In the aftermath of Desert One (aborted rescue attempt made during the Iranian Hostage Crisis in the late '70s), the US Military (and the Army in particular) saw a need to create an aviation unit tailored specifically to support special operations missions such as the insertion and extraction of SOF from hostile territory, often under fire. Working from aviation units culled from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the United State Army formed the Special Operations Aviation Group (SOAG); the Nightstalkers were born.

Originally designated the Task Force 160th SOAG (ABN), this unit pioneered many of the night flying techniques and practices in common use today by Army aviators, especially the use of Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) in order to make flying in "blackout" (i.e. no navigational & marker lights) a viable combat tactic. The flyers and the personnel who support them, adopting the "quiet professional" persona, represent the best and most mission dedicated people around.

The equipment the unit fields is the cutting edge of todays technology, each multimillion dollar aircraft sporting a host of navigational and electronic countermeasures "black boxes". Thermal imagers also aid in the ability of the pilots to fly their routes with exacting precision. It is said that they are capable of reaching their waypoints and bringing their targets under fire in "plus or minus" under a half minute (although the actual capability is classified) from the designated time.

Rumours of the unit's capabilities indicate that the first shot of an impending conflict won't come from an artillary barrage or a bomb dropped from thousands of feet above, but rather a rocket being fired at a particular target at a particular place in a particular time.

While relatively new, the unit boasts an impressive operational history, taking part in practically every military deployment since the 1980s (including several classified) and having been awarded some of the military's highest unit citations for valour.

The unit motto "NightStalkers Don't Quit!" was exemplified during the tremultuous deployment to Mogadishu (know as "the Mog") during 1993 as part of Task Force Ranger. In October of '93, while participating in a mission to apprehend several officials of a local warlord (Mohammed Farah Aidid, in what became known as the "Battle of the Black Sea"), two aircraft from the 160th were shot down. In the ensuing efforts to recover the aircrew, the 160th flew continuous air cover and sustained tremendous damage to all of its aircraft such that the fleet had to be grounded. The fire support and actions of the "Little Birds" (AH-6) are said to have been particularly effective and to have kept the American forces on the ground from being overrun.