The 11th Air Aviation Command might not exist in its current form if it were not for the ideas of Lieutenant General Hamilton Howze, president of the U.S. Army Tactical Mobility Requirements Board. Considering the future of combat operations and troop deployment and mobility, Howze was a booster of the concept of helicopter assaults, and on the board’s recommendation the 11th Airborne Division was reactivated as the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) and the 11th Air Assault Aviation Group (AAAG) created and assigned to it.
After successful testing of the concept—now familiar to anyone who has seen footage of either helicopter deployment of troops or helicopter-based ground attacks in Vietnam—the 11th AAAG was reorganized and redesignated as simply the 11th Aviation Group and assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. Equipped with over 425 helicopters, the 1st Cavalry became part of the very warp and woof of U.S. military operations in Vietnam. For its service with 1st Cavalry, the 11th Aviation Group was honored with a Presidential Unit Citation, a Valorous Unit Award, and a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Relieved of its assignment to 1st Cavalry in 1971, the 11th Aviation Group spent the period from 1973 to 1989 deployed in Germany as part of the NATO bulwark against possible Warsaw Pact invasion. During that time, it was redesignated the 11th Aviation Brigade (it reverted to the “Group” designation in 1993). In the 1990s, the unit took part in peacekeeping missions and contingency operations, including Operation Desert Storm, Operation Joint Endeavor (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and in Kosovo in 1999. It also was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 before its inactivation in 2005.
Reactivated and redesignated as the 11th Aviation Command in 2007, the unit was withdrawn from the Regular Army and placed in the Army Reserve. Currently based at Fort Knox, Kentucky, the 11th Aviation has more than 4,000 soldiers and nearly 200 aircraft under its management umbrella as the lone Aviation Command in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Army Aviation has traditionally employed ultramarine blue and golden orange as its colors. The Command’s Combat Service Identification Badge, or CSIB, is a facsimile of its shoulder sleeve insignia, which uses a shield design to reflect the protection that is provided by the units under its command. The eagle, an emblem of Army Aviation, denotes the high level of flying ability displayed by the Command’s battalions. Two arrows on the eagle’s wings represent the Command’s numerical designation, as well as the combat capabilities and rapid response of the organization. A similarly designed eagle is used for the Command’s
Unit Crest, officially called a
Distinctive Unit Insignia, which also displays the unit's motto "We Make The Difference."
Related Items
11th Aviation Brigade Patch (SSI)
11th Aviation Brigade Unit Crest (DUI)