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Lt. Col. Comador Ferguson III, commander of the 2-159th Attack Battalion (left), and Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Reichart, command sergeant major of the 2-159th Attack Battalion (right), salute as the 1-3 Attack Battalion colors are cased. The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade has reflagged its attack battalion from 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment (Attack) to 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (Attack). The activation of the “Gunslingers” Battalion is largely a change in name-only for 12th CAB, part of the wider Army Aviation Transformation Initiative (AATI). This action returns the 1-3 Attack Battalion lineage to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Stewart, Georgia, while re-activating a historic unit name for the U.S. Army’s attack presence in Europe. The 2-159th Attack Battalion will continue to provide USAREUR-AF with a ready and lethal force, postured to deter, and, if necessary, defeat aggression across the theater of operations.
(Photo Credit: Spc. Grant Hockley)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption –
Soldiers of 2-159th Attack Battalion, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade stand in formation during the 1-3 AB to 2-159 AB Reflag Ceremony, Oct. 14. The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade has reflagged its attack battalion from 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment (Attack) to 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (Attack). The activation of the “Gunslingers” Battalion is largely a change in name-only for 12th CAB, part of the wider Army Aviation Transformation Initiative (AATI). This action returns the 1-3 Attack Battalion lineage to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Stewart, Georgia, while re-activating a historic unit name for the U.S. Army’s attack presence in Europe. The 2-159th Attack Battalion will continue to provide USAREUR-AF with a ready and lethal force, postured to deter, and, if necessary, defeat aggression across the theater of operations.
(Photo Credit: Spc. Grant Hockley)VIEW ORIGINAL3 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption –
KATTERBACH, Germany - Lt. Col. Comador M. Ferguson III (left) and Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Reichart (right) unfurl the new guidon for the “Gunslingers” 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (Attack). The redesignation of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment (Attack) to 2-159th Attack Battalion represents a return in name to a historically lethal force in the European theater. The 2-159th Attack Battalion continues to provide a lethal force to deter any hostile actions within the USAREUR-AF regions. (U.S. Army Photo by 1st Lt. Christian Brooks).
(Photo Credit: 1st Lt. Christian Brooks)VIEW ORIGINAL
ANSBACH, Germany – The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) has reflagged its attack battalion from 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment (Attack), to 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (Attack), effective immediately, Oct. 14, 2025.
The activation of the “Gunslingers” Battalion is largely a change in name-only for the 12th CAB, part of the wider Army Aviation Transformation Initiative (AATI). This action returns the 1-3 Attack Battalion lineage to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Stewart, Georgia, while re-activating a historic unit name for the U.S. Army’s attack presence in Europe.
“We are redesignating back to 2-159th, and my team is excited to resume the heritage of this storied unit,” said Lt. Col. Comador M. Ferguson III, commander of the 2-159th Attack Battalion. “We will continue to fly and fight the world’s most technically advanced Apache with a laser-like focus on addressing potential near-peer threats, while continuously showcasing our expertise in hard-hitting, gritty lethality.”
Crucially, no Soldiers or equipment will be leaving the 12th CAB. The personnel, helicopters, and mission readiness currently provided by the unit remain here in Germany, continuing their vital role in support of U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF).
The return of the 2-159 name reestablishes a unit with a strong connection to Germany. The 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment was originally constituted in 1968 and was reorganized and redesignated in August 2006 as the 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, stationed in Germany at Storck Barracks. In October 2015, as part of a restructuring initiative, it was reflagged as the 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment at Katterbach, the name the battalion carried until this current transformation under the AATI.
“Katterbach has always been more than a duty station; it’s a home to generations of Soldiers, Families, and our German neighbors who have welcomed and supported us,” said Col. Adam R. Bock, commander of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade. “As we reactivate the 2-159th Attack Battalion, let us also rededicate ourselves to the mission, to one another, and to the trust placed in us by our nation.”
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