Timeline / Part I Part I of the Army Special Operations Aviation (SOA) timeline begins in 1903 with the Wright brothers’ first successful flight and ends in 1979 with the onset of the Iran Hostage Crisis. During this highly formative period, the U.S. Army went from having no fixed- or rotary-wing aviation capability to adopting both platforms; to increasingly ‘divorcing’ itself from fixed-wing aviation with the creation of a separate U.S. Air Force; to being able to rapidly transport large combat formations to the battlefield via helicopters. This evolution stemmed from refinements in aviation doctrine and organizations, as well as from significant improvements in airframes and aviation technology, from the Army’s first dedicated helicopter, the Sikorsky XR-4 Hoverfly, in 1942, to the UH-60A Black Hawk in the late 1970s. Contents ARSOA Timeline, Part I: 1903–1979 - ARSOA Timeline, Part II: 1980–2015 - ARSOA Insignia - Night Stalker Creed - Night Stalker Training & Qualifications - ARSOA Organizational Evolution - Select Biographical Sketches - Acronyms - Further Reading