FORT NOVOSEL, Ala. — The 1st Battalion, 223d Aviation Regiment received the 2022 Lieutenant General Allen M. Burdett, Jr., Flight Safety Award during a ceremony at Knox Army Heliport on June 13, 2023.

Retired Maj. Gen. Ronald K. “Andy” Andreson presented the award on behalf of the Order of Daedalians.

“The Burdett Award recognizes the best flying safety program among the Army’s flying training units,” said Andreson. “The TRADOC commander, Gen. Brito, commended all of you for your proactive safety efforts and for your success ingraining safety awareness at all levels.”

The 1-223d safely flew 137,000 hours in 2022 with zero Class A or B flight mishaps. This is five times the annual flying hour program of a typical aviation battalion, representing 62% of the Aviation Center of Excellence’s total flight hours and 17% of the Army’s total flight hours – an average of 160 flights daily in three different rotary wing airframes.

The battalion’s mission is to coordinate and conduct flight instruction and operations across 13 separate instructional programs at Cairns Army Airfield, Knox Army Heliport, and Shell Army Heliport to provide the Army with professionally trained CH-47 aviators. Additionally, it conducts initial rotary wing contact and instrument training in the UH-72 Lakota while evaluating and performing quality assurance to include instrument flight examiner training.

They are also responsible for the CH-47 Nonrated Crewmember Flight and Standardization Instructor Course and provide general aviation and crash-rescue support to the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence while conducting aeromedical evacuation operations throughout the southeastern United States.

“Our safety record is the result of the positive leadership from the (instructor pilots) in the cockpit, the flight commanders, the platoon leaders, and the company commanders instilling risk management into everything that we do,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Walker, 1-223d commander. “Our success in safety in flight training is the result of each and every member of the … team doing their part.”

During this period, the 1-223d successfully trained over 1,600 student pilots, instructor pilots, maintenance test pilots, and nonrated crewmembers.

The award’s namesake, Lieutenant General Allen M. Burdett, Jr., commanded an infantry company in World War II, led an infantry battalion in Korea, and flew two combat tours in Vietnam. His decorations include two Silver Stars, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Bronze Stars, 25 Air Medals, and the Purple Heart. A member of the Army Aviation Hall of Fame, Burdett served as the Army Aviation commandant from 1970-1973.