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flow of courageous young men in our noncommissioned officer and enlisted ranks. My notes of 15 July 1968 read like this:
I have complete confidence in our rapid production of NCOs which we must continuously produce here within the Division. These men are smarter than the ones we had in World War II. They are just as gallant and courageous also. The ones that have the talent must be spotted early and must be promoted just as fast as it is possible to do so. They do a tremendous job and respond to the challenge immediately. Continuous checks must be made to see that units are promoting men who are doing the job just as fast as possible. I do not think there should be any great concern of the caliber of NCOs that we have today in Vietnam because of their youth and brief experience. If they are carefully selected and assisted as much as possible, they will carry the ball. In fact the young soldier that we have in this Division today is the greatest our Army has ever had during my service. There is a wealth of material ready to become competent combat leaders.
Status of the 1st Aviation Brigade
In July of 1968 the 1st Aviation Brigade reassigned the 308th Aviation Battalion together with its support detachments to the 101st Airborne Division. This was part of the in-theater readjustment necessary for the airmobile reconfiguration of this division. This reassignment still left the 1st Aviation Brigade as the largest single Army aviation command in the world; indeed, larger than the air force of most countries. As of 31 July 1968, its strength was 25,181 men distributed as follows:
| Officers and Warrant Officers | Enlisted Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Aviation Brigade | 61 | 204 |
| 12th Aviation Group | 1644 | 6828 |
| 16th Aviation Group | 456 | 2883 |
| 17th Aviation Group | 1468 | 6577 |
| 164th Aviation Group | 593 | 3065 |
| 58th Aviation Battalion | 84 | 1228 |
| TOTAL | 4306 | 20875 |
The chronic shortage of aviation personnel described in earlier chapters had finally been overcome by the expanded output of the Army Aviation School and the leveling off of requirements in Vietnam. Aviators, once frozen to their cockpit positions, were again receiving normal ground assignments and schooling. Though many aviators were still forced to anticipate recurring tours in