4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas

The Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) has announced its Calendar Year 2004 National Award Winners. Winning units and individuals are being recognized at the AAAA Annual Convention, being held this week, May 9-11, 2005, in Orlando, Fla. The AAAA Annual Convention provides an opportunity for its members to gather with government and industry representatives concerned with Army Aviation and participate in the professional program and exhibits.

The first AAAA Annual Convention was held in June 1959 and has taken place every year since then. In recent years, the sites of the AAAA Annual Convention have included Atlanta, Ga.; Fort Worth, Texas and Nashville, Tenn.

The relentless determination, adaptive tactics and heroic performance of the 4th Brigade Combat Team during 2004 distinguished it among all other outstanding units in support of the Global War on Terrorism and made significant contributions in every major combat action during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Specifically, the 2,100-plus air cavalry troopers of the Warrior Brigade flew over 70,000 hours in less than 12 months. This figure exceeds six times the home station average and represents the most hours overall, per month, and by airframe type per month, of any unit that served in either OIF I or II.

Aviators averaged over 600 combat flight hours each, with several logging over 1,000 hours. This required 70 phase maintenance inspections, over 650 progressive phase maintenance inspections, requisition and management of nearly 11,000 parts, over 560,000 maintenance man-hours, the distribution of over 3 million gallons of JP-8 fuel, and regular re-supply convoys that drove over 385,000 miles.

The Warriors also demonstrated their mettle in combat and courage under fire in tens of thousands of missions throughout Bagdad, in SADR City, in Northern Babil and support of Coalition forces in An Najaf and in Fallujah where they were authorized to wear 1st Marine Division Combat Patch.

The Warrior Brigade earned the motto "when we fly, soldiers don't die" and helped enable the first democratic elections in the region in fifty years.

FMI: www.quad-a.org