160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)

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160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)
160th SOAR (A) Insignia
Active	October 16, 1981
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Special Operations
Role	Provide aviation support to U.S. Special Operations Forces
Part of	U.S. Army Special Operations Command
Garrison/HQ	Fort Campbell
Nickname	Night Stalkers
Motto	"Night Stalkers Don't Quit" (NSDQ) "Death Waits in the Dark"
Battles/wars	Operation Urgent Fury Operation Just Cause Operation Desert Storm Operation Restore Hope Operation Gothic Serpent Battle of Mogadishu Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (160th SOAR (A)) is a special operations force of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support to general purpose forces and Special Operations Forces. Its missions include attack, assault, and reconnaissance, and are usually conducted at night, at high speeds and low altitudes, on short notice, and in secret. The force is headquartered at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

The 160th SOAR (A) is also known as the Night Stalkers and its motto is Night Stalkers Don't Quit (NSDQ).

1 Overview
2 History
- 2.1 Operations
3 Famous Night Stalkers
4 Books and Movies
5 See also
6 External links
- 6.1 Official sites
- 6.2 Former Night Stalkers' websites

[edit] Overview

The 160th flies AH-6 Little Bird light attack helicopters, MH-6 small transport/assault helicopters, MH-60 Black Hawk light assault helicopters and MH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters. [1] [2]

The regiment consists of a headquarters company, the Special Operations Aviation Training Company, and four battalions: the 1st and 2nd at Fort Campbell, the 3rd at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, and the 4th at Fort Lewis, Washington. It also has one forward-deployed company in the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility. This allows the 160th to quickly assemble mixed forces to meet short-notice special operations needs.

The 160th SOAR (A) seeks the Army's best-qualified aviators and support soldiers. Officers volunteer and enlisted are volunteer or assigned by the US Army HRC (Human Resources Command). All receive intensive training upon joining the 160th. The basic Night Stalker course for enlisted soldiers lasts five weeks; the officer course 20 to 28 weeks. A new Night Stalker is designated fully mission qualified after a year or two, and earns flight lead qualification in three to five years. A note: The 160th also recruits women albeit they are all staff positions [3]

The Night Stalkers pioneered many of the techniques and helped develop much of the equipment now used at night by other Army aviation units, and it continues to lead the service's advancement of these.

[edit] History

160th SOAR Insignia

After the failure of 1980's Operation Eagle Claw, the disastrous attempt to rescue American hostages held in Tehran, Iran, President Jimmy Carter ordered former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James L. Holloway III to figure out why it went wrong and how the U.S. military could best mount another attempt. One key lesson: there were no U.S. helicopter units trained in this kind of stealthy, short-notice Special Operations Aviation.

The Army looked to the 101st Aviation Battalion, which had the most diverse operating experience of the service's helicopter units, and selected elements of the 158th Aviation Battalion, 229th Aviation Battalion, and the 159th Aviation Battalion. The chosen pilots immediately entered intensive training in night flying. Dubbed Task Force 160, the new unit was quickly recognised as the Army's premier night fighting aviation force, and its only Special Operations Aviation force.

As the first batch of pilots completed training in the fall of 1980, a second attempt to rescue the hostages was planned for early 1981. Dubbed Operation Honey Badger, it was called off when the hostages were released on the morning of President Ronald Reagan's inauguration.

The unit was officially established on October 16, 1981, when it was designated as the 160th Aviation Battalion.

The 160th first saw combat during 1983's Operation Urgent Fury, the U.S. invasion of Grenada.

In 1986, it was re-designated as the 160th Aviation Group (Airborne); in May 1990, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). As demand for highly-trained Special Operations Aviation assets bloomed, the Regiment activated three Battalions, a separate detachment, and incorporated one Army National Guard Battalion.

In 1987 and 1988, its pilots took part in Operation Earnest Will, the protection of re-flagged Kuwaiti tankers in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. They flew from US Navy warships and leased oil barges in a secret sub-part called Operation Prime Chance, and became the first helicopter pilots to use night vision goggles and forward looking infrared devices in night combat.

In June 1988, the unit executed Operation Mount Hope III. Two MH-47 crews flew 490 miles deep into Africa to steal an Mi-24 Hind medium-attack helicopter.

The Night Stalkers spearheaded Operation Just Cause, the 1989 invasion of Panama, and they were also used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

In October of 1993 in Somalia, Night Stalkers became involved in the Battle of Mogadishu, which later became the subject of the book and movie Black Hawk Down. Two Night Stalker Blackhawks, Super 6-1 (piloted by Cliff Wolcott), and Super 6-4 (piloted by Mike Durant), were shot down in the battle. The Night Stalkers lost five men in the two Blackhawks.

The crew of Super 6-4 a month before the Battle of Mogadishu. From left: Winn Mahuron, Tommy Field, Bill Cleveland, Ray Frank and Mike Durant.

[edit] Operations

The 160th SOAR (A) has provided air support to most United States Army Rangers missions.

Operation	Country	Year
Operation Urgent Fury	Grenada	1983
Operation Prime Chance	Persian Gulf	1987–1988
Operation Mount Hope III (recovery of Mi-24 Hind helicopter)	Africa	1988
Operation Just Cause	Panama	1989
Operation Desert Shield	Iraq	1990
Operation Desert Storm	Iraq	1991
Operation Restore Hope	Somalia	1993
Operation Gothic Serpent (operation that led to the Battle of Mogadishu)	Somalia	1993
Operation Enduring Freedom	Afghanistan	2001
Operation Iraqi Freedom	Iraq	2003