Questions About Army Aviation (Re)Structure

[JNDVirtual]

I was reading about the Army Restructure Initiative that is proposing that all the Guard/Reserve AH-64s be transferred to the Active Component and that 159 UH-60s would be transferred from the Active Component to the Reserve Component. I read the slides and saw some numbers that didn't seem to make sense.

The way I understand the structure, an assault helicopter battalion (AHB) has three companies of 10 UH-60s each; a general support aviation battalion (GSAB) has one company of eight UH-60s for command & control and airlift, either one company of 12 or two companies of six CH-47s, and one company of 15 HH-60s for MEDEVAC; and a security and support battalion (SSB) has four companies of eight UH-72 Lakotas each.

All of the Guard/Reserve AH-64s were a part of attack reconnaissance battalions (ARBs), which consisted of three companies of eight AH-64s each. They will tentatively be returned to the Active Component to form ARBs that will add a company of MQ-1C Gray Eagles.

I looked at the current Reserve Component aviation brigade structure as I know it and found thirteen brigades (understanding that the ARBs are going away in favor of AHBs):

Combat Aviation Brigade, 28th Infantry Division (three ARBs, one AHB, one GSAB)
Combat Aviation Brigade, 29th Infantry Division (two ARBs, one AHB, one GSAB, one SSB)
Combat Aviation Brigade, 34th Infantry Division (one ARB, one AHB, one GSAB, one SSB)
Combat Aviation Brigade, 35th Infantry Division (one ARB, one AHB, one GSAB, one SSB)
Combat Aviation Brigade, 36th Infantry Division (one ARB, one AHB, one GSAB, one SSB)
Combat Aviation Brigade, 38th Infantry Division (one ARB, one AHB, one GSAB, one SSB)
Combat Aviation Brigade, 40th Infantry Division (one ARB, one AHB, one GSAB, one SSB)
Combat Aviation Brigade, 42nd Infantry Division (one ARB, one AHB, one GSAB, one SSB)
63rd Aviation Brigade (ARNORTH) (one GSAB)
77th Aviation Brigade (Arkansas ARNG) (three AHBs, one GSAB)
244th Aviation Brigade (USAR) (two GSABs, one heavy helicopter company, one MEDEVAC company, one theater aviation battalion)
185th Aviation Brigade (ARCENT) (two GSABs)
449th Aviation Brigade (ARCENT) (three AHBs, one GSAB)

Counting that up, that's 11 ARBs, 14 AHBs, 15 GSABs (and one partial GSAB), and seven SSBs.

So I look at the proposed end numbers in the slideshow and see this for the Reserve Component:

0 Attack Reconnaissance Battalions - 0 aircraft (since the AH-64s would be transferred to the Active Component)
20 Assault Helicopter Battalions - 600 UH-60s
15 General Support Aviation Battalions - 495 UH/HH-60s and 192 CH-47s
6 Security and Support Battalions - 192 UH-72s

The numbers for the ARBs, AHBs, and SSBs make sense and divide out evenly. However, it gets confusing for the GSABs. So my questions are:

- The slideshow indicated that there will be 12 aviation brigades in the Reserve Component. I counted 13. Has one inactivated?

- If each battalion has eight UH-60s and 15 HH-60s, that's 23 Blackhawks per battalion. At 15 battalions, that should be 345 aircraft. The slideshow showed a total of 495 aircraft, so where are the other 150 Blackhawks assigned?

- Each battalion has 12 CH-47s. At 15 battalions, that should be 180 aircraft. The slideshow showed a total of 192 aircraft, so where are the other 12 Chinooks assigned?

- Basically, are there additional companies or battalions that are not assigned to an aviation brigade that could account for the additional aircraft?

And one question about the Active Component:

- The Army plans to reduce its Active Component combat aviation battalions from 13 to ten over the next five years. Right now, I count 12 (CABs for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th and 25th infantry divisions; 82nd and 101st airborne divisions; 1st Cavalry, 1st Armored and 10th Mountain divisions; and the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade in Germany, which will shift to rotational units). The 159th CAB at Fort Campbell, KY has already been inactivated. Any word/rumors on which of the others are due for inactivation?

[Victory103]

Really in a state of flux, even with what I know on the active side. I have seen the active ARBs start to re-flag as "troops", the AH-64s are taking on the scout mission from the now gone OH-58 units. For the NG side, I have hard time keeping it straight as the CAB HQ is located in one state, the companies will be spread to other states. Confusing for someone that has been assigned to a CAB (1 ACB) with all assets in one location. The Germany and Korea packages are rolling out, typically 9 month rotations. Sadly, most of my buds still in the CABs are line pilots, who do what they are told and generally don't ask questions about the larger scheme, only when are they on the flight schedule next!

What version of the ARI slideshow do you have?

[JNDVirtual]

Victory103, I have GAO-15-430R Force Structure, 18 May 15. Can send you a link if you like or if you have a more current version, shoot that link my way.

With a bit more background, I think I'm filling in the blanks:

- On the active side, there will be two types of "attack" battalions. The "attack reconnaissance squadrons" (ARSs) are replacing the OH-58 units and are indeed being flagged as squadrons of either the 6th or 17th Cavalry regiments. They will have three troops of eight AH-64s each and a platoon of 12 RQ-7 Shadow UAVs. The "attack reconnaissance battalions" (ARBs) remain with their usual titles. They will have three companies of eight AH-64s each and a company of 12 MQ-1C Gray Eagles. For my own project, I'm designating that company as F Company of whichever battalion has the Apaches and doesn't have Shadows.

- I have most of the units listed out on both the Active and Reserve/Guard sides, so yes, they are spread out pretty far and wide on the Reserve Component side. I think I have all the units, but I'll have to fudge a few numbers in terms of how many aircraft are in each one.

- The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade in Germany is effectively gutted and are on the nine-month rotational. Their Apaches (3-159th) went to Fort Wainwright and reflagged as the 1-25th, 25th CAB, 25 ID. The 1-25th uses space vacated by the 6-17th Cavalry, which moved to Fort Carson as the ARS of 4th CAB, 4 ID. The only permanent units in the 12th CAB to my knowledge are UH-60s from C/1-214th MEDEVAC (which moved from Landstuhl to Grafenwohr) and AH-64s from 1-3rd Avn (which reflagged from the 2-159th).

- The numbers in the ARI for the Active Component includes two battalions' worth of equipment in South Korea. Right now, they are on the nine-month rotational (including the aforementioned 6-17th Cav). So I'm going to do some crunching to see how that all shapes out numbers-wise.

- The extra Guard aircraft numbers appear to be from the Theater Aviation Brigades, which I thought was counted in the brigade numbers but don't appear to be. There's a footnote that the numbers include two theater aviation brigades. The 63rd Aviation Brigade is attached to US Army North, so I'm assuming that's one of the two.

More to follow.

[JNDVirtual]

- Based on media reports, of the two ARNG theater aviation commands, it appears that the 66th (WA ARNG) is the one targeted for inactivation. Nothing official yet, though.