1st Aviation Brigade
| US Army Aviation Center of Excellence | |
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| Alabama (United States) | |
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The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, previously the Army Aviation Center and School, is the United States Army Aviation Branch's training and development center, located at Fort Rucker, Alabama. It "trains military, civilian, and international personnel in leadership skills, integrates aviation warfighting doctrine and requirements determination across the DOTMLPF, manages available resources, and sustains the U.S. Army's commitment to the well-being to its soldiers, civilians, retirees, and Families." Its Commanding General is Major General Michael D. Lundy.
The Center of Excellence includes three aviation brigades, the 1st Aviation Brigade, 110th Aviation Brigade, and 128th Aviation Brigade, and a Noncommissioned Officers' Academy.
Organic Army Aviation first entered into combat in November 1942 on the coast of North Africa. During World War II, L-4 Grasshoppers and a few larger L-5 Sentinels were used to adjust artillery fire, gather intelligence, support naval bombardment, direct bombing missions, and perform other functions. Most training of both pilots and mechanics was conducted by the Department of Air Training within the Field Artillery School at Henry Post Army Airfield, Okla., although the Army Air Forces conducted some primary training of organic Army Aviation personnel. During the Korean War, the Department of Air Training at Post Field expanded, and in early 1953, it became the Army Aviation School. As a result of the expansion of both aviation and artillery training, Post Field became overcrowded, and the Army decided to move the Army Aviation School to a different post. When no satisfactory permanent Army post was found, a temporary post, Camp Rucker, Ala., was chosen.
The Army Aviation School began moving to Alabama in August 1954 and the first class began at Rucker in October.
On 1 February 1955, the Army Aviation Center was officially established at Rucker. In October of that year, the post was given permanent status with the name change from Camp Rucker to Fort Rucker. Before the mid-1950s, the Air Force had provided primary training for Army Aviation pilots and mechanics. In 1956, the U.S. Department of Defense gave the Army control over all of its own training. Gary and Wolters Air Force Bases in Texas, where the Air Force had been conducting this training, were also transferred to the Army. Lacking adequate facilities at Fort Rucker, Army Aviation continued primary fixed-wing training at Camp Gary until 1959 and primary rotary-wing training at Fort Wolters until 1973.
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