FIRST TEAM!

HOWZE BOARD - ORIGINS OF AIRMOBILE

The Tactical Mobility Requirements Board, which became known as “Howze Board” after its chairmen Hamilton H. Howze (USMA 1930), was created at the direct request of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to review and test new concepts integrating helicopters into the United States Army in light of looming conflicts like Vietnam. What became known as airmobility within the United States Army was a direct result of the Howze Board's findings.

Howze’s connections to West Point are deeply rooted. He and his brother, Major General Robert Lee Howze Jr. (USMA 1925), were both born at West Point while their father was serving as the Commandant of Cadets in 1908. The Army Football team’s practice field is named in honor of their father, Major General Robert Lee Howze (USMA 1888). Hamilton and his father are buried next to each other at the West Point Cemetery.

first large-scale use of helicopters in the U.S. Army

“Airmobility” means using the third dimension of the battlefield, the first 1,000 feet above the ground. There, aircraft, both fixed and rotary wing, could carry men and supplies; provide fire support; and give commanders a “bird’s eye” command and control. Redesignated from the 11th Air (test) Division out of Ft. Benning, GA, the 1st Cav Airmobile Unit would no longer ride into battle on horseback. They implemented the first large-scale use of helicopters in the history of the U.S. Army.
On July 28, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson, in a nationwide address, told the world, “I have today ordered the Airmobile Division to Vietnam”.

LTC HAL MOORE AND THE 1/7TH CAV AT LZ X-RAY

The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle between the United States Army and the North Vietnamese Army as part of Pleiku Campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War. It comprised two main engagements, centered on two previously scouted helicopter landing zones (LZs), known as LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany.

The engagement at LZ X-Ray was the first large scale helicopter air assault and involved the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and supporting units under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Harold “Hal” Moore (USMA 1945) from November 14–16, 1965 at LZ X-Ray. Surrounded and under heavy fire from a numerically superior force, the American forces at LZ X-Ray were able to hold off and drive back the North Vietnamese forces over three days of battle, largely through the support of both air power and heavy artillery bombardment, which the North Vietnamese lacked. LZ X-ray was considered an American tactical victory, as the Americans were able to exact an almost 10:1 kill ratio. 

The LZ X-Ray battle was depicted in the 2002 movie “We Were Soldiers” and is based the book “We Were Soldiers Once…and Young”, which was authored by Hal Moore and Joseph L. Galloway.