On the 1 February 1963, the Army began to gather helicopters into the 11th Air Assault Division to test the airmobile concept. In June 1965, the 11th Air Assault was joined with the 2nd Infantry Division. Shortly thereafter, the division exchanged colors with the 1st Cavalry Division. On 1 August 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division was sent to Vietnam. The battalion participated in 14 campaigns and received seven decorations during its 7 years of duty in Vietnam. Upon return from Vietnam, the 227th Aviation Battalion was inactivated on 19 November 1974 at Fort Hood, Texas. After a brief reactivation from 21 May 1978 until 30 September 1983, it was re-designated as 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, the first divisional Apache Attack Helicopter Battalion to be formed. Upon re-designation, the 1–227th underwent an intensive 6-month unit training program and began to training for combat operations.