82nd Airborne Division

82nd Airborne Division
82 Airborne Patch.svg
82nd Airborne Division shoulder sleeve insignia
Active 1917–1919
1921-Present
Country United States United States of America
Allegiance United States Army
Type Airborne infantry
Role Vertical Envelopment Forced Entry
Size Division
Garrison/HQ Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Nickname All-American(Special Designation) [1]
America's Guard of Honor
Motto All the way!
Engagements World War I
World War II

United States occupation of the Dominican Republic
Vietnam War
Armed Forces Expeditions – Grenada
Armed Forces Expeditions – Panama
Gulf War
Afghanistan Campaign
Iraq Campaign
2010 Haitian earthquake
Commanders
Current
commander		 Major General James L. Huggins 05 August 2010 – present[2]
Notable
commanders		 Matthew B. Ridgway
James M. Gavin
Maxwell D. Taylor
Omar N. Bradley
Clovis E. Byers
Thomas J. H. Trapnell
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia 82 ABD DUI.PNG
Combat Service Identification Badge 82AirborneDivCSIB.jpg
U.S. Infantry Divisions (1939–present)
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81st Infantry Division (Inactive) 83rd Infantry Division (Inactive)

The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It is a subordinate unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps.

The 82nd Division was constituted in the National Army on 5 August 1917, and was organized on 25 August 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Since its initial members came from all 48 states, the unit acquired the nickname “All-American", which is the basis for its famed “AA” shoulder patch.[1] Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C. York, General James M. Gavin, Dave Bald Eagle (grandson of Chief White Bull), Senator Strom Thurmond (325GIR in World War II), Senator Jack Reed and Congressman Patrick Murphy (the first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress.) Currently, State Representative Bryan Lentz (PA-161) is attempting to become the second member of the 82nd Airborne to join Congress.

Contents

History

The 82nd Division was first constituted on August 5, 1917 in the National Army. It was organized and formally activated on August 25, 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia.[3] The division consisted entirely of newly conscripted soldiers.[4] When commanders discovered that the division contained draftees from the forty-eight US states that existed at the time, they nicknamed it "the All American division."[5]

The bulk of the division was two infantry brigades, each commanding two regiments. The 163rd Infantry Brigade commanded the 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment. The 164th Infantry Brigade commanded the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment.[6] Also in the division were the 157th Field Artillery Brigade, a divisional troops contingent, and a division train. It sailed to Europe to join the American Expeditionary Force in fighting World War I.[7]

World War I

WWI 82nd Division Shoulder Sleeve Insignia.

In early April, the division embarked from ports in Boston, New York and Brooklyn to Liverpool, England, where the division fully assembled by mid-May 1918.[8] From there, the division moved to mainland Europe, leaving Southampton and arriving at Le Havre, France,[8] and then moved to the British-held region of Somme on the front lines, where it began sending small numbers of troops and officers to the front lines to gain combat experience. On June 16 it moved by rail to Toul, France to take position on the front lines in the French sector. Its soldiers were issued French weapons and equipment to simplify resupply.[4] The division was briefly assigned to I Corps before falling under the command of IV Corps until late August. It was then moved to the Woëvre front, in the Lagney sector, where it operated with the French 154th Infantry Division.[8]

St. Mihiel

The division relieved the 26th Division on June 25. Though Lagney was considered a defensive sector, the 82nd Division actively patrolled and raided in the region for several weeks, before being relieved by the 89th Division.[4] From there it moved to the Marbache sector in mid-August, where it relieved the 2nd Division under the command of the newly-formed First United States Army.[8] There it trained until September 12, when the division joined the St. Mihiel offensive.[4]

Once the First Army jumped off on the offensive, the 82nd Division engaged in a holding mission to prevent German forces from attacking the right flank of the First Army. On September 13, the 163rd Infantry Brigade and 327th Infantry Regiment raided and patrolled to the northeast of Port-sur-Seille, toward Eply, in the Bois de Cheminot, Bois de la Voivrotte, Bois do la Tête-d'Or, and Bois Fréhaut. Meanwhile, the 328th Infantry Regiment, in connection with the attack of the 90th Division against the Bois-le-Prêtre, advanced on the west of the Moselle River, and, in contact with the 90th Division, entered Norroy, advancing to the heights just north of that town where it consolidated its position. On September 15, the 328th Infantry, in order to protect the 90th Division's flank, resumed the advance, and reached Vandières, but withdrew on the following day to the high ground north of Norroy.[8]

On September 17, the St-Mihiel Operation stabilized, and the 90th Division relieved the 82nd's troops west of the Moselle River. On September 20, the 82nd was relieved by the French 69th Infantry Division, and moved to the vicinity of Marbache and Belleville, then to stations near Triaucourt and Rarécourt in the area of the First Army.[8] During this operation, the division suffered heavy casualties from enemy artillery. The operation cost the division over 800 men. Among them was Colonel Emory Pike, the first member of the 82nd to be awarded the Medal of Honor.[4] The division was then moved into reserve until October 3, when it assembled near Varennes-en-Argonne prior to returning to the line.[8] During this time, the division trained and prepared for the war's final major offensive at Meuse-Argonne.[4]

Meuse-Argonne

328th Infantry Regiment of 82nd Division advances in preparation to capture Hill 223 on October 7, 1918.

On the night of October 6/7, the 164th Infantry Brigade relieved troops of the 28th Division, which were holding the front line from south of Fléville to La Forge, along the eastern bank of the Aire River. The 163rd Infantry Brigade remained in reserve. On October 7, the division, minus the 163rd Infantry Brigade, attacked the northeastern edge of the Argonne Forest, making some progress toward Cornay, and occupied Hill 180 and Hill 223. The next day it resumed the attack. Elements of the division's right flank entered Cornay, but later withdrew to the east and south. The division's left flank reached the southeastern slope of the high ground northwest of Châtel-Chéhéry. On Octobet 9 the division continued its attack, and advanced its left flank to a line from south of Pylône to the Rau de la Louvière.[8]

For the rest of the month, the Division turned to the north and advanced astride the Aire River to the region east of St-Juvin. On the 10th it relieved troops of the 1st on the right, north of Fléville, as far as a new boundary extending north and south through Sommerance. It then attacked and captured Cornay and Marcq, and established the front just to their south. On October 11, the right flank of the division occupied Sommerance and the high ground north of la Rance Rau while the left advanced to the railroad south of the Aire. The next day, the 42nd relieved the 82nd's troops in and near Sommerance, allowing it to resume the attack. The 82nd passed through part of the Hindenburg defensive position, and reached a line just north of the road from St-Georges to St-Juvin.[8]

On October 18, the division relieved elements of the 78th as far to the left as Marcq and Champigneulle. Three days later it advanced to the Ravin aux Pierres. On October 31, the 82nd, except the artillery, was relieved by the 77th Division and the 80th Division, and assembled in the Argonne Forest near Champ-Mahaut. On November 2, the division concentrated near La Chalade and Les Islettes, and, on November 4, moved to training areas in Vaucouleurs. On the 10th it moved again to training areas in Bourmont, where it remained until the November 11 armistice.[8] During this campaign the division suffered another 7,000 killed and wounded. A second 82nd soldier, Alvin C. York, won the Medal of Honor during this campaign.[4]

Post-war

The division suffered 995 killed and 7,082 wounded, for a total of 8,077 casualties.[9] Following the war's end, the division moved to training areas near Prauthoy, where it remained through February, 1919.[8] It returned to the United States in April and May, and was demobilized and deactivated at Camp Mills, New York on May 27.[3]

For the next 20 years the Division existed only as a reserve unit.[5] It was reconstituted on June 24, 1921 establishing headquarters at Columbia, South Carolina, in January 1922. The 82nd formed part of the new Organized Reserves, and elements of the Division were located in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.[4]

World War II

Louisiana to Italy

The 82nd Division was redesignated 13 February 1942 as Division Headquarters, 82nd Division. It was recalled to active service on 25 March 1942, and reorganized at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, under the command of Major General Omar N. Bradley. During this training period, the division brought together four officers who would ultimately steer the US Army during the following two decades: Matthew B. Ridgway, Matthew D. Query, James M. Gavin, and Maxwell D. Taylor.

505 Crest Large.gif

On 15 August 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division became the Army's first airborne division, and was redesignated the 82nd Airborne Division. In April 1943, its paratroopers deployed to North Africa under the command of Major General Matthew B. Ridgway to participate in the campaign to invade Italy. The Division's first two combat operations were parachute assaults into Sicily on 9 July and Salerno on 13 September. The initial assault on Sicily, by the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was the first regimental-sized combat parachute assault conducted by the United States Army. The first glider assault did not occur until Operation Neptune as part of D-Day. Glider troopers of the 319th and 320th Glider Field Artillery and the 325th Glider Infantry instead arrived in Italy by landing craft at Maiori (319th) and Salerno (320th, 325th).

In January 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was temporarily detached to fight at Anzio, adopted the nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants," taken from an entry in a German officer's diary. While the 504th was detached, the remainder of the 82nd moved to the United Kingdom in November 1943 to prepare for the liberation of Europe. See RAF North Witham and RAF Folkingham.

France to Germany

With two combat assaults under its belt, the 82nd Airborne Division was now ready for the most ambitious airborne operation of the war so far, as part of Operation Neptune, the invasion of Normandy. The Division conducted Operation Boston, part of the airborne assault phase of the Operation Overlord plan.

In preparation for the operation, the division was reorganized. To ease the integration of replacement troops, rest, and refitting following the fighting in Italy, the 504th did not rejoin the division for the invasion. Two new parachute infantry regiments, the 507th and the 508th, provided it, along with the 505th, a three-parachute infantry regiment punch. On 5 June and 6 June, these paratroopers, parachute artillery elements, and the 319th and 320th, boarded hundreds of transport planes and gliders to begin history's largest airborne assault. Its 325th Glider Infantry Regiment would later arrive by glider on 7 June to provide a division reserve.

By the time the All-American Division was pulled back to England, it had seen 33 days of bloody combat and suffered 5,245 troopers killed, wounded, or missing. Ridgway's post-battle report stated in part, "...33 days of action without relief, without replacements. Every mission accomplished. No ground gained was ever relinquished."[5]

Following Normandy, the 82nd became part of the newly organized XVIII Airborne Corps, which consisted of the U.S. 17th, 82nd, and 101st Airborne Divisions. Ridgway was given command, but was not promoted to Lieutenant General until 1945. His recommendation for succession as commander was Brigadier General James M. Gavin. Ridgway's recommendation met with approval, and upon promotion Gavin became the youngest two-star general since the Civil War to command a US Army division.

82nd Airborne Division drop near Grave in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden. (National Archives)

On 2 August 1944 the division became part of the First Allied Airborne Army. In September, the 82nd began planning for Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands. The operation called for three-plus airborne divisions to seize and hold key bridges and roads deep behind German lines. The 504th, now back at full strength, was reassigned to the 82nd, while the 507th was assigned to the 17th Airborne. On 17 September, the 82nd conducted its fourth World War II combat assault. Fighting off German counterattacks, the 82nd captured its objectives between Grave, and Nijmegen. Its success, however, was short-lived because the defeat of other Allied units at the Battle of Arnhem. After a period of duty on the Arnhem front, the 82nd was relieved by Canadian troops, and sent to France.

504th Regiment, 82nd Airborne troops advancing through snow-covered forest during the Battle of the Bulge

On 16 December, the Germans launched a surprise offensive through the Ardennes Forest which became known as the Battle of the Bulge. Two days later the 82nd joined the fighting and blunted General Gerd von Rundstedt's northern penetration of American lines. During this campaign, PFC Martin, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, told a sergeant in a retreating tank destroyer to, "...pull your vehicle behind me—I'm the 82nd Airborne, and this is as far as the bastards are going!"[10] After helping to secure the Ruhr, the division ended the war at Ludwigslust past the Elbe River, accepting the surrender of over 150,000 of Lieutenant General Kurt von Tippelskirch's 21st Army. General Bradley's reaction is worth an aside; he claimed in a 1975 interview with Gavin that Montgomery told him German opposition was too great to cross the Elbe. When Gavin's division crossed it, it moved 36 miles in one day and captured over 100,000 troops, causing great laughter in Bradley's 12th Army Group headquarters.

Following Germany's surrender, the 82nd entered Berlin for occupation duty, lasting from April until December 1945. In Berlin General George Patton was so impressed with the 82nd's honor guard he said, "In all my years in the Army and all the honor guards I have ever seen, the 82nd's honor guard is undoubtedly the best." Hence the "All-American" became also known as "America's Guard of Honor." The war ended before their scheduled participation in the invasion of Japan. During the invasion of Italy in World War II, Ridgway considered Will Lang Jr. of TIME Magazine an honorary member of the Division.

  1. 1,619 Killed in Action
  2. 6,560 Wounded in Action
  3. 332 Died of Wounds

Post WWII

555th PIR.gif

The division returned to the United States on 3 January 1946. The division returned on the RMS Queen Mary. In New York City it got a Ticker-tape parade. In 1947 the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was assigned to the 82nd and was reflagged as the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Instead of being demobilized, the 82nd found a permanent home at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, designated a Regular Army division on 15 November 1948. The 82nd was not sent to the Korean War, as both Presidents Truman and Eisenhower chose to keep it in strategic reserve in the event of a Soviet ground attack anywhere in the world. Life in the 82nd during the 1950s and 1960s consisted of intensive training exercises in all environments and locations, including Alaska, Panama, the Far East and the continental United States.

Dominican Republic & Vietnam deployments

In April 1965, the "All-Americans" entered the civil war in the Dominican Republic, in which more than 3,000 Dominicans died. Spearheaded by the 3rd Brigade, the 82nd deployed in Operation Power Pack. Within the United States, in 1967, the 82nd went to Detroit to deal with a massive riot. Within two days of their deployment, the riots ended.

A year later, the 82nd went again into action. During the Tet Offensive, which swept across the Republic of Vietnam in January 1968, the 3rd Brigade was en route to Chu Lai within 24 hours of receiving its orders. The 3rd Brigade performed combat duties in the Huế – Phu Bai area of the I Corps sector. Later the brigade moved south to Saigon, and fought in the Mekong Delta, the Iron Triangle and along the Cambodian border, serving nearly 22 months.

  1. 227 Killed in Action (2 were MIA and later declared KIA)
  2. 1,009 Wounded in Action

Post-Vietnam and operations in the 1980s

From 1969 into the 1970s, the 82nd deployed paratroopers to South Korea and Vietnam on more than 180DBT (Days Bad Time) for exercises in potential future battlegrounds. The division received three alerts. One was for Black September 1970. Paratroopers were on their way to Amman, Jordan when the mission was aborted. War in the Middle East in the fall of 1973 brought the 82nd to full alert. In May 1978, the division was alerted to a possible drop into Zaire. In November 1979, the division was alerted for a possible operation to rescue the American hostages in Iran. The division formed the nucleus of the newly created Rapid Deployment Forces, a mobile force at a permanently high state of readiness.

On 25 October 1983, elements of the 82nd provided support to the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions in the invasion of Grenada. The first 82nd unit to deploy was a task force of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions (Airborne), 325th Infantry. On 26 October and 27, the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 505th Infantry, and the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry, deployed to Grenada with support units. 2/505 deployed as well. Military operations ended in early November. Note that 2/325 did not deploy one COHORT company which was not "ARTEP'd". Each proceeding battalion (Bn) pushed a single company forward with A-2/504 (led by then Captain Howard F. Humble, 1SG Thomas Ingram, and Lt John A. Schatzel (Weapons Platoon Leader) deploying only one company out of the entire Bn). The Operation was critically flawed in several areas. Newly issued BDU's were not designed for the tropical environment. Communication between services (Army, Navy and Airforce) was a noticeable weak-link, without interoperability. This was the first time MRE's were mass issued to paratroopers.

The operation tested the Division's ability to act as a rapid deployment force. The first aircraft carrying troopers from the 2/325th touched down at Point Salinas 17 hours after notification, commanded by Jack L.Hamilton with Alpha company as Initial Ready Company.

In March 1988, a brigade task force made up of two battalions from the 504th Infantry Regiment and 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 505th Infantry, conducted a parachute insertion and air/land operation into Honduras as part of Operation Golden Pheasant. The deployment was billed as a joint training exercise, but the paratroopers were ready to fight. The deployment caused the Sandinistas to withdraw to Nicaragua. Operation Golden Pheasant prepared the paratroopers for future combat in an increasingly unstable world.

On 20 December 1989, the "All-American," as part of the United States invasion of Panama, conducted their first combat jump since World War II onto Torrijos International Airport, Panama. The goal of the 1st Brigade task force, which was made up of the 1/504 and 2/504 as well as 4/325 and A Company, 3/505, was to oust Manuel Noriega from power. They were joined on the ground by 3/504, which was already in Panama. After the night combat jump and airport seizure, the 82nd conducted follow-on combat air assault missions in Panama City and the surrounding areas. The paratroopers returned to Fort Bragg on 12 January 1990.

Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm: Iraq
Ground operations during Operation Desert Storm, with the 82nd Airborne Division positioned at the left flank.

Seven months later the paratroopers were again called to war. Six days after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, the 82nd became the vanguard of the largest deployment of American troops since Vietnam as part of Operation Desert Shield. The first unit to deploy to Saudi Arabia was a task force including the division's 2nd Brigade. Soon after, the rest of the division followed. There, intensive training began in anticipation of desert fighting against the heavily armored Iraqi Army.

On 16 January 1991, Operation Desert Storm began when Allied war planes attacked Iraqi targets. As the air war began, elements of the 82nd initially deployed in the vicinity of the Aramco oil facilities outside Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. Coinciding with the start of the air war, three National Guard Light-Medium Truck companies, the 253rd (NJARNG), 1122nd (AKARNG), and the 1058th (MAARNG) joined 2nd BDE of the 82nd. In the coming weeks using primarily the 5-Ton cargo trucks of these truck companies, the 2nd BDE moved north to "tap line road" in the vicinity of Rafha, Saudi Arabia. Eventually, these National Guard truck units effectively "motorized" the 2/325, providing the troop ground transportation required for them to keep pace with the 6th French Light Armored Division during the incursion. The ground war began almost six weeks later. On 23 February, the vehicle-mounted 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers protected the XVIII Airborne Corps flank as fast-moving armor and mechanized units moved deep inside Iraq. A battalion-task force (2/325) was attached to the 6th French Light Armored Division becoming the far left flank of the Corps.[11] In the short 100-hour ground war, the 82nd drove deep into Iraq and captured thousands of Iraqi soldiers and tons of equipment, weapons, and ammunition. During that time, the 82nd's Band and MP Company processed 2,721 prisoners. After the liberation of Kuwait, the 82nd redeployed to Fort Bragg mostly by the end of April.

Hurricane Andrew

In August 1992, the division deployed a task force to the hurricane-ravaged area of South Florida to provide humanitarian assistance following Hurricane Andrew. For more than 30 days, troopers provided food, shelter and medical attention to the Florida population.

Operation Restore Democracy: Haïti

On 16 September 1994, the 82d Airborne Division joined Operation Restore Democracy. The 82nd Airborne Division was scheduled to make combat parachute jumps into Pegasus Drop Zone and Papia Airport, in order to help oust the military dictatorship of Raoul Cédras, and to restore the democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. At the same time that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell were negotiating with Cédras to restore Aristide to power, the 82nd's first wave was in the air, with paratroopers waiting at Green Ramp to Air Land in Haïti once the airfields there had been seized. When the Haïtian military verified from sources outside Pope Air Force Base that the 82nd was on the way, Cédras stepped down, averting the invasion.

Former Vice President Al Gore would later travel to Fort Bragg to personally thank the paratroopers of the 82nd for their actions, noting in a speech on 19 September 1994, that the 82nd's reputation alone was enough to change Cédras' mind:

But it did get a little close there for a while. As you may know, there were 61 planes in the air headed toward Haïti at the time they finally agreed. And at one point General Biamby came in and told General Cédras that he had just gotten word on his telephone that the airplanes had taken off from Pope Air Force Base, with soldiers from Fort Bragg, and that both disconcerted them and caused them to be suspicious of the intent of the negotiations, but it also created a situation where immediately after that, the key points they had been refusing to agree to were agreed to, a date certain, other matters that I won't go into in detail here.
Operations Safe Haven and Safe Passage: guarding Cuban refugees

In December 1994, the 2/505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, deployed as part of Operations Safe Haven and Safe Passage. The battalion deployed from Fort Bragg while on Division Ready Force 1 to restore order against hundreds of Cuban refugees who had attacked and injured a number of Air Force personnel while protesting their detainment at Empire Range along the Panama Canal. The Battalion participated in the safeguarding of the Cuban Refugees and the active patrolling in and around the refugee camps for two months, returning to Fort Bragg in February 1995.

Operation Joint Endeavor: Bosnia

In December 1995, battalions of the 82nd prepared for a possible parachute jump to support elements of the 1st Armored Division which had been ordered to Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of Operation Joint Endeavor. Only after engineers of the 1st Armored Division bridged the Sava River on 31 December 1995 without hostilities did the 82nd begin to draw down against plans for a possible Airborne operation there.

Operation Allied Force: Kosovo

In March 1999 the 2/505 deployed to Albania and forward deployed along the Albania/Kosovo border in support of Operation Allied Force, NATO's bombing campaign against Serbian forces in the Former Yugoslav Republic. In September 1999, 3/504 deployed in support of Operation Joint Guardian, replacing 2/505. 3/504 was replaced in March 2000 by elements of the 101st Airborne Division.

2001–present

The Army 82nd Airborne Division performs a mass jump with 120 members during the 2006 Joint Service Open House hosted at Andrews Air Force Base, 20 May 2006.
Operation Enduring Freedom: Afghanistan

After the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, the 82nd's 49th Public Affairs Detachment deployed to Afghanistan in October 2001 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom along with several individual 82nd soldiers who deployed to the Central Command Area of Responsibility to support combat operations.

In June 2002, elements of the Division Headquarters and 3rd Brigade deployed to Afghanistan. In January 2003 1st Brigade relieved 3rd Brigade. During 1st Brigade's tour in Afghanistan, 70 soldiers from B Company, 3/504, in conjunction with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, jumped into western Afghanistan, an operation that remained classified for over a year.

Operation Iraqi Freedom: Iraq

In March 2003, 2–325 Airborne Infantry was attached to the 75th Ranger Regiment as part of a Special Operations Task Force to conduct a parachute assault to seize Saddam International Airport in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On 21 March 2003, D Company crossed the Saudi Arabia-Iraqi border as part of Task Force Hunter to escort heavy rocket artillery indirect fire systems to destroy Iraqi artillery batteries in the western Iraqi desert. Upon cancellation of the parachute assault to seize the airport, the Battalion returned to its parent 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment at Talil Airfield near An Nasariyah, Iraq. The brigade returned to the US by end-February 2004.[12] The 3rd brigade deployed to Iraq in the summer, redeploying to the U.S. in Spring 2004. The 1st brigade deployed in January 2004. The last units of the division left by the end of April 2004. The 2nd brigade deployed in mid-December 2004, and returned on Easter 2005. During this initial deployment 36 soldiers from the division were killed and about 400 were wounded, out of about 12,000 deployed. On 21 July 2006, the 1/325 along with a platoon from A Battery 2/319 Airborne Field Artillery Regiment and a troop from 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment deployed to Tikrit, Iraq returning in December 2006. Just days after returning home, the battalion join the rest of the 2nd Brigade in another deployment scheduled for the beginning of January 2007.

On 4 January 2007, 2nd BCT deployed once again to Iraq in support of OIF. On 6 June 2007, 1st Brigade deployed to Southern Iraq, returning on 18 March 2008.

The early days of the 82nd Airborne's participation in the deployment were chronicled by embedded journalist Karl Zinsmeister in his 2003 book Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq.

In August 2009 1st BCT deployed once again to Iraq and redeployed late July 2010.

Support of 2004 elections in Afghanistan

In late September 2004 The National Command Authority alerted 1/505 for an emergency deployment to Afghanistan in support of that October's (first free) elections.

Two infantry battalions from the 82nd Airborne deployed to Iraq before the scheduled 15 October referendum on the proposed constitution, and are expected to remain through the December national elections. The battalions involved are the 2nd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment and the 3rd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment.

The First Brigade of the 82nd deployed in April 2005 in support of OEF 6, and returned in April 2006.

Hurricane Katrina
82nd Airborne Division paratrooper patrols the streets of New Orleans in September 2005.

The 82nd Airborne's 3rd Brigade Panthers and DIVARTY along with supporting units deployed to support search-and-rescue and security operations in New Orleans, Louisiana after the city was flooded by Hurricane Katrina in September 2005. About 5,000 paratroopers commanded by Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, operated out of New Orleans International Airport.

Haitian earthquake

Paratroopers from the US 82nd Airborne Division distributed water and food in the 2010 Haitian earthquake relief.[13]

Reorganization

In January 2006, the division began reorganizing from a division based organization to a brigade based one. Activated elements include a 4th Brigade Combat Team (1-508th INF, 2-508th INF, 4-73rd Cav (RSTA), 2-321st FA, 782nd BSB, and STB, 4th BCT) and the inactivation of the Division Artillery, 82nd Signal Battalion, and 313th Military Intelligence Battalion. The 82nd Division Support Command (DISCOM) was redesignated as the 82nd Sustainment Brigade. A pathfinder unit was reactivated within the 82nd when the Long Range Surveillance Detachment of the inactivating 313th MI Bn was transferred to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment and converted to a pathfinder role.

Back to Afghanistan

In January 2007, the Division Headquarters, 4th BCT (includes 1-508th and 2-508th) and the Aviation Brigade deployed to Afghanistan as Combined Joint Task Force-82 (CJTF-82) for Operation Enduring Freedom VIII. The 3rd BCT, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) was extended for 120 days to increase the troop strength against the Taliban Spring Offensive. In March 2008, 4th BCT began redeploying back to Fort Bragg after 15 months in Afghanistan. The 2-508th PIR worked to establish and maintain firebases in and around the Ghazni province while actively patrolling their operational area. The 1-508th PIR worked mostly out of the Kandahar province mentoring the Afghan National Security Forces. Supporting the Division are the 36th Engineer Brigade, and the 43rd Area Support Group. During the months of August and September 2009, 4th BCT deployed again to Afghanistan. They are slotted for returning back to Fort Bragg in August 2010.

Order of battle

Order of Battle of the 82nd US Airborne Div.

82 ABD SSI.PNG 82nd Airborne Division Units:.[14]

82nd Soldier in Afghanistan.

Note: Divisional sustainment brigades support, but are not part of, the divisions they support. Sustainment brigades have their own shoulder patches to distinguish them. A shoulder patch for the 82nd Sustainment Brigade was approved effective 19 March 2008. Unlike the division, the 82nd Sustainment Brigade is not on jump status, with the exception of its three parachute riggers companies, the 11th, 600th and 612th.[16][19] Since the brigade's formation, the 600th and 612th Quartermaster companies have been inactivated, and the 11th Quartermaster Company is being realigned.[20]

Traditions

To commemorate the 1944 Waal assault river crossing made by the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 307th Engineer Battalion (Airborne) during Operation Market Garden, an annual Crossing of the Waal competition is staged on the anniversary of the operation at McKellars Lake near Fort Bragg. The winning company receives a paddle.[21] The paddle signifies that in the original crossing, many paratroopers had to row with their weapons because the canvas boats lacked sufficient paddles.

Honors

Campaign participation credit

Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division descend under a parachute canopy to earn foreign jump wings during the 11th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 6 December 2008.
  1. St. Mihiel
  2. Meuse-Argonne
  3. Lorraine 1918
  1. Sicily
  2. Naples-Foggia
  3. Normandy (with arrowhead)
  4. Rhineland (with arrowhead)
  5. Ardennes-Alsace
  6. Central Europe
  1. Dominican Republic
  2. Grenada
  3. Panama
  1. Defense of Saudi Arabia
  2. Liberation and Defense of Kuwait
  3. Operation Enduring Freedom
  4. Operation Iraqi Freedom

Decorations

  1. Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for Sainte-Mère-Église.
  2. Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for Operation Market Garden.
  3. Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for Chiunzi Pass/Naples/Foggia awarded to the following units of the 82nd Airborne: 319th Glider Field Arty Bn,307th Engineer Bn (2nd), 80th Anti-aircraft Bn and Company H, 504 PIR
  4. Valorous Unit Citation (Army) for Operation Iraqi Freedom (3rd Brigade Combat Team, OIF 1)
  5. Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for SouthWest Asia.
  6. French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II for Sainte-Mère-Église.
  7. French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II for Cotentin.
  8. French Croix de Guerre, World War II, Fourragère
  9. Belgian Fourragere 1940
  10. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes
  11. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in Belgium And Germany.
  12. Military William Order, the highest and a very rare honor of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for bravery and valiant service in battle at Nijmegen 1944 during Market Garden. (worn as an Orange Lanyard)
  13. Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for the Battle of Samawah, April 2003, awarded to the following unit of the 82nd Airborne: 2nd Brigade Combat Team (325th Airborne Infantry Regiment)

Units during WW II

The following are 82nd Airborne units during World War II.[22]

Past commanders

Taken from 82nd Airborne Division past commanders

  • MG Eben Swift 25 August – 23 November 1917
  • BG James Erwin 24 November – 16 December 1917
  • BG William P. Burnham 27 December 1917 – 3 October 1918
  • MG George B. Duncan 4 October 1918 – 21 May 1919
  • MG Omar N. Bradley 23 March – 25 June 1942
  • MG Matthew B. Ridgeway 26 June 1942 – 27 August 1944
  • MG James M. Gavin 28 August 1944 – 26 March 1948
  • MG Clovis E. Byers 27 March 1948 – 18 July 1949
  • BG Ridgely Gaither 19 July – 31 October 1949
  • MG Williston B. Palmer 1 November 1949 – 15 October 1950
  • MG Thomas F. Hickey 16 October 1950 – 31 January 1952
  • MG Charles D.W. Canham 1 February 1952 – 29 September 1952
  • MG Gerald Joseph Higgins 20 September 1952 – 14 September 1953
  • MG Francis W. Farrell 6 October 1953 – 4 July 1955
  • MG Thomas Trapnell 5 July – 13 September 1956
  • MG John W. Bowen 14 September 1956 – 27 December 1957
  • MG Hamilton H. Howze 2 January 1958 – 13 June 1959
  • MG Dwight E. Beach 1 July 1959 – 21 April 1961
  • MG Theodore J. Conway 22 April 1961 – 6 July 1962
  • MG John L. Throckmorton 7 July 1962 – 1 February 1964
  • MG Robert H. York 24 February 1964 – 15 July 1965
  • MG Joe S. Lawrie 2 August 1965 – 14 April 1967
  • MG Richard J. Seitz 15 April 1967 – 12 October 1968
  • MG John R. Deane, Jr. 14 October 1968 – 14 July 1970
  • MG George S. Blanchard 15 July 1970 – 16 July 1972
  • MG Frederick J. Kroesen 17 July 1972 – 7 October 1974
  • MG Thomas H. Tackenberry 8 October 1974 – 11 October 1976
  • MG Roscoe Robinson, Jr. 11 October 1976 – 1 December 1978
  • MG Guy S. Meloy 1 December 1978 – 6 February 1981
  • MG James J. Lindsay 6 February 1981 – 24 June 1983
  • MG Edward L. Trobaugh 24 June 1983 – 19 June 1985
  • MG Bobby B. Porter 19 June 1985 – 10 January 1986
  • MG John W. Foss 10 January 1986 – 10 October 1986
  • BG Raphael J. Hallada 10 October 1986 – 5 January 1987
  • MG Carl W. Stiner 5 January 1987 – 11 October 1988
  • MG James H. Johnson 11 October 1988 – 29 May 1991
  • MG Henry H. Shelton 29 May 1991 – 21 May 1993
  • MG William M. Steele 21 May 1993 – 10 March 1995
  • MG George A. Crocker 10 March 1995 – 27 November 1996
  • MG Joseph K. Kellogg, Jr. 27 November 1996 – 31 July 1998
  • MG Dan K. McNeill 31 July 1998 – 19 June 2000
  • MG John Vines August 2000 – May 2003
  • MG Charles Swannack October 2002 – 27 May 2004
  • MG William B. Caldwell IV 27 May 2004 – 7 April 2006
  • MG David M. Rodriguez 7 April 2006 – 21 July 2008
  • MG Curtis Scaparrotti 21 July 2008 – 5 August 2010
  • MG James L. Huggins 5 August 2010–present

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/spdes-123-ra_ar.html. Retrieved July 9, 2010. 
  2. ↑ "82nd Airborne Division gets new commander". Army Times Publishing Company. 5 August. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/08/ap_82nd_airborne_command_080510/. Retrieved 5 August 2010. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Lineage and Honors Information: 82nd Airborne Division". United States Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/div/082abd.htm. Retrieved 22 December 2009. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 "GlobalSecurity.org: 82nd Airborne Division History". GlobalSecurity. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/82abn-history.htm. Retrieved 22 December 2009. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "82nd Airborne Division Homepage: Unit History". 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs Office. http://www.bragg.army.mil/82dv/History.htm. Retrieved 22 December 2009. 
  6. ↑ McGrath & 2000 172
  7. ↑ "82nd Division Composition (World War I)". United States Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwi/ob/82-comp-ob.htm. Retrieved 22 December 2009. 
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 "82nd Division Record of Events (World War I)". United States Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwi/ob/82-ROE-ob.htm. Retrieved 22 December 2009. 
  9. ↑ Almanac, p. 587.
  10. ↑ Toland, John (1 April 1999). Battle: The Story of the Bulge. Bison Books. pp. 234. ISBN 0803294379. http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Story-Bulge-John-Toland/dp/0803294379. 
  11. ↑ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/2-325air.htm
  12. ↑ 'http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/2-325air.htm'
  13. ↑ de Montesquiou, Alfred; and Mike Melia (16 January 2010). "Haiti earthquake survivors get more food and water". http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CB_HAITI_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-01-16-08-50-44. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  14. ↑ "82nd Airborne Division Units". The 82nd Airborne Division. http://www.bragg.army.mil/82dv/82nd%20Units.html. Retrieved 16 March 2008. 
  15. ↑ "82nd Sustainment Brigade". 82nd Sustainment Brigade. http://www.bragg.army.mil/82sb/SBHOME.html. Retrieved 16 March 2008. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 [1]
  17. ↑ [2]
  18. ↑ [3]
  19. ↑ "Sustainment". The Pentagon. http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Sustain/82SustainmentBrigade.htm. Retrieved 16 March 2008. 
  20. ↑ [4]
  21. ↑ 82nd Airborne engineers re-enact famous WWII river crossing
  22. ↑ "82d Airborne Division". Order of Battle of the United States Army World War II. United States Army. December 1945. http://www.history.army.mil/documents/ETO-OB/82ABD-ETO.htm. Retrieved 16 March 2008. 

References

External links