FORT RILEY, Kansas – The 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, has announced the final flight for the 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment’s
OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters will be at 6:30 a.m. Friday, June 12, over Fort Riley as part of Victory Week 2015 activities.

“This is going to be a crucial day in the history of Army aviation,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Beyer, commander of 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 1st CAB, 1st Inf. Div., “both for families and friends of ‘The Fighting Sixth’ as well as many of the ground forces the craft and crews have supported over
the years.”

As the penultimate event of the division’s Victory Week, 25 Kiowa Warriors
will fly over a formation of more than 10,000 Soldiers as they conduct the
yearly Victory Run on Custer Hill. This will be the Kiowa Warrior’s last
mission flight at Fort Riley and will mark a historic change in the Army’s
aviation arsenal.

The Army announced in 2014 Kiowa Warriors’ duties would be assumed by the
AH-64 Apache after serving as the Army’s primary aerial scout reconnaissance
aircraft. The OH-58 has been a part of the Army’s aviation corps since May
1969, though it has adapted to the times and mission requirements. The
current Kiowa Warrior was first fielded in 1983, and has deployed in support
of almost every major U.S. operation since that time.