COMBAT AVAIATION BDE FOR 1ST ARMORED DIVISION

‘Iron Eagle has landed’: 1st AD CAB activates, marking momentous occasion

From left, Col. Lonnie G. Hibbard, Combat Aviation Brigade commander; Lt. Col. Christopher M. Barnwell, commander of the 4th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment; and Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Odom, battalion command sergeant major, uncase the battalion colors during the colors-uncasing and activation ceremony of the 1st AD CAB Sept. 20. Photo by Spc. Jeanita C. Pisachubbe, 1st AD CAB Public Affairs.

Sgt. Brandon Anderson,
1st AD CAB Public Affairs:
Sept. 20 marked a momentous occasion for the 1st Armored Division.
After being separated from its Combat Aviation Brigade for the last five years, the “Iron” Soldiers of the 1st Armored Division and the “Iron Eagles” of the division’s Combat Aviation Brigade reunited during the brigade’s colors-uncasing ceremony here.
“The brigade is the first combat aviation brigade ever here at Fort Bliss, and will serve as the only one in the 1st Armored Division,” said Maj. Gen. Dana J. H. Pittard, commanding general of 1st AD and Fort Bliss. “The Iron Eagles certainly play a critical role as Fort Bliss becomes a premier power projection platform.
“With the outstanding leadership of Colonel Lonnie Hibbard and Command Sergeant Major Donald Rose, this brigade will make an incredible contribution to the 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, the Army and the nation,” said Pittard. “This team is without a doubt the right team to build this unit and to lead them into battle.”
Several weeks ago, the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade cased its colors at Fort Hood, Texas. The Soldiers of the 4th CAB became the nucleus of this unit that moved more than 1,000 Soldiers and family members to what is now the 1st AD CAB under the Base Realignment and Closure process.
“A unit’s colors represent its people, and behind the colors on the ramp today stand the dedicated Soldiers of the Iron Eagles Brigade,” said Hibbard. “These Soldiers have excelled day after day, meeting and exceeding mission requirements in garrison and combat.”

Soldiers of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, stand together as a newly re-activated aviation brigade during their colors-uncasing ceremony Sept. 20. Photo by Spc. Jeanita C. Pisachubbe, 1st AD CAB Public Affairs.

Throughout the past several months, hundreds of Soldiers and their family members have been arriving at Fort Bliss to become part of the brigade.
“Many of these Soldiers have only been home for 70 days and, instead of enjoying block leave, we asked them to pack up their personal belongings, their units and their families and moved them here to Fort Bliss,” said Hibbard. “The dedication of today’s Soldier is amazing, but more amazing are the families that support them.
Hibbard thanked the numerous men and women who have worked tirelessly to provide the state-of-the-art facilities that the Soldiers of the 1st AD CAB will occupy.
In Hibbard’s closing address to his Soldiers, he thanked them for their service and sacrifices.
“It’s not an easy time to be a Soldier or family member of a Soldier, and you should know that your sacrifices do not go unnoticed,” said Hibbard. “Your service is what allows all of us to live in freedom.”