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The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army 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 members of the division came from all 48 states, the unit was given the nickname “All-American.” This is the basis for its famed “AA” shoulder patch. Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C. York, General James M. Gavin, former Chief Dave Bald Eagle (grandson of Sitting Bull), Senator Strom Thurmond (325GIR in World War II), Senator Jack Reed and Congressman Patrick Murphy (the first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress).
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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.[1] As the division was to consist entirely of newly conscripted soldiers, it was built from the ground up as conscripts arrived at the fort.[2] Once the division was formed, commanders discovered that it contained draftees from all 48 US states that existed at the time. Because of this, it was nicknamed the "All American" division.[3]
The division was based around two infantry brigades, each commanding two regiments. Assigned to the division was the 163rd Infantry Brigade commanding the 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment, and the 164th Infantry Brigade, commanding the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment.[4] Also assigned to the division was the 157th Field Artillery Brigade, a divisional troops contingent, and a division train. It was to sail to Europe to the front lines, joining the American Expeditionary Force in fighting World War I.[5]
In early April, the division was moved to ports in Boston, New York and Brooklyn for departure to Liverpool, England, where the division was fully assembled by mid-May 1918.[6] From there, the division was moved to mainland Europe, leaving Southampton and arriving at Le Havre, France,[6] 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 lines to gain combat experience. On June 16 it was moved by rail to Toul, France to take up a position on the Front lines in the French sector. Its soldiers were issued French weapons and equipment to make resupply easier.[2] 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.[6]
The division was assigned to relieve the 26th Division on June 25. Though the Langley sector was considered a defensive sector, the 82nd Division actively patrolled and conducted small raids through the region for several weeks, before being relieved by the 89th Division.[2] From there it moved to the Marbache sector in mid-August, where it relieved the 2nd Division, and was placed under the command of the newly-formed First United States Army.[6] There it trained until September 12, when the division was committed to the St. Mihiel offensive.[2]
Once the First Army jumped off on the offensive, the 82nd Division engaged in a holding mission in order 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 patroled 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, and advanced to the heights just north of that town where it consolidated its position. On September 15, the 328th Infantry, in order to provide flank protection for the 90th Division, resumed the advance, and reacheed Vandières, but withdrew on the following day to the high ground north of Norroy.[6]
On September 17, the St-Mihiel Operation stabilized, and the 90th Division relieved the 82nd Division's troops west of the Moselle River. On September 20, the 82nd Division 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.[6] During this operation, the division suffered heavy casualties from enemy artillery, and the division lost over 800 men during the operation. Among them was Colonel Emory Pike, the first member of the 82nd to be awarded the Medal of Honor.[2] The division was then set into reserve until October 3, when it was assembled near Varennes-en-Argonne prior to returning to the line.[6] During this time, the division trained and prepared for the Allies' next major offensive at Meuse-Argonne, which would be the last of the war.[2]
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 of that town. 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.[6]
For the rest of the month, the 82nd Division turned to the north and advanced astride the Aire River to the region east of St-Juvin. On thre 10th it relieved troops of the 1st Division 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 south of the towns. 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 River. The next day, the 42nd Division relieved the 82nd's troops in and near Sommerance, allowing it to resume its attacks. 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.[6]
On October 18, the division relieved elements of the 78th Division as far to the left as Marcq and Champigneulle. Three days later it advances to the Ravin aux Pierres. On October 31, the 82nd Division, 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 ending the war.[6] During this campaign the division suffered another 7,000 killed and wounded. A second soldier from the 82nd Division, Alvin C. York, won the Medal of Honor during this campaign.[2]
The division suffered 995 killed and 7,082 wounded, for a total of 8,077 casualties in World War I.[7] Following the end of the war, the division was moved to training areas near Prauthoy, where it remained until the end of February, 1919.[6] It returned to the United States throughout April of that year and completed its return by the end of May, and was demobilized and deactivated at Camp Mills, New York on May 27.[1]
For the next 20 years the Division would not be an active formation, however it would exist as a reserve unit.[3] The 82nd Division was reconstituted on June 24, 1921. Its headquarters was organized 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.[2]
The 82nd Division was re designated 13 February 1942 as Division Headquarters, 82nd Division. After the outbreak of World War II, 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 time spent in training, the division brought together three officers who would ultimately steer the US Army during the next two decades: Matthew B. Ridgway, James M. Gavin, and Maxwell D. Taylor.
On 15 August 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division became the first airborne division in the U.S. Army, and was redesignated the 82nd Airborne Division. In April 1943, paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division 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 1943. 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 the D-Day invasion of Normandy, 6 June 1944. Glider troopers of the 319th Glider Field Artillery, the 320th Glider Field Artillery and the 325th Glider Infantry did participate in the Italian campaign but came in by landing craft at Maiori (319th) and Salerno (320th, 325th).
In January 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was temporarily detached from the division 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 was pulled out of Italy in November 1943 and moved to the United Kingdom to prepare for the liberation of Europe. See RAF North Witham and RAF Folkingham.
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 82nd Airborne Division conducted Operation Boston, part of the airborne assault phase of the Overlord plan.
In preparation for the operation, the division was reorganized. Due to a need for integrating replacement troops, rest, and refitting following the fighting in Italy, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment was not assigned to the division for the invasion. Two new parachute infantry regiments, the 507th and the 508th, were attached to provide it, along with the 505th, a three-parachute infantry regiment punch. On 5 June 1944 and 6 June 1944, these paratroopers, parachute artillery elements, and the 319th and 320th Glider Field Artillery Battalions, boarded hundreds of transport planes and gliders to begin the largest airborne assault in history. Its 325th Glider Infantry Regiment would follow-up 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. The Division's post-battle report, authored by Ridgway, stated in part, "...33 days of action without relief, without replacements. Every mission accomplished. No ground gained was ever relinquished."[3]
Following the Normandy invasion, 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 of XVIII Airborne Corps, 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.
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 Division. On 17 September, the 82nd conducted its fourth combat assault of World War II, into the Netherlands. 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.
On 16 December 1944, the Germans launched a surprise offensive through the Ardennes Forest which was known as the Battle of the Bulge. Two days later the 82nd joined the fighting and blunted General Gerd von Rundstedt's northern penetration in the 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!"[8] After helping to secure the Ruhr, the division ended the war at Ludwigslust past the Elbe River, accepting the surrender of Lieutenant General Kurt von Tippelskirch's 21st Army. Over 150,000 troops surrendered to the division. General Omar N. 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 the surrender of Germany, the 82nd was ordered to Berlin for occupation duty. This lasted 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 82nd was scheduled to partake in the invasion of Japan, but the war ended before their departure.
During the invasion of Italy in World War II, Will Lang Jr. of TIME was considered an honorary member of the 82nd Airborne Division by General Matthew B. Ridgway.
The division returned to the United States 3 January 1946. The division crossed the Atlantic home 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 made its permanent home at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was designated a Regular Army division on 15 November 1948. The 82nd was not sent to the Korean War, as both Presidents Truman and Eisenhower deemed it necessary to keep the division as a 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.
In April 1965, the "All-Americans" were alerted for action in response to the civil war in the Dominican Republic, in which more than 3,000 Dominicans died. Spearheaded by the 3rd Brigade, the 82nd deployed to the Caribbean in Operation Power Pack. Within the United States in 1967, the 82nd was sent into Detroit to deal with a massive riot. Within two days of their deployment, the riots ended.
A year later, the 82nd Airborne Division was again called to action. During the Tet Offensive, which swept across the Republic of Vietnam in January 1968, the 3rd Brigade was alerted and within 24 hours, was en route to Chu Lai. The 3rd Brigade performed combat duties in the Huế – Phu Bai area of the I Corps sector. Later the brigade was moved south to Saigon, and fought battles in the Mekong Delta, the Iron Triangle and along the Cambodian border, serving nearly 22 months in Vietnam.
During 1969 till the 1970s, the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to Korea and Vietnam paratroopers on more than 180DBT [Days Bad Time] served both expeditionary foreign service for exercises in potential future battlegrounds. The division was also alerted three times. One of the alerts was for Black September 1970. Some 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. Then in May 1978, the division was alerted for a possible drop into Zaire, and again in November 1979, the division was alerted for a possible operation to rescue the American hostages in Iran. The division formed the nucleus for the newly created Rapid Deployment Forces, a mobile force at a permanently high state of readiness.
On 25 October 1983, elements of the 82nd were called back to the Caribbean to the island of Grenada. The 82nd provided support to the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions. The first 82nd unit to deploy in the invasion of Grenada 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, with support units deployed to Grenada. Military operations in Grenada ended in early November. 2/505 was deployed as well. Note that 2/325 did not deploy one company within. It was a COHORT company which was not "ARTEP'd". Each proceeding Bn, pushed a single company forward with A-2/504 (Led by then Cpt. Humble and 1SG Graham) 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 tropic environment. Communication between services (Army, Navy and Airforce) became a noticeable weak-link, no interoperability exist. Interesting to note, it 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 division troopers touched down at Point Salinas 17 hours after notification, and that was the 2d battalion 325th 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 airland operation into Honduras as part of Operation Golden Pheasant. The deployment was billed a joint training exercise, but the paratroopers were ready to fight. The deployment of armed and willing paratroopers to the Honduran countryside caused the Sandinistas to withdraw back to Nicaragua. Operation Golden Pheasant prepared the paratroopers for future combat in the 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 1st and 2nd Battalions (Airborne), 504th Infantry well as the 4th Battalion (Airborne), 325th Infantry and A Company, 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 505th Infantry, was to oust Manuel Noriega from power in Panama. They were joined on the ground by 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 504th Infantry, which was already in Panama. After the night combat jump and seizure of the airport, 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.
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 fighting in the desert with 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 were 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 AIR, providing the troop ground transportation required to allow them to keep pace with the 6th French Light Armored Division during the incursion into Iraq. 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 from 2d Brigade (2/325) was attached to the 6th French Light Armored Division becoming the far left flank of the Corps.[9] 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 ABN DIV Band and the 82nd MP Company processed 2721 Enemy Prisoners of War. After the liberation of Kuwait, the 82nd began its redeployment back to Fort Bragg with most of the Division returning by the end of April.
In August 1992, the division was alerted to deploy a task force to the hurricane-ravaged area of South Florida and provide humanitarian assistance following Hurricane Andrew. For more than 30 days, division troopers provided food, shelter and medical attention to the Florida population.
On 16 September 1994, the 82d Airborne Division was alerted as part of Operation Restore Democracy. The 82nd Airborne Division was scheduled to make combat parachute jumps into two locations in Haïti, Pegasus Drop Zone and Papia Airport, in order to help oust the military led dictatorship of Raoul Cédras, and then to restore the democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. At the same time as 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 a number of paratroopers waiting at Green Ramp to Air Land into Haïti once the airfields there had been seized. When the Haïtian military dictators verified from sources outside of Pope Air Force Base that the 82nd was on the way to invade, Cédras capitulated and stepped down from power, thus 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 it was the reputation of the 82nd Airborne that was enough to make Cédras change his mind:
In December 1994, the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division was deployed as part of Operation Safe Haven. The battalion was recalled to Fort Bragg for deployment while on Division Ready Force 1 in order to restore order against hundreds of Cuban refugees who had attacked and injured a number of Air Force personnel to protest 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.
In December 1995, battalions of the 82nd were alerted to prepare 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 draw down against plans for a possible Airborne operation there.
In March 1999 the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division was 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, 2–505 was replaced by the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment which deployed in support of Operation Joint Guardian. 3-504 was replaced in March 2000 by elements of the 101st Airborne Division.
After the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, the 82nd's 49th Public Affairs Detachment deployed to Afghanistan in October 2001 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 support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In January 2003 1st Brigade relieved 3rd Brigade, and continued the Division's support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During 1st Brigade's tour in Afghanistan, 70 soldiers from B Company, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in conjunction with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, conducted a combat jump into western Afghanistan, but was uncelebrated as it remained classified for over a year.
The 2nd brigade of the Division took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in early 2003. 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 arrayed against coalition forces in the western Iraqi desert. Upon cancellation of the parachute assault to seize the airport, the Battalion was detached and 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.[10] The 3rd brigade of the division deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2003, redeploying to the US in Spring 2004. The 1st brigade deployed to Iraq in January 2004. The last units of the division left Iraq by the end of April 2004. The 2nd brigade returned to Iraq in mid-December 2004, and returned again 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 in total. On 21 July 2006, the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment along with a platoon from A Battery 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment and a troop from 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment deployed to Tikrit, Iraq & returned in December 2006. Just days after returning home, the battalion was called up to 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 in support of OIF and is looking to return home August 2008. Since the deployment began, the Division has lost 37 paratroopers. Since 11 September 2001, the division has lost 20 paratroopers in Afghanistan and 101 paratroopers in Iraq, but the death toll for the division is still growing. The tentative return date for the 2nd Brigade is set for April 2008; however, the 1st Battalion of the 2nd BCT is scheduled to return home sooner in November 2007. The 2nd BCT arrived home to Fort Bragg 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 late September 2004 The National Command Authority alerted and deployed 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment for an emergency deployment to Afghanistan in support of the first free elections held in October of that year.
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.
First Brigade of the 82nd Airborne deployed to Afghanistan in April 2005 in support of OEF 6, and returned in April 2006.
The 82nd Airborne's 3rd Brigade Panthers and DIVARTY along with supporting units were also 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.
Paratroopers from the US 82nd Airborne Division set up a base for distributing water and food to aid in the 2010 Haitian earthquake relief.[11]
In January 2006, the division began reorganizing from a division based organization to a brigade based one. Activations 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.
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.
82nd Airborne Division
Units:.[12]
1st Brigade Combat Team
2nd Brigade Combat Team
3rd Brigade Combat Team
4th Brigade Combat Team
82nd Division Special Troops
Battalion
82nd Sustainment
Brigade[13][1][2][3]
Note: Divisional sustainment brigades provide direct support to, but are not part of, the divisions they support. Sustainment brigades have their own shoulder patches which distinguish them from the divisions they support. A shoulder patch for the 82d Sustainment Brigade was approved effective 19 March 2008. Unlike the division, the 82d Sustainment Brigade is not on jump status, with the exception of its three parachute riggers companies, the 11th, 600th and 612th.[7][14] Since the formation of the brigade, the 600th and 612th Quartermaster companies have been inactivated, and the 11th Quartermaster Company is being realigned.[8]
To commemorate the Waal assault river crossing made by the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 307th Engineer Battalion (Airborne) during Operation Market Garden in 1944, an annual Crossing of the Waal re-enactment is staged on the anniversary of the operation at the McKellars Lake near Fort Bragg in the form of competition, with the winning company receiving a boat paddle.[15] The significance of the paddle is to remember that many paratroopers had to use their weapons to aid rowing because there were not sufficient paddles in the canvas boats provided to them.
The following are 82nd Airborne units during World War II.[16]
Taken from 82nd Airborne Division past commanders
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