Air Assault Badge
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| Air Assault Badge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Awarded by United States Army | |
| Type | Badge |
| Awarded for | Air Assault training course |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1974 |
| Last awarded | On going |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | (Group 3 badges) Astronaut, EOD, Aviator, Flight Surgeon |
| Same | (Group 4 badges) Ramshead, Pathfinder, Parachutist, Military Freefall Parachutist |
| Next (lower) | (Group 5 badges) Diving, Driver and Mechanic, Rigger |
The Air Assault Badge, pictured to the right[1], is awarded by the U.S. Army for successful completion of the Air Assault School, a two-week (ten-day) course. The course includes three phases of instruction involving U.S. Army rotary wing aircraft: combat air assault operations; rigging and slingload operations; and rappelling from a helicopter.
According to the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, “The Air Assault Badge was approved by the Chief of Staff, Army, on 18 January 1978, for Army-wide wear by individuals who successfully completed Air Assault training after 1 April 1974. The badge had previously been approved as the Airmobile Badge authorized for local wear by the Commander of the 101st Airborne Division, effective 1 April 1974.” The division had been reorganized from parachute to airmobile in mid-1968 in Vietnam and designated the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). The parenthetical designation changed to Air Assault on 4 October 1974 and the name of the badge was likewise changed.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Training Locations
Formal Air Assault training has been conducted at Fort Campbell, KY, by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) since the Air Assault School was formed in 1974. During the early stages of the occupation of Iraq in late 2003, the division conducted a course in-theatre to maintain Air Assault proficiency.[3]
Air Assault training is also offered by the Army National Guard (ARNG) Warrior Training Center [4] at Fort Benning, which conducts training both at the post and at a variety of other locations throughout the United States [5] by means of Mobile Training Teams.
Air Assault training has also been offered over the years on a continuous basis at other locations, to include (but not limited to):
- Camp Gruber, OK (Oklahoma ARNG)[6]
- Fort Belvoir, VA (Military District of Washington)
- Fort Drum, NY (10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry))
- Fort Hood, TX (2nd Armored Division)
- Fort McCoy, WI (Light Fighter Academy)
- Fort Ord, CA (7th Infantry Division (Light))
- Fort Richardson, AK (6th Infantry Division (Light))
- Fort Rucker, AL (1st Aviation Brigade)
- Fulda, GE (11th Armored Cavalry Regiment)
- Schofield Barracks, HI (25th Infantry Division (Light))
Most of these locations no longer run Air Assault courses.
[edit] Wear of the Badge
The wear of the Air Assault Badge on Army uniforms is governed by AR 670-1, Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms.[7]
Vietnam veterans of the 101st have sought the retroactive award of the Air Assault Badge for their training and experience in combat, but the Army has yet to grant their request.[8]
[edit] Origin
An article in the Army Times dated 16 March 1981 featured a picture of an officer holding a set of Air Assault wings about a foot wide and included the paragraph below:
“Badge Designer: When he designed a badge for the 101st Abn Div in Vietnam in 1971, Maj. Jack R. Rickman thought that was the end of a project assigned by the division operations officer. Years later he recognized his design as the Air Assault Badge, which the Army adopted officially in January 1978. Rickman, who will retire from the Army in April, never earned the badge himself.”
The design was influenced by the Parachute Badge [9] worn when the division was on jump status, as well as the Glider Badge [10] worn by glider units during World War II.
When the 101st returned from Vietnam to Fort Campbell, KY, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was inactivated and its assets used to form the division’s 3rd Brigade, which was on jump status. The remainder of the division was organized as Airmobile. In February 1974, Major General Sidney B. Berry, Commanding General, signed Division General Order 179 authorizing the wear of the Airmobile Badge. Concurrently it was announced that the 3rd Brigade would terminate its jump status effective 1 April 1974, the same date on which the Airmobile Badge would be authorized. Charles Bloodworth, a pathfinder officer in the 101st during that period, describes the period fully at this link.[11]
[edit] Wing Ovals
When the 101st adopted Air Assault wings, it also adopted their wear with the cloth wing ovals previously worn behind Parachute wings. The following wing ovals are worn in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Note: The ovals below are only the ones currently featured on the U.S. Army’s Institute of Heraldry (IOH) website and do not represent all of the ovals authorized and worn in the division. The IOH will probably post more ovals at its website in the future as time permits.
- 101st Abn Div
- 1st, 2nd & 3rd Brigades[12]
- 1st BCT
- 3rd BCT
- 4th BCT
[edit] Non-Division
- 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment[26]
Note: Until 2007 this unit's most recent assignment was at Fort Bragg, NC, as a subordinate element of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade (Airborne). Although it was Air Assault, not Airborne, as a unit of the 18th it wore both the maroon beret with flash as well as a matching oval for Air Assault wings. Reassigned to the 17th Fires Brigade [27] at Fort Lewis, WA, it has lost the wear of the beret but will continue to wear its oval behind the Air Assault Badge. Although non-101st units are not normally granted authorization for the wear of an oval with the Air Assault Badge, HHC, 1-377th FAR traces its history back to Battery A, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion [28], which served in the 101st Airborne Division in World War II.
[edit] Army National Guard Air Assault Units
Numerous units in the Army National Guard, such as the CA ARNG's 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment [29], carry the parenthetical designation “Air Assault,” but the Institute of Heraldry has denied all non-101st units the authorization to wear ovals behind their Air Assault wings. The IOH states this is because these units, unlike the 101st, do not have “an air assault mission” and therefore they do not qualify for the wear of ovals. Reportedly such units have been organized as “Air Assault” mainly as an economic move because they require fewer personnel and equipment than standard infantry units, making them less expensive to maintain.
[edit] Original Air Assault Badge
On 7 February 1963 the colors of the 11th Airborne Division were reactivated at Fort Benning, GA, as the 11th Air Assault Division (Test). The 11th was a small unit, never intended for deployable status, used to test the airmobile concept then under development. Units of the 2nd Infantry Division, also located at Fort Benning, were “borrowed” for large-scale airmobile tests and maneuvers.
An earlier Air Assault Badge[30], pictured below, was worn in the early 1960s by troops of 11th who qualified for it by making three helicopter rappels from 60 feet and three from 120 feet. Soldiers were also required to be knowledgeable of aircraft safety procedures; familiar with aircraft orientation; proficient in hand and arm signals and combat assault operations; able to prepare, inspect and rig equipment for external sling loads; and able to lash down equipment inside helicopters. The badge was first awarded in early 1964 and was only authorized for wear by soldiers within the 11th.
The development of Airmobility in the Army and training within the 11th is covered in detail at this link.[31]
On 30 June 1965 the colors of the 11th were inactivated and its assets merged with the 2nd Infantry Division to become the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). The colors of the 2nd were sent to Korea, where the existing 1st Cavalry Division was reflagged and the colors of the 1st Cav sent to Fort Benning. Shortly thereafter the 1st Cav was sent to Vietnam
[edit] Air Force Wear of the Air Assault Badge
All of the military services can and have sent personnel to Air Assault School; however, only the Air Force allows for the wear of the Air Assault Badge on uniforms, and only under limited conditions. The latest edition of AFI 36-2903 (dated 2 Aug 06), Table 5.2, page 138[32] states the badge may only be worn "while permanently assigned to and performing duties with other services." This policy also includes the Combat Infantryman [33] and Combat Medical Badges [34], which had not previously had such restrictions, and the Ranger tab [35], which was not addressed at all in the previous edition. The Combat Action Badge [36], Pathfinder torch[37], and the Parachute Rigger Badge[38] are likewise restricted in their wear.
[edit] Air Support Operations Squadrons
Despite uniform restrictions, many Air Force personnel attend Air Assault School and engage in Air Assault operations with their units. One of these is the 19th Air Support Operations Squadron (19 ASOS)[39], based at Fort Campbell, which provides direct support to the 101st as well as the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Airmen assigned to other ASOSs also attend the Air Assault School.
[edit] Security Forces Squadrons
Another unit that regularly sends personnel to Air Assault training as well as a variety of other Army courses is the 820th Security Forces Group [40] at Moody AFB, GA, and its subordinate units, the 822nd, 823rd and 824th Security Forces Squadrons, which are on jump status. [41] The 786th Security Forces Squadron, a subordinate unit of the 86th Contingency Response Group [42] [43] at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is also on jump status and sends personnel to Air Assault School to enable them to conduct Air Assault operations.
During the mid-1980s, airmen from the 52nd Security Police Squadron, predecessor to today's 52nd Security Forces Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base [44], Germany, arranged to make helicopter rappels from aircraft of the U.S. Army’s 12th Aviation Group based at Wiesbaden Air Base. Members of the 52nd did no other Air Assault-related training but nonetheless arranged to award themselves Air Assault wings by having their wing commander sign off on the documentation. They ignored all other Air Assault training requirements by stating they were not applicable to their duties. Members of the same unit also took part in a one-day, British-sponsored sport parachute course in northern Germany and, when they accumulated five jumps, they had themselves awarded the Parachutist Badge as well, saying the training was the equivalent of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s short, in-house sport parachute course [45] for which the Parachutist Badge is awarded to cadets. There was no valid authority for awarding either of these badges at Spangdahlem AB and their awarding at this location is considered erroneous.
[edit] Special Operations Weather Teams
Airmen assigned to Special Operations Weather Teams [46] [47] [48] of the 10th Combat Weather Squadron [49], often working directly with Army Airborne, Air Assault, and special operations units, frequently attend the Air Assault School.
[edit] Airborne Red Horse Teams
The Air Force has formed 35-man teams on jump status within three of its Red Horse squadrons (Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron) [50] [51] [52] [53], and these personnel attend both Parachute and Air Assault training. The three squadrons with Airborne Red Horse teams are:
The Airborne Red Horse teams are the functional successors to the glider-landed Airborne Aviation Engineer units of World War II (see page 136 at this link)[57], which include the 925th Engineer Airborne Regiment (Provisional), the 871st through 886th Airborne Aviation Engineer Battalions, and the 887th and 888th Airborne Aviation Engineer Companies. (Note: Some of the battalions are active today in the reserve components as standard engineer units. The 887th Engineer Company is an Air Assault unit on active duty at Fort Campbell, KY.) These units typically wore the standard Army Air Forces shoulder patch [58] topped by a red Airborne tab with white letters, the colors of the Corps of Engineers. Airborne Aviation Engineers served in North Africa and Europe[59] as well as the Pacific[60] theatre.
