Fort Campbell to lose the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade
Nevyan17 sends us a link from the Leaf-Chronicle which reports that Fort Campbell will lose permanently the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade and it’s 2400 soldiers. The 101st Division lost their 4th Brigade earlier this year and now the Aviation Brigade;
Fort Campbell leadership issued the following statement at around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday:
“The loss of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell will have a wide-ranging effect both on and off the installation on many levels.
“The inactivation of this unit is derived from the Army’s aviation restructure initiative. Locally, this means Fort Campbell will lose slightly more than 2,400 soldiers, as well as aviation assets which includes aircraft and equipment. The personnel loss figure becomes more dramatic when family members are included. Dependent figures at this time are roughly 3,800.
Because “readiness” means nothing, I suppose. They don’t need the aviation assets which means they won’t need them in the future, and if they do need the brigade, it will only take a week or two to get it off the ground again, right?
Military.com records Congressional response;
“We are deeply disappointed by the Obama administration’s decision to remove the 159th CAB from Fort Campbell,” Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, and Rep. Ed Whitfield said in a joint statement. “It is bad news for our nation’s security and for the local Fort Campbell community.”
It almost makes one think that closing that Brigade is about punishing Kentucky for re-electing McConnell.
Category: Army News
This brings up an interesting question: if the 101st is to remain “Air Assault” – how are they going to train on “Air Assault” missions without a CAB?
Hondo: The 101st CAB (“Wings of Destiny”) remains intact. It will inherit some of the 159th’s goodies, including birds.
They still have the 101 CAB, for the time being at least. The 101st was unique in that it had two CABs under its control.
OK – not sure that was the case in the mid/late 1980s (I only remember one), but that was nearly 30 years ago now. My memory that far back about the units in the 101st at that point in time could be in error.
The decision is still IMO stupid – just not as stupid.
Well, I guess my memory is still working OK – if Wikipedia is correct. Looks like the modern 159h CAB didn’t exist and wasn’t part of the 101st until 1997. That’s long after I last set foot on Fort Campbell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/159th_Combat_Aviation_Brigade
I’m thinking that this is punishment for Mitch winning reelection. Since Kentucky didn’t go blue, they will have to suffer, and if the military suffers too, then what’s the problem? After all president mom-jeans and his clown-car posse administration could give a rat’s ass if the military is unable to defend this nation. It would give the leftists the excuse they need to raise their own marxist brigades and “secure” the country, as it were.
It actually screws TN worse, AW1 Tim.
Fort Campbell straddles the KY/TN border – but virtually all of Fort Campbell is on the TN side of the border. It’s “Fort Campbell, KY” because the original Post Office and/or Post HQ was on the KY side of the line.
Most of the troops live on the TN side, in Clarksville and surrounding area.
This is going to be the joy we have to look forward to in the near future. A Lame Duck President who feels he can dictate his will without input from his advisers and can run the country without the Congress.
If you think the punishments are bad now, just wait. Things will be getting much worse soon enough, especially with so many governors who are opposed to him and opposing his policies.
Ahh yes the so-called “Peace Dividend” fuck the DoD budget until it hits my favorite military installation and then “whoops what’s happening?”
That routine never gets old…saw it here in Mass regarding Westover AFB…
As a new ‘cold-war’ heats up, and it’s obvious that the ‘reset’ with Russian President Putin didn’t work, this is a stupid idea.
The people leading us have neither hindsight, nor foresight.
They have hindsight, Gravel.
It’s hard to have anything except hindsight when your head’s jammed right up your . . . well, nevermind.
Sam Kinison voice: Say it! SAY IT!!!
^^^ This ^^^
I believe that the proper military term is “Rectal Defilade Position”.
Correct. Also often termed “recticranial insertion/inversion”. But I wanted the above to be understandable to both those with and without military experience, nbcguy54.
. . . up your. . . . . hindsight?
Yep. IMO, where their heads are currently firmly inserted, all they can see is their own hindquarters – from the inside. Hence “hindsight”.
They have hindsight alright: the ability to micromanage the military Johnson and McNamara could only dream of.
“We are deeply disappointed by the Obama administration’s decision to remove the 159th CAB from Fort Campbell,” Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, and Rep. Ed Whitfield said in a joint statement. “It is bad news for our nation’s security and for the local Fort Campbell community.”
Okay then you turds, YOU control Congress now so, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT EXCEPT ISSUE STATEMENTS OF YOUR “DISAPPOINTMENT”. You guys are in control, you gonna start doing what you were elected to do or are your doing to wait to hear whatever Boehner tells you to do? That is if you can get him, Obama and Biden off the golf courses long enough to talk about anything that matters to this nation!
Actually they only controll the House at the moment. The newly elected Senate doesn’t take charge until January.
Even then, mustering 2/3 vote in both Houses of Congress to force reversal via legislation would be difficult. Remember, the POTUS can veto laws. Puts him on record, but in this case I’m sure he’ll have no issue in doing exactly that.
I’m also not sure I particularly want Congress involved in deciding directly which unit is based or located where. Based on their track record recently, that “august body” can fornicate up a wet dream 9 times out of 10. Even the 5-sided asylum does better than that.
FWIW, post RVN as the Division was reforming, we had 2/17 Cav(Squadron), 4/77 AFA (Battalion), assorted BDE AVN DETS, and the 101st AVN GP. Group was comprised of the 101st AVN BN (3 companys of Hueys and 1 of Cobras), 158th AVN BN (mirror of 101st AVN BN), and 159th ASHB (‘Hook battalion). Lots going on with the “build up” and somewhat equal split of RVN helicopter pilots/crews and “newbies.” I guess, that with the advent of AVN Branch, splitting that all up into smaller battalions and companys gave more “command opportunity” to the new captains and majors. The old system seem to work well in combat though. Interesting times, they were. regards, Alemaster