparing to move into Iraq . In March 2003 , they were joined by 6th Squadron , 6th Cavalry , their sister unit , who had just returned from testing their new AH64D Longbow helicopters at " Victory Strike " in Poland . After months of tedious waiting , the ground portion of the 11th Aviation Group crossed the berm in late March , drove to An Nasariyah , and another two days up the Euphrates to a location approximately 12 miles southwest of An Najaf , Iraq . This field was named Objective Rams and was the landing site for the helicopters that overflown the convoy on their three - day drive up and landed after a deep strike mission . About four hours after the convoy arrived , the famous " dust storm " moved in . After three days of " dustout " the Group got to the business of blowing things up . . . this went on until late April , when the Group again packed up a convoy and rolled through Baghdad north to Balad Air Base , Iraq . The Group lived inside tents erected under old Hardened Aircraft Shelters ( a real boon to the troops , who had suffered the Iraqi spring sun too much already ) . I left shortly after that ( 7 May 2003 ) , but from what others told me , the Group moved into permanent buildings within a few months . The 11th Aviation Group continued its mission until Dec 2003 , when it redeployed to Illesheim , Germany to reset for the next challenge . Both 2 / 6 and 6 / 6 were awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation ( MUC ) for their actions while deployed . Inactivation and reactivation . Prior to inactivation , the 2nd Squadron , 6th Cavalry deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom ( OEF ) VI in March 2005 until March 2006 . The squadron deployed with their AH - 64D Longbow Apaches and formed the headquarters of Task Force Sabre at Bagram Airfield . Charlie Troop was attached to Task Force Storm in Kandahar . This was the first deployment of AH - 64Ds to Afghanistan . 2 – 6 Cav was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation ( MUC ) for their actions while deployed . The 11th Aviation Group was inactivated in Germany on 9 June 2005 with a casing of the colors . At the time , it consisted of two attack helicopter battalions , service support units , and a headquarters , and was part of the V Corps . The unit was reactivated in the United States Army Reserve as the 11th Theater Aviation Command on 16 September 2007 with a colors ceremony at Fort Knox , Kentucky . The presiding officer was Lieutenant General Jack Stultz , Commanding General , United States Army Reserve while the former Commanding General of the 11th Theater Aviation Command was Brigadier General Matthew C . Matia . In October 2009 , Brig . Gen . Peter T . Quinn assumed command of the 11th Aviation Command .