135th Aviation Regiment (United States)

The regiment was constituted in August 1985 with the activation of the 35th Infantry Division as an Attack Battalion flying AH-1S Cobra's.

The 2nd Battalion (General Support), 135th Aviation Regiment first became a part of the Colorado Army National Guard in the mid-1980s.

The original unit, a single company, was made a part of the 40th Infantry Division's aviation brigade, predominantly located in California.

They were certified "Fit to Fight" by Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, commanding general, First United States Army, on 30 July 2006.

The unit shipped to Kuwait in August 2006, completed a couple of weeks of "boots on the ground" training at Camp Buehring, and entered Iraq in the first half of September as one of five battalions of Task Force Mustang.

It also included Army aviation Guard personnel from three additional primary states, Minnesota, Nebraska, Utah with smaller contingents from Arkansas, Wyoming, Missouri and Florida.

The battalion had approximately 550 personnel in Iraq fully augmented, whereas the more normal staffing in the Colorado guard is 300.

While deployed and supporting MEDEVAC missions, CO F, 2-135th received the Valorous Unit Award (VUA) for "extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy."

On three separate expeditionary partnership missions, Task-Force Blackjack forward deployed to three additional countries, all while sustaining flight operations in Kuwait.

Iraq expedition patch as part of 36th Combat Aviation Brigade
Colorado Mustang Flight
Soldiers in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter take off from Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport