History Of The 66th Aviation Brigade (Corps)
[Return to 66th Avn Bde Change of Command]
The 66th Aviation Brigade (Corps) was organized on 1 November 1986 at Fort Lewis, Washington, and activated on 1 October 1987. It is the only Corps Aviation Brigade with a National Guard Headquarters. The 66th Aviation Brigade’s two group headquarters and nine battalions are spread throughout the United States, with subordinate elements located in fifteen states.
The 66th Aviation Brigade consists of a wide range of army aviation assets and provides aviation support for I Corps and the National Guard. This support includes attack helicopters, observation aircraft, troop and supply transport, and command and control aircraft. The Brigade’s 269 authorized aircraft include the CH-47D Chinook, the UH-1 Iroquois, the UH-60 Blackhawk, the OH-58 Kiowa and the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. Nearly 3800 soldiers fly and maintain these aircraft in 15 different states as far west as Hawaii and east to the state of Vermont. 66th Aviation Brigade soldiers and aircraft have supported numerous local and state emergencies during the brigade’s eleven year existence. Due to the Army’s downsizing, the 66th Aviation Brigade now plays a larger role than ever before in our nation’s defense.
BG Van Eaton was the third commander of the 66th Aviation Brigade, succeeding BG Stocking and BG Sullivan. The vision and leadership of these commanders have enhanced the warfighting capability and readiness of the 66th Aviation Brigade, as evidenced by participation in training exercises in the Republic of Korea, Japan, Panama, and Canada. Brigade elements have supported training rotations to the National Training Center and Joint Readiness Training Center.
The future of the 66th Aviation Brigade is equally as exciting as future training plans call for modernization of the UH-1 Iroquois and UH-60 Blackhawk as well as future training exercises both in the United States and abroad.
66th Aviation Brigade
Previous Commanders
Bg Daniel J. Sullivan - 1 November 1986 To 23 February 1990
Bg Herbert G. (Bud) Stocking - 23 February 1990 To 7 June 1993
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