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Furthermore, the ghost of "another Air Corps" kept rising from the graveyard with all the unhappy memories of that early era. There were those who saw the formation of such a brigade as the final positive indication that Army aviation was truly headed for a separate air arm.
The 1st Aviation Brigade was formed provisionally on 1 March 1966 with Brigadier General George P. ("Phip") Seneff in command. General Seneff's career had been sprinkled with key assignments related to airmobility and he had been a major commander in the testing of the 11th Air Assault Division. He was quick to assembly many of his former "11th Air Assault Team" to form a brigade staff and to publish the first handbook and standard operating procedures of the brigade. With the publication of basic operational manuals, the 1st Brigade was able to standardize aviation operational procedures throughout Vietnam, establish training schools, enforce safety regulations, and in general more effectively manage the growing aviation assets.
Essentially, General Seneff commanded the non-organic Army aviation elements in Vietnam, but operational control was vested in the supported ground commander. It was a tribute to the personalities involved that this unusual system worked; retaining the best features of centralized command—training and standardization—and the best features of decentralization—operational control and support. The onus of a large impersonal structure with its inherent unresponsiveness was avoided. Though the ghost of another air corps would not be entirely exorcized for years to come, the 1st Aviation Brigade avoided most of the pitfalls that had been grimly predicted at its onset.
General Seneff, in coordination with Major General William E. DePuy who then commanded the 1st U.S. Division, began a test period to determine the most satisfactory means of supporting a line infantry division with separate aviation elements. While considerable work had been done in this area during 1965, it had grown in different directions depending on the unit supported and the aviation assets available. Using the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph B. Starker, as the test vehicle, Generals DePuy and Seneff soon ironed out most of the serious problems in matching aviation to the ground units. Because the requirements varied in each part of Vietnam, the brigade tried to collocate one assault helicopter company with each U.S. brigade and in course of time each Republic of Korea brigade. The companies supporting Army of the Republic of Vietnam units were located in the most centralized positions for best support. The