On 1 July 1965 the experimental 11th Air Assault Division became the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Only six weeks later it deployed to Vietnam to operate in the central highlands and jungles of that war-torn country. It was a well-equipped and well-trained powerful war machine, unlike any seen before in combat, and it was soon tested. In a 37-day period in October-November 1965 it met and decisively defeated a North Vietnamese Army division that was attempting to cut South Vietnam in half. For this outstanding operation the 1st Cav was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the first division ever so honored.