Argentine Army Aviation

Direccion de Aviación de Ejército Argentine Army Aviation
Argentine Army Aviation wings
Active	1912 – 1945 1956 - present
Country	Argentina
Branch	Argentine Army
Type	Army aviation
Part of	Army Ministry of Defense
Engagements	Operativo Independencia Falklands (Malvinas)
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President
Chief of Staff of the Army	General
Chief of AvEjer	Colonel
Insignia
Roundel

The Argentine Army Aviation (Spanish: Comando de Aviación Ejército Argentino, AvEjer) is the army aviation branch of the Argentine Army. Their members have the same rank insignia and titles as the rest of the Army.

Along with its primary role of supporting Army operations, the Army Aviation is highly involved in humanitarian aid missions, emergency relief, medical evacuations and forest firefighting.

Military aviation in Argentina traces back to the Paraguayan War when, on 8 July 1867, Staff Sergeant Roberto A. Chodasiewicz used an observation balloon during the battle of Humaitá. Since then, the army was the main driving force behind national aeronautical development. The use of enthusiastic students who relied on the selfless support of civil institutions and airclubs, saw the creation of the Military Aviation School at El Palomar in 1912.

The establishment of the Army Aviation Service ((Spanish) Servicio de Aviación de Ejército) saw a great expansion of Argentine air power in the 1912–1945 period, and supported the development of civil aviation in Argentina. The creation of the first aviation units and the foundation of the Fabrica Militar de Aviones in the 1920s were the beginning of a process that lead to the creation of the Argentine Air Force in 1945, to which the Army transferred its aircraft and related installations.

In 1956, Army Aviation was re-established within the Army and began a major expansion, incorporating new types of aircraft and opening new bases around the country. In 1965, using a Cessna U-17 they performed their first expedition to the South Pole.

During the 1970s the service consolidated itself as an important branch of the Army receiving aircraft such as the Aeritalia G.222 transport which caused friction with the Air Force. The expansion plans continued in the early 1980s with the incorporation of the Agusta A109 utility and the Boeing CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.