2d Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment

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2nd Battalion 135th Aviation Regiment
2/135th Aviation Battalion Iraq Expedition Patch
Active	1974 - present
Country	United States
Branch	Army National Guard
Type	Aviation Battalion
Size	550
Part of	36th Combat Aviation Brigade V Corps (Fwd) MNF-Iraq
Garrison/HQ	LSA Anaconda, Iraq and Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado
Nickname	Blackjacks
Motto	Mission First
Colors	Black and gold
Commanders
Current commander	Lt. Col. Christopher Petty
Insignia
Identification symbol	Skull with crossed swords

The 2nd Battalion 135th Aviation Regiment is an Army helicopter battalion which deployed to Iraq in September 2006 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion is attached to MNF-Iraq as a part of Task Force Mustang. The battalion flies the UH-60 Black Hawk, CH-47 Chinook and, when in Colorado, the UH-1H Huey. They are home based out of Buckley AFB, Colorado, as part of the Colorado Army National Guard Aviation Command.

1 Current Units
- 1.1 Iraq 2006-2007 Company Makeup
2 History
- 2.1 pre-GWOT
- 2.2 Global War on Terror
3 External links

[edit] Current Units

HHC - "Headhunters" - Headquarters and Headquarters Company
A Company - "Rumrunner" - Blackhawks
B Company - "Bootlegger" - Chinooks
C Company - "Cutter" - Blackhawk MedEvac
D Company - "Dagger" - Aviation Maintenance
E Company - "Marauder" - Ground Maintenance, Aviation/Ground Fueling, Food Services

[edit] Iraq 2006-2007 Company Makeup

Company A of the 2/135th from the Colorado ARNG was deployed to Iraq for one year, from the fall of 2005 to September of 2006. They were attached to the 101st Airborne Division while in Iraq, and have now returned stateside as ordinary citizen soldiers, and provide availabilty to the state of Colorado for any requisite emergency callups.

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 Co 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 (Colorado) is augmented by a detail from the Nebraska ARNG.

All six companies are 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. 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.

[edit] History

[edit] pre-GWOT

The 2/135th first became a part of the Colorado Army National Guard in the mid-1970s. The original unit, a company, was made a part of the 40th Infantry Division's aviation brigade, predominantly located in California.

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(see Ext Refs below for much more history)

[edit] Global War on Terror

The 2/135th deployed on March 19, 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 is 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 Texas Division while in Iraq.

The current formation of the 2/135th (as a unit of Task Force Mustang) is approximately 60% made up of Colorado Army National Guard personnel, it also includes Army aviation guard personnel from three additional primary states, Minnesota, Nebraska, Utah with smaller contingents from Arkansas, Wyoming, Missouri and Florida.

Currently, the unit is engaged in ongoing operations all over the country of Iraq. At the current rate, "The Blackjacks" are on pace to become the army aviation unit with the highest number of Air Assault missions conducted in a one year period in the history of the US Army.