"Spartans"
1st Battalion, 223d Aviation Regiment is currently organized into three line companies, an HHC and an Army air ambulance detachment "FLATIRON." The battalion's mission is to coordinate and conduct flight instruction and operations at Cairns Army Airfield, Knox Army Heliport, and Shell Army Heliport to provide the Army with professionally trained CH-47 aviators.
Additionally, it conducts initial rotary wing contact and instrument training in the LUH-72 Lakota while evaluating and performing quality assurance to include instrument flight examiner training. The Spartans are also responsible for the CH-47 Non-rated Crewmember Flight and Standardization Instructor Course. The battalion provides general aviation and crash-rescue support to the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence while conducting aeromedical evacuation operations throughout the southeastern United States. The battalion continues to provide safe and quality training to our up and coming future generation pilots.
The battalion's motto is "The Mark of Excellence."
Leadership
Commander, 1-223d Aviation Regiment
Lt. Col. Thomas Jefferson (T.J.) Menn
Lt. Col. Thomas Jefferson (T.J.) Menn was born in Carthage, IL to Robert and Jane Menn. He graduated from Carthage High School in 2001 and the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and immediately commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the Aviation branch.
Lt. Col. Menn reported to Fort Rucker, Alabama for Initial Entry Rotary Wing training in July, and in December 2005 he married Jennifer. After graduation in 2006, the couple moved to... READ MORE
