Air Assault Military Tab

They are the soldiers who move where vehicles cannot go—descending from the sky, fast-roping into tight clearings, riding the skids of helicopters into combat zones where speed and surprise decide everything. The Air Assault Military Tab represents one of the Army’s most demanding skill badges, earned only by those who master the art of helicopter-borne warfare and the grit required to complete some of the toughest training outside of Special Operations.

Air Assault traces its lineage to the Vietnam War, when helicopters transformed modern combat. The 1st Cavalry Division and 101st Airborne Division pioneered tactics that allowed infantry to strike deep, hit fast, and disappear before the enemy could respond. These were the soldiers who rode UH-1 Hueys into LZs ringed with fire, who secured ridgelines and hamlets in minutes instead of hours, and who learned that mobility in the air meant dominance on the ground.

From those early lessons emerged the modern Air Assault school—home of the “Screaming Eagles” at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Here, soldiers face a course designed to break the careless and sharpen the determined. Candidates rappel from towers, sling-load vehicles and artillery under hovering helicopters, memorize aircraft safety procedures, and navigate obstacle courses built to test every muscle and ounce of willpower. The equipment is heavy, the standards uncompromising, and the margin for error nonexistent.

The culminating challenge—the 12-mile ruck march—is more than a test of endurance. It is a final measure of discipline, mental toughness, and commitment to the team. Only after completing every task flawlessly do soldiers earn the right to wear the Air Assault Tab.

Graduates have served in nearly every conflict of the last fifty years. In Grenada and Panama, Air Assault forces spearheaded rapid-entry operations. In Iraq and Afghanistan, they infiltrated mountains, deserts, and cities, using helicopters to outmaneuver insurgent forces. From humanitarian missions to airborne strikes, Air Assault soldiers remain some of the Army’s most flexible and battle-tested warriors.

The Air Assault Military Tab patch honors those who have completed this demanding rite of passage. It represents the discipline of rappelling from a hovering aircraft, the precision of sling-load operations, and the readiness to enter combat by air at a moment’s notice. To wear it is to stand among soldiers who have earned their place through sweat, skill, and relentless determination.