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WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2009 – The remains of a U.S. paratrooper reported missing since early this month in western Afghanistan were recovered yesterday, military officials said. The body of Army Sgt. Brandon Islip was recovered from the Bala Murgahab River in Badghis province after a local Afghan resident provided information on his whereabouts, officials said. Islip, a paratrooper with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, went missing with another paratrooper Nov. 4 after being swept away by a fast-moving current while on an airdrop re-supply mission in western Afghanistan. The recovery comes weeks after British divers found the body of Islip’s...

SNIPPET: "I finally got around to reading this. Link to the article is here. It is in Arabic. The article starts off talking about the missing 82nd airborne soldiers earlier this month. This piece basically reiterates what Abu Walid al Masri wrote about in his July 2009 book wherein he outlined this strategy and suggested the Taliban adopt it. Key difference being this new piece is an article in an official Taliban publication. The July 2009 book was Abu Walid’s own work, not part of a Taliban sanctioned media publication that has processes of review and approval before things get...

10/6/2009 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Air Force officials here dedicated a C-130 Hercules to the Soldiers of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Afghanistan Oct. 5 at Bagram Airfield. The transport was originally dedicated at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., Oct. 25, 2008, to Fort Bragg's entire 82nd Airborne Division based in North Carolina. Tail number 79282 from the Air Force Reserve 440th Airlift Wing from Pope AFB has official nose art prominently displaying an American eagle in flight surrounding the iconic 82nd Airborne's insignia wings on the aircraft's fuselage. The plane also sports "Bragg-Pope" on its...

August is a seminal month in the history of the airborne, and especially of the 82nd Airborne Division. Aug. 15, 1942, is the birth date of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions. "Airborne" was already well under way before the magic date 67 years ago when the War Department formally ordered the formation of two divisions of jumpers and glidermen. Battalions of jumpers had been training at Fort Benning, Ga., since 1940, and the high command of the Army was eager to grow the airborne force. By March, a new infantry division, the 82nd, was activated for training at Camp...

SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 22, 2009) — A Waynesville High School graduate serving in Iraq received the Bronze Star with valor device for his role as a medic in rescuing Navy personnel from a burning explosive ordinance disposal vehicle that had been blown into the air by a roadside culvert bomb. Sgt. James H. Carter, 33, followed up on that 2007 award by recently being named Medic of the Year for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team in Iraq, to which he’s assigned as part of the 82nd Airborne in his second tour of duty in Iraq. Although he’s the son...

For more than six decades, Howard Manoian revelled in his heroic reputation as one of the legendary ‘Screaming Eagles’ who landed in Nazi-occupied France on D-Day. The World War Two U.S paratrooper said he was wounded in action twice after initially coming down on Sainte-Mère-Eglise – scene of the ferocious battle on June 6th 1944 depicted in the epic film ‘The Longest Day’, starring John Wayne. But after 84-year-old Mr Manoian came to receive yet another decoration at last month’s 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings – this time the Legion d'Honneur, France’s highest award for bravery – his true...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, June 3, 2009 – Fifteen months after transferring authority of Regional Command East in Afghanistan to the 101st Airborne Division, the 82nd Airborne Division reassumed command during a ceremony here today. U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines stand in formation saluting with their Afghan and coalition counterparts during a transfer-of-authority ceremony at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, June 3, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Michael Greenberger  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The ceremony marks the official transition from Combined Joint Task Force 101 to Combined Joint Task Force 82, with the new unit assuming responsibility for...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2008 – At the end of 2006, Iraq seemed on the verge of a civil war. Al-Qaida was inciting divisions between Sunni and Shiia Iraqis. The newly elected government seemed ineffectual. Militia groups roamed neighborhoods and intimidated those who did not agree with them. More than 100 U.S. servicemembers per month were being killed in fighting in the country. Today, that number has dropped dramatically, thanks largely to the troop surge and a new strategy that senior military officials credit with laying the groundwork for success throughout Iraq. U.S. officials understood the challenges in Iraq and studied...

The paratroopers of C Co 2-505 Parachute Infantry Regiment (82nd Airborne) celebrate the 4th of July at Patrol Base Olson in Samarra, Iraq -- halfway around the world from their home country.

05/15/07 -- FAYETTEVILLE) (WTVD) -- 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper, Major Larry Bauguess of Moravian auguess graduateFalls, N.C. died from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire in Pakistan Monday. The 36-year-old was the operation officer for the 4th Brigade Combat Team's Special Troops Battalion. Bauguess graduated from Appalachian State University in 1993. Public Family Statement by Mrs. Wesley Bauguess An 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper died from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire, in Teri Mengel, Pakistan Monday. Maj. Larry J. Bauguess, Jr., 36, of Moravian Falls, N.C., was the Operations Officer for the 4th Brigade Combat Team's Special Troops...

.....Bush Made his speach standing before five of the six brigades of the 82nd Airborne during the Division's annual ceremony to review and inspect the soldiers.....

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2008 – President Bush saluted thousands of soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division during his visit to Fort Bragg, N.C., today. The president cited the soldiers’ distinguished service in Afghanistan and Iraq. “This is the first time since 2006 that five brigades from your division have assembled together,” Bush remarked to troops after performing an in-ranks review of the division. Many of the paratroopers Bush addressed had recently completed 15-month deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. “We’ve asked a lot of you,” Bush told the soldiers, noting they’ve “achieved difficult objectives in a new kind...

The president could not have chosen a friendlier audience for a message that he has been trying for months to plant with the majority of the American public, which polls show stopped supporting the war long ago. Bush addressed thousands of troops of the storied 82nd Airborne Division, some of whom returned from Iraq barely two weeks ago and others who are preparing for a fourth deployment this fall. To fatigue-clad soldiers lined up in formation across a parade ground the size of a football field or more, Bush presented a point-by-point definition of the success he says is coming...

THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank you for the warm welcome to Fort Bragg. It is good to be at the home of the Airborne and Special Operation Forces. This is my fourth visit to Fort Bragg since I have been honored to be the President. Somehow I always find my way back to the "center of the universe." (Applause.) And every time I come, I look forward to saying: Hooah! AUDIENCE: Hooah! THE PRESIDENT: I'm pleased to be with the paratroopers of the All American 82nd Airborne Division. You know, you and my dad have something in common: You...

Army widens probe after finding bad conditions at Fort Bragg By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer 31 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Army officials said Tuesday they are inspecting every barracks building worldwide to see whether plumbing and other problems revealed at Fort Bragg, N.C., last week are widespread. ADVERTISEMENT Brig. Gen. Dennis Rogers, who is responsible for maintaining barracks throughout the Army, told reporters at the Pentagon that most inspections were done last weekend but he had not seen final results. While not providing specifics about problems discovered during the weekend inspections, Rogers indicated some deficiencies were corrected. In cases...

Ed Frawley Posted Video on YouTube to Expose Conditions at Fort Bragg When Edward Frawley went to welcome home his 22-year-old son, who was returning from a tour of duty with the 82nd Airborne Division in the mountains of Afghanistan, he was in for a shock. Not to hear the stories about Jeff's battles with insurgents, but to witness his son's current living conditions at Fort Bragg, N.C. So, Frawley did what any concerned citizen does — he posted a video on YouTube two weeks ago, containing still photos of moldy ceiling panels, broken toilet seats, backed up sewage water...

Relations between Britain and Iraq suffered “catastrophic failure” after Baghdad bypassed the British military and called in the American “cavalry” to help the recent offensive against Shia militia in Basra, The Times has learnt. About 550 US troops, including some from the 82nd Airborne Division, were sent from Baghdad to Basra to join up with 150 American soldiers already serving with Iraqi forces in the southern city. The Ministry of Defence made much of the fact that British troops, based at Basra airport outside the city, were not requested in the early stages of the operation. British officials claimed that...

CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan - A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second woman since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor. Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said. After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the...

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 24, 2007 – Sitting in their turrets manning their guns as tracers whizzed over their heads from all directions, Army Sgt. Damon Bligh and Spc. Rick Crothers knew they always had somebody they could count on: each other. Serving in Iraq together, the two soldiers can’t remember how many times they were attacked by the enemy, but they’ve been through it all, thick and thin, for close to three years now. Bligh, from Boston, and Crothers, from Mascoutah, Ill., drivers in Company A, 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, have served...

A little more than a month ago...some U.S. intelligence and military analysts thought they had found one of the world’s two most wanted men just where they last saw them six years ago. For three days and nights — between Aug. 14 and 16 — U.S. and Afghanistan forces pounded the mountain caves in Tora Bora... (snip) The military operation included "several hundred" U.S. and Afghan ground forces... Elements from the 82nd Airborne blocked off escape routes through the mountains on the Afghanistan side of the border, while helicopters inserted U.S. Navy Seals at night. The Seals pinpointed enemy positions...

Bin Laden may have just escaped U.S. forces August mission in Tora Bora almost snared 'high value target' A little more than a month ago, with the anniversary of Sept. 11 approaching and fears of a new al Qaeda attack rising, some U.S. intelligence and military analysts thought they had found one of the world’s two most wanted men just where they last saw them six years ago. For three days and nights — between Aug. 14 and 16 — U.S. and Afghanistan forces pounded the mountain caves in Tora Bora, the same caves where Osama Bin Laden had hidden...

British Lt. Col. Scott. Frazer, clinical director of Brady Lanes Medical Facility, shows U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Christopher Conley, and Lt. Cmdr. Amy Garret the European style portable ventilator and instructs them on its use. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Felix Figueroa, 82nd Sustainment Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs. BASRA — U.S. Navy medics assigned to the 2515th Naval Air Ambulance Detachment recently met up with their British counterparts to talk about ways to streamline lateral communications and familiarize each other with equipment. “We’ve met some British medical personnel in passing while dropping off and picking up patients,� said...

MUSHADAH, IRAQ – “Al Qaeda terrifies locals,” said Major Mike Garcia from Canyon, Texas, before he put me in a convoy of Humvees with 18 American Military Police on their way to the small town of Mushadah just north of Baghdad. “The only people Iraqis may be more afraid of is their mothers. When we arrest or detain people and threaten to call up their mom, they completely freak out. Please, no, don’t tell my mother they say. Women are quiet outside the house, but they severely smack down their bad kids inside the house. When your Iraqi mother tells...

ON SUNDAY, seven soldiers from the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Iraq penned a passionate opinion piece in the New York Times that further illustrates the complexity of what is "really" happening in Iraq. Of the almost 3,000 soldiers from the Army's storied 82nd Airborne Division currently serving in the hottest of Iraqi neighborhoods, seven felt confident enough in their misgivings to sign an opinion piece. Insurgents are exposed, leaders stand up, and stability occurs. General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker understand the principles of counterinsurgency and are applying them up and down the chain...

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class John “Smoke� Duggins, 36, a platoon sergeant with Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, provides security as residents pass through the streets north of the Grey’at neighborhood of Baghdad’s Adhamiyah District, June 28, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. L.B. Edgar Paratroopers Prove Unshakeable in the Face of Adversity Security a priority along with improving essential services. By Spc. L.B. Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BAGHDAD, July 2, 2007 — Only one man knew what was coming. From afar he completed the circuit...

ALBANY, Ore. — An Albany woman with a son in Iraq is raising money to buy his 82nd Airborne unit a machine that makes "Slurpee" type frozen carbonated drinks. Sharon Crary said her son, Pfc. Preston Crary, 21, a chaplain's assistant, asked for a machine that could make enough drinks to serve up to 100 soldiers at a time. Preston told his mother the machine would be a "great morale booster."

An Arabic translator who used an assumed identity to get work as a contractor for the U.S. Army in Iraq pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges of possessing classified national defense documents, including sensitive material about the insurgency that he took from an 82nd Airborne Division intelligence group in 2004. The translator obtained U.S. citizenship under a false identity before securing a job in August 2003 with Titan Corp., which supplied translators to the U.S. military to aid in fighting the war in Iraq. The man then used his false identity to get secret and top-secret clearances -- access to...

Army Translator From Brooklyn Pleads Guilty Man Had Secret Intelligence Documents POSTED: 3:50 pm EST February 14, 2007 NEW YORK -- A U.S. Army translator pleaded guilty Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court to illegally possessing national defense documents. Prosecutors said the Arabic translator stole documents while assisting the 82nd Airborne at Al Taqqadam Air Base in Iraq. Investigators said the defendant, known as Adbulhakeem Nour, used fake documents to get a job with L-3 Titan Corporation which provides translation services for the military. In a search of Nour's Brooklyn apartment, officials said they found "secret" and "top secret" documents. Officials...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Feb. 2, 2007 – The 82nd Airborne Division accepted responsibility for Combined Joint Task Force 76 from the 10th Mountain Division in a transfer-of-authority ceremony here today. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley (left), commander of the 10th Mountain Division, furls the division’s colors with the help of outgoing Combined Joint Task Force 76 command sergeant major Army Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph Borja during a transfer-of-authority ceremony at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, Feb. 2. Photo by Sgt. Jim Wilt, USA  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The task force supports NATO operations in eastern Afghanistan. The...

At Hannity Forums liberals, leftists and democrats are accusing Joshua Sparling of working with conservatives / FReepers to set this confrontation with war protesters up intentionally as a publicity stunt so Joshua can get more name recognition for himself. Plus other typical anti-American and anti-US military type statements. --- Why Joshua Sparling should never leave the househttp://www.hannity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235591 (the liberal leftist democrat who started this thread could use a good slappin' around along with others who will be obvious by their hatred of our military) Liberal leftist democrats spit at Iraq War hero Joshua Sparling yesterday in DChttp://www.hannity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235355 (I started this...

I'm angry. I'm angry at the 'antiwar' protesters who heaped abuse on our troops. And I'm angry at the people who couldn't be bothered to stand up for our troops yesterday.Tens of thousands of anti-American leftists and their dupes marched on our nation's capital calling for America's defeat in the war on terror in Iraq.Only about forty people could be bothered to turn out in support of America's victory in Iraq. Among those forty was a civilian POW held by the North Vietnamese communists and several Iraq war veterans--including wounded warriors who left the hospital to stand up for their...

Free Republic's Kristinn Taylor had his excellent first hand report linked to by Michelle Malkin below. --- Spitting at a war hero By Michelle Malkin   ·   January 28, 2007 10:19 PM Readers of this blog will remember the name Joshua Sparling. In December 2005, the Iraq war veteran received a disgusting, anti-war death wish card while being treated at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. for injuries from a bomb explosion in Ramadi. Last month, his right leg was amputated. And this weekend, while participating in a counter-protest against the moonbat convergence, he was spit at by anti-war demonstrators....

John Ryan Dennison was a shining light in the Class of 2000 at Urbana High School in Frederick County -- an excellent student, a football player, a wrestler. Yesterday, the school's teachers and administrators reeled from the news that he was killed Wednesday in Iraq. "When you lose a young life, it somehow diminishes all of us," said Principal George M. Seaton. History teacher Norm Crosby, who wrote a recommendation in support of Dennison's application to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said he was a natural leader. "He was a young man who always knew the right thing...

Milblogger BlackFive has just released a new book that contains dispatches from our outstanding men and women of the US military who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. If it weren't for the milbloggers much of the good news from Iraq and Afghanistan would never become widely known by the American people. --- It is the work of over 50 Americans who tell their stories about the experiences around the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In it you will meet: * The Warriors. Snipers, tankers, grunts. Readers who have never heard a shot fired in anger will come closer to...

Shortly after returning from Iraq last year, Army Sgt. Ricky Clousing gathered a few belongings and sneaked out of Fort Bragg, leaving only a note quoting Martin Luther King. After six months spent seeing the "daily physical, psychological and emotional harassment of civilians," the 24-year-old said he was confused and disenchanted with the United States' role in the war.

It was a warm day, August 2nd in 1990 when I turned on the news and heard the stomach clutching news that Iraq was invading Kuwait. My heart beat accelerated as I realized that my son's Bravo Co. of the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg was "on mission" for the month of August. This meant that his company would be the first to go if the US offered military assistance for the crisis. All day and evening my husband, a Korean combat veteran, and I seesawed between listening to the news and trying to reach our son's barracks phone. (Remember,...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) -- An Army paratrooper pleaded guilty Thursday to engaging in sex acts on a military-themed gay pornographic Web site after a judge denied a request to dismiss the case. Pfc. Richard T. Ashley, one of seven members of the 82nd Airborne Division charged with appearing on the site, faces up to a year in prison, forfeiture of two-thirds pay for one year, reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge. Ashley appeared calm in court Thursday, appearing with a military lawyer and a civilian lawyer. His family sat behind him in the courtroom as the judge...

Preparing to greet the commies - Early Saturday Morning DStarr chooses a sign from her arsenal as she prepares to confront the leftist march. This past Saturday, March 18, 2006 we conducted our third annual FReep in commemoration of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. As in past years, leftists marched through the streets of Fayetteville, NC (home of Fort Bragg and Pope Airforce Base) and congregated in Rowan Park for their day of music and speeches, coordinated by NC Peace and Justice Coalition. The support the troops rally was conducted on the hillside overlooking Rowan Park. Wolfpat's sound...

Pfc. Joshua Sparling Many of you will remember the story of Pfc. Joshua Sparling, the wounded soldier who received a disgusting death-wish greeting card in December while hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Sean Hannity has kept close contact with Sparling and interviewed him yesterday about his condition. Sad news: Sparling's leg will have to be amputated below the knee--but he wants to "get back to [Fort Bragg] and "jump right back in his unit (the 82nd Airborne)." We are so fortunate to have men like Pfc. Sparling. I've uploaded the audio. Listen here (thanks to reader Tony J.)....

ORLANDO (Army News Service, Feb. 18, 2006) – The “world’s happiest place” has been invaded by some of the Army’s best entertainers. The Soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division “All-American” Chorus entertained hundreds of Mickey Mouse fans – young and old – at an outdoor performance pavilion in Downtown Disney Feb. 18. The concert was a part of Disney’s Magic Music Days program, which brings non-professional bands, choirs and orchestras to Disney World for the chance to participate in educational workshops with Disney musicians or perform for the thousands who visit the amusement parks daily. The program brings over one...

February 4, 2006 Joshua Sparling Discusses His Progress On Sean Hannity Show (AUDIO) PFC Joshua Sparling of the 82nd Airborne phoned in on Thursday’s edition of The Sean Hannity Show to discuss his progress. Sparling injured his leg while serving in Iraq. When he received medical attention it was thought that his leg would have to be removed, however he has had several surgeries and is going through a long recovery process. Sparling was made famous when he received what he thought was a ‘get well’ card, but was actually a death wish. Sean Hannity visited Sparling during a...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Singer Lou Rawls is dead. A spokesman says he died this morning at a Los Angeles hospital. He sold more than 40 million albums, and his hits included "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine."

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2005 – An 82nd Airborne Division unit has again proven the division's unofficial motto of "America's 911 Force" during its deployment to Iraq's Anbar province. It was a short, violent and ultimately fulfilling deployment for the paratroopers of Task Force 3-504, said its commander, Army Lt. Col. Larry Swift. The unit - built around the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and under command of the 2nd Marine Division while in Iraq - was one of two battalions deployed in September from Fort Bragg, N.C. The unit worked with other coalition and Iraqi...

U.S.Army paratroopers with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, search for a weapons cache on the outskirts of Tall Afar, Iraq, Nov. 18, 2005. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Nathan Kish Paratroopers' Missions Yield Mixed Results The search for a man connected to insurgent activities was unsuccessful, but a search for a weapons cache yielded dozens of artillery rounds. By U.S. Army Pfc. James Wilt 82nd Airborne Division TALL AFAR, Iraq, Nov. 29, 2005 — U.S. Army paratroopers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division conducted a raid...

Three former members of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division say soldiers in their battalion in Iraq routinely beat and abused prisoners in 2003 and 2004 to help gather intelligence on the insurgency and to amuse themselves. The new allegations, the first involving members of the 82nd Airborne, are contained in a report by Human Rights Watch. The 30-page report does not identify the troops, but one is Capt. Ian Fishback, who has presented some of his allegations in letters this month to top aides of two senior Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee, John Warner of Virginia and John...

From the Interdictor / DirecNIC blog: Sometime around midnight, a squad of 82nd Airborne guys accompanied by a US Marshall busted into our Data Center with their M4-A1s to investigate the lights and movement. Personally, I know they were just bored -- there's no way they honestly thought there was some kind of threat up here just yards away from several huge military and police presences. Anyway, they came up and demanded to account for us all. That means they told Donny, who was still up, to come wake up Crys and me in the side closet room type area...

WASHINGTON - The 82nd Airborne Division is sending about 700 soldiers to Iraq to provide extra security for detainees, whose numbers have doubled over the past year, officials said Wednesday. The 1st battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, based at Fort Bragg, N.C., has begun preparing to deploy over the next two months. It will be the battalion's second tour in Iraq; the first was from September 2003 to April 2004. Before that the battalion was in Afghanistan from July 2002 to January 2003. An announcement at Fort Bragg on Monday gave no information about the battalion's new mission in Iraq,...

GIs from Fort Bragg-based unit join 17,600 U.S. troops in country By Jason Chudy, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Wednesday, August 3, 2005 Jason Chudy / S&S Spc. Kevin O’Flarity kneels during a squad training drill at Forward Operating Base Lagman in Afghanistan as other soldiers take up positions behind him. The soldiers, from Fort Bragg, N.C.-based 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, recently moved into the area as U.S. forces bulk up to provide more security for September’s elections. Jason Chudy / S&S Pfc. Ricardo Cota covers an area with his squad automatic weapon Monday during training at Forward...

Veteran Saves Student Lester was just doing what he usually did that day, when he was thrust into a situation that required action. The kind of action that he was used to. The kind of action that he had seen as a 19 year old member of the 82nd Airborne on those battlefields of Europe 60 years ago. Lester was driving down Main St., close to the local college campus, on his way to meet some old Army buddies at the VFW. “I drove by a big crowd of people. They were yellin’ and hollerin’ and then I saw smoke...

Fort Bragg, N.C. (Army News Service July 11, 2005) - More Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division are headed to Afghanistan, the Division’s commander announced during a press conference July 8. Between 700 and 800 Paratroopers from 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment will deploy within several weeks to Afghanistan to bolster security there in advance of the upcoming provincial elections in September, said Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV. The Division already has about 1,500 Paratroopers from its 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed to the country, which has seen a spike in violence against coalition forces in recent months....