The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operations to seize terrain. These operations can be conducted by mobile teams covering large distances, fighting behind enemy lines, and working in austere environments with limited or degraded infrastructure. Its unique battlefield mobility and high level of training have kept it in the vanguard of U.S. land combat forces in recent conflicts: for example, foreign internal defense and counterterrorism operations in Iraq, in Afghanistan in 2015–2016, and in Syria, as part of Operation Inherent Resolve in 2018–2021.
The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas with a U.S. Department of Defense requirement to "respond to crisis contingencies anywhere in the world within 18 hours". Based at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. The 82nd Airborne Division is the U.S. Army's most strategically mobile division.
United States Army Rangers are U.S. Army personnel who have served in any unit which has held the official designation of "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the Ranger School, even if they have never served in a "Ranger" unit; the vast majority of Ranger school graduates never serve in Ranger units and are considered "Ranger qualified".
The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as Army Rangers, is the U.S. Army's premier light infantry unit and special operations force within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The regiment is headquartered at Fort Moore, Georgia and is composed of a regimental headquarters company, a military intelligence battalion, a special troops battalion, and three Ranger battalions.
A long-range reconnaissance patrol, or L.R.R.P., is a small, well-armed reconnaissance team that patrols deep in enemy-held territory.
The 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment (Rakkasans) is a regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.
The 502nd Infantry Regiment, previously titled the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment was established shortly after U.S. entry into World War II, and was assigned as a regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, "The Screaming Eagles", one of the most decorated formations of the U.S. Army. The regiment saw substantial action in the European Theater of World War II and was inactivated in 1945, shortly after the end of the war. Reactivating in a new form in 1956, the 502nd Infantry has served in the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, Iraq War, War in Afghanistan, and Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. Since 1974, the regiment has been classified as an Air Assault unit. Currently, its 1st and 2nd battalions are active. Both battalions are assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
The 503rd Infantry Regiment, formerly the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, is an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment served as an independent regiment in the Pacific War during World War II; at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; in Okinawa, Japan; and in Germany. Regimental elements have been assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, the 11th Airborne Division, the 24th Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Regimental elements have participated in campaigns in the Vietnam War, Operation Enduring Freedom–Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The regiment claims 15 Medal of Honor recipients: two from World War II, ten from Vietnam, and three from Afghanistan. A parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System. The regiment's 1st and 2nd Battalions are active, assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy. The 3rd and 4th Battalions as well as Companies E, F, G, H, and I have been inactived.
The 2nd Ranger Battalion, currently based at Joint Base Lewis–McChord south of Seattle, Washington, United States, is the second of three ranger battalions belonging to the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment.
The 327th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army. During World War II, the 327th was a glider-borne regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. It fought during World War I as part of the 82nd Division. It has also been deployed in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, and most recently to Iraq and Afghanistan. The song "Glider Rider" describes (humorously) some of the slights that glider-borne troops felt they received from the Army during World War II; though the regiment's public fame rose with the 1949 movie Battleground about the Siege of Bastogne in late 1944.
United States Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course (RSLC) is a 29-day school designed on mastering reconnaissance fundamentals of officers and non-commissioned officers eligible for assignments to those units whose primary mission is to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, target acquisition, and combat assessment operations. RSLC is taught by the 4th Ranger Training Battalion, Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade. The school is open to Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen to train them to expert levels in reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, battle damage assessment, communications, planning, foreign vehicle identification, and other skills. The school was originally created to serve leaders from Long Range Surveillance Units (LRSU's), but now provides the specific reconnaissance training needed to ensure the effectiveness of small unit reconnaissance elements for the U.S. Army and joint force. Given the training focus and difficulty of the RSLC, the school is still commonly attended by operators from U.S. Army Special Forces, the 75th Ranger Regiment's Regimental Reconnaissance Company, U.S. Army Civil Affairs, Navy SEALs, and Marine reconnaissance units; today's students also come from more conventional infantry, Stryker and armored Brigade Combat Teams (BCT). Following the US Army decision to disband US Army LRS companies, the reconnaissance fundamentals taught in the course also provides U.S. military commanders the ability to preserve key LRS skills and abilities within the conventional force.
Wayne Allan Downing was a four-star United States Army general born in Peoria, Illinois. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962 and held a Master of Business Administration degree from Tulane University. He also served on the board of directors at a private military company, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).
Dennis Joe Reimer is a retired general of the United States Army, who served as the 33rd Chief of Staff of the Army from June 20, 1995 to June 21, 1999. He is also a graduate of Ranger and Airborne school.
General William F. "Buck" Kernan was born in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He was commissioned in November 1968 from Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Our Lady of the Lake University and a Master of Arts degree in personnel administration from Central Michigan University. His military education includes the Infantry Advanced Course, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College.
David Anthony Bramlett is a retired United States Army four-star general who commanded United States Army Forces Command from July 1, 1996 to August 31, 1998, after serving as Deputy Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff, United States Pacific Command at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii. During his tenure as Deputy Commander, he was the interim commander of Pacific Command after the commander, Admiral Richard C. Macke, came under fire for comments he had made in regard to the 1995 rape scandal in Okinawa that involved three United States servicemen.
In the United States (US) Department of Defense, a beret flash is a shield-shaped embroidered cloth that is typically 2.25 in (5.72 cm) tall and 1.875 in (4.76 cm) wide with a semi–circular base that is attached to a stiffener backing of a military beret. These flashes—a British English word for a colorful cloth patch attached to military headgear—are worn over the left eye with the excess cloth of the beret shaped, folded, and pulled over the right ear giving it a distinctive appearance. The embroidered designs of the Army's beret flashes represent the heraldic colors and patterns of a unit with a unique mission or represent the history of the Army. The Air Force's beret flashes represent an Air Force specialty code (AFSC) with a unique mission. Joint beret flashes—such as those worn by the Multinational Force and Observers and the Joint Communications Support Element—are worn by all who are assigned, given their uniform regulations allow.
Operation Delaware/Operation Lam Son 216 was a joint military operation launched during the Vietnam War. It began on 19 April 1968, with troops from the United States and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) moving into the A Sầu Valley. The A Sầu Valley was a vital corridor for moving military supplies coming from the Ho Chi Minh Trail and was used by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) as a staging area for numerous attacks in northern I Corps. Other than small, special operations reconnaissance patrols, American and South Vietnamese forces had not been present in the region since the Battle of A Shau in March 1966, when a U.S. Special Forces camp located there was overrun.
Major General Michael D. Healy was a general officer in the United States Army who spent 35 years serving in the military, completing tours in Korea and Vietnam. Healy began his career with parachute training in Japan, then attended a number of Army Colleges, including Ranger School. He entered the Korean War as a Company Commander with the Airborne Rangers, a newly formed unit of the Army. Most of his career was spent in Vietnam, where he served five and a half tours, leading the 5th Special Forces Group for almost 20 months, and earning him his first Distinguished Service Medal.
The United States Army has used military berets as headgear with various uniforms beginning in World War II. Since June 14, 2001, a black beret is worn by all U.S. Army troops unless the soldier is approved to wear a different distinctive beret. A maroon beret has been adopted as official headdress by the Airborne forces, a tan beret by the 75th Ranger Regiment, a brown beret by the Security Force Assistance Brigades, and a green beret by the Special Forces.
The Royal Thai Army Special Warfare Command also known as Pa Wai Airborne is the special forces of the Royal Thai Army. Its headquarters are King Narai Camp in Lopburi.
