MISSION:
Upon order, the 244th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade (ECAB) is to provide operational aviation support to the U.S. Army and joint forces across a range of military operations. This includes air mobility, aeromedical evacuation, reconnaissance, and logistical support. The brigade’s diverse capabilities enable it to conduct aviation operations in both combat and humanitarian environments, ensuring the delivery of personnel, equipment, and supplies to where they are needed most.
The ECAB is critical in supporting full-spectrum operations, enabling rapid deployment, and enhancing operational readiness to achieve success in diverse and often austere environments. The brigade’s versatility ensures that it can respond to a wide array of mission requirements, both domestically and overseas, including supporting natural disaster relief, combat missions, and peacekeeping operations. The 244th ECAB is one of the two U.S. Army Reserve's aviation brigades. The brigade consists of more than 1,850 Soldiers and 120 aircraft, spanning from coast to coast in 7 states
The brigade is comprised of a headquarters company, two general support aviation battalions, one fixed wing battalion, and an aviation maintenance battalion, as follows:
- HHC, 244th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade, headquartered at Fort Knox,Kentucky
- 8th Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment, headquartered at Fort Knox, Kentucky
- 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia
- 2nd Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment, headquartered at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey
- 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina
The 244th ECAB became a component of the original 11th Theater Aviation Command when the command activated Sept. 16, 2007. At that time, a number of units which were formerly under the brigade were transferred away and several units within the brigade were re-consolidated.
HISTORY:
The 244th Aviation Brigade was originally constituted Sept. 16, 1988 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters, 244th Aviation Group and was activated at Naval Air Station Glenview in Glenview, Illinois. On March 31, 1995 the group's location was changed to Fort Sheridan, Illinois and on Oct. 17, 1995 the Group was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 244th Aviation Brigade. On Oct. 1, 2008, the Brigade headquarters was moved from Fort Sheridan, Illinois to Fort Dix, New Jersey. Finalizing headquarters location at Fort Knox, Kentucky in 2020.
The brigade consists of a mix of Active Component and Reserve (Troop Program Unit and Active Guard Reserve) soldiers as well as Department of the Army civilian employees and contractors. Every unit of the brigade has deployed overseas to support contingency operations since 1988, including the Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company.
These operations include Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Joint Forge, Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Units of the brigade also perform daily missions in cooperation with other United States forces and agencies such as search and rescue operations, assisting in wildfire suppression, providing support at the Army National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, and flying dignitaries around the country.
LINEAGE:
- Constituted Sept. 16, 1988 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 244th Aviation Group, and activated at Glenview Naval Air Station, Illinois
- Location changed March 31, 1995 to Fort Sheridan, Illinois
- Reorganized and redesignated Oct. 7, 1995 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 244th Aviation Brigade.
- Location changed Oct. 1, 2008 to Fort Dix, New Jersey
- Location changed Oct. 1, 2020 to Fort Knox, Kentucky