This is the second military stint for the 211th Aviation Battalion in a war zone.

The 350 Utahns and an attached 50-member unit from Florida were ordered to Afghanistan in February. Earlier, the Utah group had helped enforce the U.N.-sanctioned no-fly zone over Iraq during a six-month deployment that ended in February 2002.

Lt. Col. Steven Brown said when he learned the unit was coming under his command in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, "I was somewhat concerned about the quality of a unit I would acquire coming from the Guard, and I prepared myself to work extra hours to get them where I wanted them in proficiency and bearing.

"I was flabbergasted immediately by your organization," he wrote in a recent letter to families in Utah and Florida. "They did not need a thing from me. They came on board and set a new standard for us all. They have built a reputation throughout Afghanistan that is unparalleled by any unit that preceded them."

The helicopter pilots ferry U.S. forces into remote areas to seek out al-Qaida rebels and they escort convoys to protect them from roadside bombs and sniper attacks.

"I have folks coming in from every branch of service wanting to meet the great Apache crew that flew for them on a particular day," Brown wrote.

“The Special Forces folks do not want to go out without these Apache guys in support.

“The Marines (although they have their own Cobra support) ask for the Apaches on every mission they conduct. The Infantry Battalions from the 25th Infantry Division out of Hawaii continue to praise me for the support they get from MY Apaches.

"They are making me look good and I am ashamed to take any credit. More important than this is the character I see in them every day. Whether on the hangar floor working 24 hours a day to get aircraft back up and ready to fly or in the Company Command Post when I walk through. These guys are simply magnificent."

Brown said that during his 20 years of military service, "I've had the pleasure of working with some of the nation's finest soldiers. But I have to tell you that the group from 1/211 is the best Attack Helicopter organization I have ever dealt with."

The Utah unit is among some 2,000 Utah Guard and Army Reserve forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.