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An Apache helicopter with the 11th Helicopter Regiment takes off in Kuwait.

V Corps

Soldiers: More than 8,000

Home forts: Heidelberg, Germany

Deployed to: Kuwait and Iraq. V Corps held a ceremony on March 19, 2004, to mark the official end of its yearlong deployment in Kuwait and Iraq

Units: Soldiers from the following units deployed:

• 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment, including the 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment

• 12th Aviation Brigade, including 3rd and 5th Battalions, 158th Aviation Regiment, and elements of 3rd Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment

• V Corps Artillery, including 41st Field Artillery Brigade and the 1st Battalion, 27th Field Artillery

• 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, including the 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery

• 22nd Signal Brigade, including 17th, 32nd and 440th Signal Battalions

• 130th Engineer Brigade, including the 94th and 54th Engineer Battalions and brigade headquarters

• 18th Military Police Brigade, including elements of the brigade headquarters and elements of the 709th and 793rd Military Police Battalions

• 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, including the 165th Military Intelligence Battalion and elements of the 302nd Military Intelligence Battalion

• V Corps Headquarters and elements of 3rd Corps Support Command
• 30th Medical Brigade, including the 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital Battalion

Duties: These U.S. Army units under V Corps command serve a variety of combat and support roles, including clearing minefields and building bridges, command-and-control and helicopter-led assaults. The 11th Aviation Regiment is equipped with Ah-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters and the 12th Aviation Brigade is equipped with UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters.

A corps is the Army's largest tactical units, the instruments with which higher echelons of command conduct major operations and battles. Corps contain all the combat, combat support, and combat service support capabilities required to sustain operations for a considerable period and are commanded by a lieutenant general. At the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, V Corps was in command of all Army ground units in Iraq, which at one time included more than 170,000 soldiers, 19 separate brigades, and eight of the 10 active Army divisions. V Corps transferred the command authority to III Corps on February 1, 2004.

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