 The brigade served in the Persian Gulf, Panama, first Gulf War, and provided storm relief following Florida's Hurricane Andrew.On the first day of the Gulf War, February 24, 1991, the 18th Aviation Brigade airlifted troops and equipment into Iraq.By 2002 Simmons AAF had more than 180 aircraft, along with Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache flight simulators.