Army Aviation Organization

[Jackjack171]

Hello all,

I'm looking for references on how Army Aviation is structured. I'm a former Navy guy so I'm used to squadrons, Carrier Air wings and such. Looks like the have Regiments and Battalions! I've never really paid much attention to the Army (no offense) but with the Apache coming, it has my full attention. Nothing sensitive or classified (obviously), I'd just like to do some homework. Also, I'm curious about how different Helicopter traffic patterns and airfield operations are compared to Navy/USAF/USMC. 

The Apache will be a breath of fresh air for me personally! While I love my pointed nose aircraft, I'm looking forward to something different and a new challenge. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[Raptor9]

1 hour ago, Jackjack171 said:

I'm looking for references on how Army Aviation is structured.

 

The basic unit organization of all Army units are the Battalion (or Squadron* for Cavalry units).  These are normally commanded by an O-5/Lieutenant Colonel, with a number of Companies within each battalion (Troops for Cavalry units, Batteries for Artillery/Air Defense units).  The number of Companies/Troops/Batteries within a Battalion may vary depending on what type of unit it is, and are normally commanded by an O-3/Captain, but in some instances may be commanded by an O-4/Major.  Within each Company/Troop/Battery you will have Platoons, commanded by an O-1/2nd Lieutenant, an O-2/1st Lieutenant, or sometimes in aviation units even a junior O-3/Captain.

 

Ever since the 2005 timeframe, most Combat Aviation Brigades (CAB, commanded by an O-6/Colonel) in the regular, active-duty Army consisted of a number of Battalions and Squadrons, each with a series of specific battlefield functions.  You would normally have:
- CAB Headquarters company
- Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB, or "Attack Battalion") consisting of three flight companies of AH-64s and supporting companies

- Attack Reconnaissance Squadron (ARS, or "Cavalry Squadron"), consisting of three flight troops of OH-58s and supporting companies
- Assault Helicopter Battalion (AHB, or "Assault Battalion"), consisting of three flight companies of UH-60s and supporting companies
- General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB or "Lift Battalion"), consisting of a command airlift company of UH-60s, a heavy lift company of CH-47s, a Medevac company of UH/HH-60s, an Air Traffic Control company, and supporting companies

- Aviation Support Battalion (ASB), consisting of several support companies for ground logistics, maintenance & distribution, and an additional aviation maintenance company to augment the maintenance companies within each main battalion

Each CAB was aligned with a major division, such as 82nd CAB was assigned to 82nd Airborne Division, 10th CAB assigned to 10th Mountain Division, etc.  There was even supposed to be the Light CAB (2x OH-58 units), a Medium CAB (1x OH-58 unit & 1x AH-64 unit), and a Heavy CAB (2x AH-64 units), but I don't know how common the Light or Heavy CABs were.

 

A typical AH-64 ARB would consist of:
- 1x headquarters company
- 3x flight companies (8x AH-64s each, for a total of 24x AH-64s in the battalion)

- 1x aviation maintenance company for major aircraft maintenance and to augment the flight company crew chiefs

- 1x forward support company for supply, logistics & distribution, and ground vehicle maintenance

Each flight company would consist of two flight platoons, each with a platoon leader, warrant officer pilots, and enlisted crew chiefs.  And there would be the headquarters section as well that consisted of the O-3/Captain as the company commander, First Sergeant (E-8) as the senior NCO, and a few additional warrant officers.

After the 2015 timeframe when the OH-58 was retired, the ARS went to the HARS (Heavy ARS) squadrons, in which each flight company of Apaches was augmented by a platoon of RQ-7 Shadow UAS.  Additionally, nowadays each CAB is also assigned a company of MQ-1C Grey Eagle UAS.  Prior to 2005(ish), there was much more variety in Army Aviation brigades in what units they had, and what airframes they were equipped with; you even had Cavalry units that had a mix of AH-64s, OH-58s, and UH-60s of various combinations; there were OH-58 Light Attack battalions, AH-64 Cavalry squadrons, and most of the time the Medevac and Chinook companies were their own entities within the aviation brigades and commanded by a Major.  Things are much more standardized these days.

*For clarification, Cavalry Squadrons are not like aircraft squadrons as most people associate with various air forces.  Squadrons in the Army are historically akin to mounted cavalry.  This is why you may have armored cavalry squadrons with Bradleys and Strykers.  Further, there may be entire Cavalry Regiments, which are roughly akin to a brigade in size in strength.  So in a nutshell you have Army units as brigades or regiments, just as there are battalions or squadrons.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Raptor9

[Raptor9]

To further muddy the waters, a lot of US Army unit designations include an association with a "regiment" in name only for historical purposes, but the units themselves are assigned to a brigade.  For example, if you go to the wikipedia page for the 101st Airborne Division, and scroll to the bottom you will see "1st Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment" is a battalion assigned to the 101st's 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, despite the historical association with the 506th Inf Regt.  The fact that the 101st is still named as an "Airborne" division for historical reasons, even though it specializes in Air Assault via helicopters, is a good example of historical unit names that may not be 100% indicative of what type of unit it actually is, or under what current command structure it falls within.

 

As to airfield operations, not much different except helicopters can obviously hover taxi/air taxi, can do departures from/approaches to taxiways/ramps, and will still do closed pattern work using the runway.  As for heliports, most still have a small landing strip just long enough to do a rolling takeoff/landing if necessary.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Raptor9

[Johnny Dioxin]

Might like this:

 

https://youtu.be/Yl1V7yqsbWs

 

or more for your situation:

 

 

[Sinclair_76]

FM 1-112 Attack Helicopter Operations is a good place to start. Although I remember using it for Janes Longbow 2 so it might be slightly dated.

[Jackjack171]

22 hours ago, Raptor9 said:

 

The basic unit organization of all Army units are the Battalion (or Squadron* for Cavalry units).  These are normally commanded by an O-5/Lieutenant Colonel, with a number of Companies within each battalion (Troops for Cavalry units, Batteries for Artillery/Air Defense units).  The number of Companies/Troops/Batteries within a Battalion may vary depending on what type of unit it is, and are normally commanded by an O-3/Captain, but in some instances may be commanded by an O-4/Major.  Within each Company/Troop/Battery you will have Platoons, commanded by an O-1/2nd Lieutenant, an O-2/1st Lieutenant, or sometimes in aviation units even a junior O-3/Captain.

 

Ever since the 2005 timeframe, most Combat Aviation Brigades (CAB, commanded by an O-6/Colonel) in the regular, active-duty Army consisted of a number of Battalions and Squadrons, each with a series of specific battlefield functions.  You would normally have:
- CAB Headquarters company
- Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB, or "Attack Battalion") consisting of three flight companies of AH-64s and supporting companies

- Attack Reconnaissance Squadron (ARS, or "Cavalry Squadron"), consisting of three flight troops of OH-58s and supporting companies
- Assault Helicopter Battalion (AHB, or "Assault Battalion"), consisting of three flight companies of UH-60s and supporting companies
- General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB or "Lift Battalion"), consisting of a command airlift company of UH-60s, a heavy lift company of CH-47s, a Medevac company of UH/HH-60s, an Air Traffic Control company, and supporting companies

- Aviation Support Battalion (ASB), consisting of several support companies for ground logistics, maintenance & distribution, and an additional aviation maintenance company to augment the maintenance companies within each main battalion

Each CAB was aligned with a major division, such as 82nd CAB was assigned to 82nd Airborne Division, 10th CAB assigned to 10th Mountain Division, etc.  There was even supposed to be the Light CAB (2x OH-58 units), a Medium CAB (1x OH-58 unit & 1x AH-64 unit), and a Heavy CAB (2x AH-64 units), but I don't know how common the Light or Heavy CABs were.

 

A typical AH-64 ARB would consist of:
- 1x headquarters company
- 3x flight companies (8x AH-64s each, for a total of 24x AH-64s in the battalion)

- 1x aviation maintenance company for major aircraft maintenance and to augment the flight company crew chiefs

- 1x forward support company for supply, logistics & distribution, and ground vehicle maintenance

Each flight company would consist of two flight platoons, each with a platoon leader, warrant officer pilots, and enlisted crew chiefs.  And there would be the headquarters section as well that consisted of the O-3/Captain as the company commander, First Sergeant (E-8) as the senior NCO, and a few additional warrant officers.

After the 2015 timeframe when the OH-58 was retired, the ARS went to the HARS (Heavy ARS) squadrons, in which each flight company of Apaches was augmented by a platoon of RQ-7 Shadow UAS.  Additionally, nowadays each CAB is also assigned a company of MQ-1C Grey Eagle UAS.  Prior to 2005(ish), there was much more variety in Army Aviation brigades in what units they had, and what airframes they were equipped with; you even had Cavalry units that had a mix of AH-64s, OH-58s, and UH-60s of various combinations; there were OH-58 Light Attack battalions, AH-64 Cavalry squadrons, and most of the time the Medevac and Chinook companies were their own entities within the aviation brigades and commanded by a Major.  Things are much more standardized these days.

*For clarification, Cavalry Squadrons are not like aircraft squadrons as most people associate with various air forces.  Squadrons in the Army are historically akin to mounted cavalry.  This is why you may have armored cavalry squadrons with Bradleys and Strykers.  Further, there may be entire Cavalry Regiments, which are roughly akin to a brigade in size in strength.  So in a nutshell you have Army units as brigades or regiments, just as there are battalions or squadrons.

 

Thank you so much! I now have to adapt my Navy brain around that. Man, that all sounds so complicated. I'm thinking it is all chaotic but I'm sure, somehow you guys make it all work (obviously)! It closely sounds like a MEF and how they come together. It makes the movie "Black Hawk Down" make sense, as far as who answers to who! It just seemed like one big conglomerate of leaders. I'm tracking now! Appreciate you brother!

 

22 hours ago, Johnny Dioxin (Brixmis) said:

Might like this:

 

https://youtu.be/Yl1V7yqsbWs

 

or more for your situation:

 

 

Thanks brother!

21 hours ago, Sinclair_76 said:

FM 1-112 Attack Helicopter Operations is a good place to start. Although I remember using it for Janes Longbow 2 so it might be slightly dated.

Now I have homework Lol. Thanks bro!

[Raptor9]

4 hours ago, Jackjack171 said:

Thank you so much! I now have to adapt my Navy brain around that. Man, that all sounds so complicated. I'm thinking it is all chaotic but I'm sure, somehow you guys make it all work (obviously)! It closely sounds like a MEF and how they come together. It makes the movie "Black Hawk Down" make sense, as far as who answers to who! It just seemed like one big conglomerate of leaders.

 

It's really just a series of smaller and smaller sub-divided unit echelons.
CAB is like the Carrier Air Wing.
ARB/ARS/AHB/GSAB units are composed/equipped differently based on their mission just as the VFA/VMFA/VAW/VAQ/VRC type squadrons are.
Flight companies within an Army battalion would be like Flights within a naval squadron.
Flight platoons within each company would be like a Division (Navy) or Element (Air Force).

The main differences between the services might be what rank of officer is in charge of what echelon, how many people are in each, and how many individual airframes are assigned to each.  Another difference might be how functions as a whole are handled within the organizational structure.  For example in the Air Force you have dedicated squadrons within each Group that performs different functions: Operations, Maintenance, Mission Support, etc.  In Army Aviation, and other Army units in general, you often have personnel across multiple echelons that perform the same functions, but at different levels and capabilities.  For example, Army Aviation units have crew chiefs within each flight company to do some basic level maintenance, the aviation maintenance company within each battalion to assist them with larger maintenance tasks/overhauls/inspections, and the aviation maintenance company within the brigade's Aviation Support Battalion (ASB) that augments/supports each of the individual battalions' aviation maintenance companies across the brigade as needed.

The really confusing part is when units are assembled into Task Forces, like in the Black Hawk Down example you used.  And while each Task Force element may have leaders of different ranks or services, it really comes down to who is tasked to support who, and that drives the composition of the command structure.  In the end, Army Aviation supports the ground force commander, whether that is an E-5 squad leader calling in an airstrike from a pair of Apaches, to an infantry Colonel tasking an aviation Colonel to move half his infantry brigade to the enemies rear using multiple battalions of UH-60s and CH-47s.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Raptor9

[Coota0]

Task forces can be thought of as cross leveling for combat. A Cav Squadron or ARB trades some combat power to an assault battalion or GSAB for some lift assets and in return the GSAB or assault battalion gains attack/reconnaissance assets. In my experience the Taskforce still falls under the same brigade and still receives support from the same aviation support battalion. 

[Paladin1cd]

To further muddy the waters can someone explain the Div Cav units from the 90s? I know in First Cav ours was 1-7 CAV and had three squadrons of ground units with Brads and tanks and if I remember right two KW squadrons.  I forget the exact numbers now though, that’s been a minute folks. 

[Raptor9]

8 hours ago, Coota0 said:

In my experience the Taskforce still falls under the same brigade and still receives support from the same aviation support battalion. 

That's an Army Aviation-centric task force organization when you have an aviation brigade spread across multiple areas in an AO.  Operation- or mission-specific task force organizations may consist of multiple organizations of different types, (ie, non-aviation) that are commanded by an outside entity from any of them.

 

1 hour ago, Paladin1cd said:

To further muddy the waters can someone explain the Div Cav units from the 90s? I know in First Cav ours was 1-7 CAV and had three squadrons of ground units with Brads and tanks and if I remember right two KW squadrons.  I forget the exact numbers now though, that’s been a minute folks. 

 

As far as I'm aware (I could be wrong), some time between Vietnam and Desert Storm the 1st Cav went from an actual light infantry/air cav division to a major armored division since that was their composition in the Gulf War.  The 1st Cavalry Division today is just as standardized as most other divisions, with Brigade Combat Teams composed of both cavalry squadrons and mechanized infantry battalions.  The difference is instead of each battalion's unit designation being associated with historical infantry regiments, all the battalions in 1st Cav Div are associated with cavalry regiments, like 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, which is in the 3rd BCT.

Edited March 9, 2021 by Raptor9

[Coota0]

17 hours ago, Paladin1cd said:

To further muddy the waters can someone explain the Div Cav units from the 90s? I know in First Cav ours was 1-7 CAV and had three squadrons of ground units with Brads and tanks and if I remember right two KW squadrons.  I forget the exact numbers now though, that’s been a minute folks. 

Are you talking about the Armored Cav Regiments?

 

15 hours ago, Raptor9 said:

 The difference is instead of each battalion's unit designation being associated with historical infantry regiments, all the battalions in 1st Cav Div are associated with cavalry regiments, like 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, which is in the 3rd BCT.

 

I've always wondered why 1st Cav has Battalions instead of Squadrons.

[Paladin1cd]

You’re right in that our MTOE was exactly like any armored division other than some generalist slots were open to cav scouts as well as armor and infantry MOSs. 
 

I’m referring to the older Divisional Cavalry Squadrons. I hear they have gone away but when we fielded the KW and the Longbow (I believe we were first to field both), we had I think 3 ground troops with brads and tanks, two air troops of KWs and the longbows went to 1-227 AVN which was out attack battalion. I don’t recall how many airframes each had though.

[barundus]

On 3/8/2021 at 8:17 PM, Paladin1cd said:

To further muddy the waters can someone explain the Div Cav units from the 90s? I know in First Cav ours was 1-7 CAV and had three squadrons of ground units with Brads and tanks and if I remember right two KW squadrons.  I forget the exact numbers now though, that’s been a minute folks. 

Hey! Someone interested in the most bad-assed unit structure in the Army! (RIP).

First off; "1st CAV" is really a division, and retained it's lineage as per the explanations above.  But it's not really an entire division-sized force of "cavalry".  It's a heavy armor division, named after a historical cavalry unit. 

Per doctrine, the "Cavalry is the eyes and ears of the division commander"
With COIN and the first ARI in 2005 timeframe, when the Div-Cavs consisting of mixed ground and air equipment went away (the heavy divisions lost their KWs in the DivCav squadrons, aviation created the "CAB" as aviation-pure echelons, and the ARS, ARB, AHB were created), the concept of fighting the "Division Fight" on the maneuver battlefield lost focus.

Nowadays, it's coming back, and we may see some new reorganization to reflect combat power tailored to the Division maneuver fight.

Anyhoo- to your question;
The DivCav was owned by the division commander, and technically worked directly for him.  The DivCav squadron was commanded by an O-5 LTC. 
The mission of the DivCav was recon and security operations for the division (the entire squadron screening for the division, for example).

In the heavy divisions (1st CAV, 1ID, 1AD, 2ID, 3ID, 4ID etc), the DivCav squadron consisted of:
1x HHT (huge) with various M1 and M2 and support command tracks, refuelers, maintenance, command structure, support platoon, etc.
3x (A, B, C) Ground Troops consisting of 2xM1 and 2x M3 platoons, plus a fire support platoon consisting of 2x 120mm M113 tracks each
2x (D, E) Air Troops consisting of 8 KWs in two platoons of 4 ea
1x (F) Air-Maintenance Troop

In the light divisions (10th MTN, 82nd ABN, 101st ABN, 25 ID) the DivCav squadron consisted of:
1x HHT with various HMMWV command vehicles, refuelers, maintenance, command structure, etc.
1x (A) Ground Troop equipped with HMMWVs gun-trucks equiped with Mk19, and TOW missile launchers.
2x (B, C) Air Troops consisting of 8x KWs in two platoons of 4 ea
1x (D) Air-Maintenance Troop

You can see the heavy-division DivCav was a monster of a combat unit, and that commander had incredible combat power at his command. 
The idea of DivCav (and all Cavalry in general), is to be self-contained maneuver units equipped with its own fire support, maintenance, and logistics (fuel/oil) capability).
The heavy DivCav had this, the light DivCav not so much.

In those days, to further muddy the water, there were also two "Armored Cavalry Regiments" (3rd ACR and 2nd ACR). which were completely self-contained maneuver forces reliant on no external support.  Their mission would be to fight the Corps reconnaissance fight, and worked directly for the Corps commander.

An ACR is commanded by an O-6 COL, and is essentially a mini-division. 
An ACR is organized around 3 squadrons, plus a fires battalion, a maintenance battalion, engineer battalion, and support battalions.

3rd ACR was "heavy", (M1, M3, M109 Paladin 155mm SP, Grizzlies, Apache and KW, and a bunch of other heavy equipment.
2nd ACR was "light", (HMMWV, Stryker, I forget what kind of fires battalions, etc.  You get the idea)

"Cavalry" in light of the last twenty years of COIN operations isn't really cavalry at all.  In name only, really. 
"Cavalry" implies doctrinal warfighting tasks such as reconnaissance and security, and providing a specific capability to the maneuver commander.

COIN is really just flying around looking for shit and waiting for something to happen.

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by barundus
Clarifying the post

[Paladin1cd]

On 3/18/2021 at 10:34 AM, barundus said:

Thanks for the in depth reply! 
This was of interest to me as I didn’t know what happened as they first transitioned:

With COIN and the first ARI in 2005 timeframe, when the Div-Cavs consisting of mixed ground and air equipment went away (the heavy divisions lost their KWs in the DivCav squadrons, aviation created the "CAB" as aviation-pure echelons, and the ARS, ARB, AHB were created), the concept of fighting the "Division Fight" on the maneuver battlefield lost focus.

1x HHT (huge) with various M1 and M2 and support command tracks, refuelers, maintenance, command structure, support platoon, etc.
3x (A, B, C) Ground Troops consisting of 2xM1 and 2x M3 platoons, plus a fire support platoon consisting of 2x 120mm M113 tracks each
2x (D, E) Air Troops consisting of 8 KWs in two platoons of 4 ea
1x (F) Air-Maintenance Troop
 

The above was what I really couldn’t remember. I’m a G3 guy from 96-98 and a armor guy from then until early 01. Then in 06 through 08 I was in the 150th. Few things I’ve forgotten along the way and I couldn’t find the TO&E on the old DIVCAV when searching. You’re right it was a hell of a lot of combat power, usually spread across two brigade fronts which is a hell of a lot of area. And commanders usually got it and the brigade and battalion recon elements whacked through impatience and improper employment. How often I saw 1-7 go black on combat power by being forced to sacrifice itself in a fight it should never have been in. SMH. Recon is a tough thing to get right for commanders. 

it will be interesting to see how KW get utilized by players - most will mistakenly think of it as a baby Apache probably. I’m stoked for Cosmo to set up scenarios for it and the Apache given his background. 

 

 

And yes, I don’t know how to use the quote boxes apparently! Lol.