The 3rd Aviation Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army Aviation Branch. It operates the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, and Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter. It has been associated with the 3rd Infantry Division for some time.
History
Originally designated the 3d Aviation Company (Combat), the unit was activated and assigned to the 3d Infantry Division on 1 July 1957 at Fort Benning, Georgia. On 5 June 1963, the 3d Aviation Battalion was activated in Germany. (Despite being activated, however, the unit was largely unmanned beyond company strength. Due to the demand for aviators and maintenance personnel in Vietnam, as well as spare parts, divisional aviation battalions based in Europe and the continental United States usually did not exist.) The battalion was formally inactivated on 15 January 1967 in Germany and reactivated there on 21 August 1978. In April 1981, the 3d Aviation Battalion (Combat) relocated from Kitzingen Army Airfield to Giebelstadt Army Airfield.
On 16 November 1984, the aviation component of the 3d Infantry Division was expanded and provisionally activated as the U.S. Army's first combat aviation brigade in a mechanized infantry division. The brigade was officially activated on 15 March 1985 as the Aviation Brigade, 3d Infantry Division and contained all of the aviation units of the 3d Infantry Division, some of which were redesignated or reflagged on 16 June 1987 as elements of the 3d Aviation Regiment. (While informally referred to as the 4th Brigade to put it on par with the division's three mechanized/armored brigades, its actual designation was "Aviation Brigade, 3d Infantry Division.") The brigade consisted of two attack helicopter battalions (reflagged as 2-3 and 3-3 in 1987), one general support battalion (Task Force 23), and a divisional cavalry squadron (3d Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment (3-7 Cav)).
When the Army went "regimental" with its Aviation branch in 1987, the company lineages of the 3d Aviation Battalion were perpetuated in the following manner:
HHC: Headquarters Company, 3d Aviation Battalion, reorganized and redesignated 16 August 1987 as Company D, 3d Aviation; concurrently relieved from assignment to the 3d Infantry Division and assigned to the 2d Armored Division (Headquarters, 3d Aviation Battalion – hereafter separate lineage) Inactivated 15 March 1991 at Fort Hood, Texas, and relieved from assignment to the 2d Armored Division Redesignated 16 May 2004 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 3d Aviation, and activated at Fort Campbell, Kentucky (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated) Battalion redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 4th Battalion, 3d Aviation Regiment
Company A: Reorganized and redesignated 16 August 1987 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3d Aviation; concurrently relieved from assignment to the 3d Infantry Division and assigned to the 2d Armored Division (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated) Relieved 14 August 1991 from assignment to the 2d Armored Division Inactivated 15 August 1991 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky Assigned 16 February 1996 to the 3d Infantry Division and activated at Fort Stewart, Georgia Relieved 16 May 2004 from assignment to the 3d Infantry Division and assigned to the Combat Aviation Brigade, 3d Infantry Division Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 1st Battalion, 3d Aviation Regiment Inactivated 15 September 2015 at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia Activated 15 October 2015 in Germany
Company B: Reorganized and redesignated 16 August 1987 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 3d Aviation, and remained assigned to the 3d Infantry Division (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated) Relieved 15 January 1991 from assignment to the 3d Infantry Division Inactivated 15 July 1993 in Germany Assigned 16 February 1996 to the 3d Infantry Division and activated at Fort Stewart, Georgia Relieved 16 May 2004 from assignment to the 3d Infantry Division and assigned to the Combat Aviation Brigade, 3d Infantry Division Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 2d Battalion, 3d Aviation Regiment