The 449th Combat Aviation Brigade Distinctive Unit Insignia, commonly referred to as a unit crest, is an unabashed tribute to its home state of North Carolina, where it was constituted in the Army National Guard as the 449th Aviation Group on 1 October 1987. The 449th Aviation Group became a Theater Aviation Brigade Headquarters (TAB) on 12 September 2006, providing command and control of assault assets for the 66th Theater Aviation Command. On 1 October 2021, the 449th TAB was officially re-organized into the 449th Combat Aviation Brigade 1 October 2021. It consists of
As of Autumn 2023, the Brigade consists of two Aviation Battalions, two Engineer Detachments, an Assault Company, an Operational Support Airlift Detachment, a Support Battalion, and three Aviation Detachments. It is a subordinate unit of 66th Theater Aviation Command, and its most recent Federal service came in 2017 -2018 when it deployed to Iraq to to provide Combat Aviation Support for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve and Operation Spartan Shield. It operated across five different countries and conducted more than 36,000 flight hours, including 1,500 distinguished visitor moves, 1600 personnel transports, 53,000 pounds of cargo transports, 170 MEDEVAC missions, and 450 air weapons team (AWT) utilizations.
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“First in Flight,” the Brigade’s motto, is also the state motto, and its inscription on the insignia encircles a depiction of the Wright Brothers National Memorial. According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Geographic Names Information System, the monument was authorized as “Kill Devil Hill Monument” (the area is actually Kill Devil Hills, plural) on 2 March 1927 and was placed under control of the National Park Service on 10 August 1933. In 1953, Congress renamed it and made it a national memorial.
Distinctive Unit Insignias are worn by all Soldiers (except General Officers) in units that have been authorized to be issued the device. It is worn centered on the shoulder loops of the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) and the blue Army Service Uniform (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. More guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1, Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia" and 21–3(d) and (e), "Beret" and "Garrison Cap," respectively.
Related items
449th Theater Aviation Brigade Patch (SSI)
449th Theater Aviation Brigade Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)