834th Aviation Support Battalion
The 834th Aviation Support Battalion is a US Army National Guard battalion headquartered in Arden Hills, Minnesota. It has units and elements in Minnesota, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. The battalion has over 670 soldiers and is designed to support a Combat Aviation Brigade. The 834th ASB is an organic part of the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade, 34th "Red Bull" Infantry Division.
Organization
Four companies form the 834th Aviation Support Battalion.- Headquarters and Support Company located in Arden Hills, Minnesota.
- Distribution Company located in Arden Hills, Minnesota.
- Aviation Maintenance Company located in Tulsa, Oklahoma with detachments in Arden Hills, Minnesota, and Tupelo, Mississippi.
- Signal Network Support Company located in Arden Hills, Minnesota.
Principal functions
The ASB is the primary aviation logistics organization in the combat aviation brigade. The ASB provides aviation and ground field maintenance, resupply, communications and medical support. The ASB has been designed to support the aviation brigade's forward support companies, aviation maintenance companies/troops and the brigade's headquarters company. In addition to the standard battalion staff, the ASB has an organic combat service support automation management office and a well-staffed support operations section. The CSSAMO capability provides support to the entire brigade's automation. The SPO section is organized to coordinate logistical support and provide distribution management for the brigade.History
The 834th Aviation Support Battalion was organized on 1 September 2000 from new and existing units within the National Guard. The battalion performed extensive MN state active duty operations during the . It also provided the logistics support for the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th ID's Mobilization Readiness Exercise at Fort Polk, Louisiana in 2005.Iraq campaign
On 3 June 2008, the 834th ASB was federalized for service as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for training and mobilization. For the deployment, the Mississippi Detachment of B Company, 834th ASB was not activated. The battalion was also augmented with personnel from B Company, 248th ASB of the Iowa National Guard. The 834th ASB was part of Task Force 34 which was commanded by the Combat Aviation Brigade, 34th Infantry Division. By August 2008, the battalion arrived at Camp Buehring, Kuwait to train and manage the port operations for the rest of the Task Force.After moving north into Iraq, the 834th ASB replaced the 412th Aviation Support Battalion on 7 September 2008 in Balad, Iraq. Task Force 34 was the Corps Combat Aviation Brigade as part of Multi-National Corps - Iraq. The 834th ASB provided support not only to TF 34, but also became the supporting ASB for TF 49 that was the combat aviation brigade for Multi-National Division Center. This arrangement required the battalion to have a support element based at the Baghdad International Airport. Later, with mission restructuring in the southern part of Iraq, the battalion sent additional assets, including C Company, 834th ASB to Tallil, Iraq to develop an aviation support infrastructure there. Eventually, the BIAP-based elements moved south to Tallil to support Multi-National Division-South. The 834th ASB completed its combat tour in Iraq in May 2009 and was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation on 8 May 2009.