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The U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division has been deployed to Europe for the first time in almost 80 years amid soaring tension between Russia and the American-led NATO military alliance. The light infantry unit, nicknamed the "Screaming Eagles," is trained to deploy on any battlefield in the world within hours, ready to fight. CBS News joined the division's Deputy Commander, Brigadier General John Lubas, and Colonel Edwin Matthaidess, Commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, on a Black Hawk helicopter for the hour-long ride to the very edge of NATO territory — only around three miles from Romania's border with...

The US government has announced it will offer gender confirmation surgery for transgender veterans through its health care coverage for the first time. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary Denis McDonough announced the change at a Pride event in Florida. He said it would allow veterans to go through the full process "with VA at their side". Previously hormone therapy and mental health services were covered but not surgery. Gender confirmation surgery, also known as sex reassignment surgery, covers a range of procedures which alter a person's anatomy to match their gender identity.

U.S. Paratroopers with Mohawks - World War II

<p>BRUSSELS (AP) -- A Belgian nurse who saved the lives of hundreds of American soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge at the end of World War II was given a U.S. award for valor Monday - 67 years late.</p>

President Obama today privately thanked the Navy SEALs who cornered and killed Osama bin Laden, congratulating them for a "job well done." The president met the elite Team 6 squad on the same day that bin Laden's terror network, al Qaeda, admitted that its leader was dead. Al Qaeda vowed that it would try to make America pay for his death. Among the team members the president met was the SEAL who fired the shot that killed bin Laden, though he was not told which one it was, according to administration sources.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- A tough battle continues in eastern Afghanistan's most volatile area where six U.S. soldiers died on Tuesday, said Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division. Campbell spoke to reporters at Fort Campbell on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line during a video conference from his headquarters in Bagram on Thursday and said that 117 members of the 101st have died in Afghanistan since last March. All six soldiers were from the 1st Brigade Combat Team. The latest deaths came during ongoing combat to clear insurgents from eastern Afghanistan. Campbell said he couldn't discuss...

Lest We Forget: Screaming Eagles Know Freedom’s Cost The men of the 101st Airborne Division, or Screaming Eagles, train. (Courtesy of US Army) By MICHAEL P. TREMOGLIE, The Bulletin Friday, May 22, 2009 It is said that freedom is not free. The wise person knows this to be true. However, it takes more than wisdom to know the exact value. If anyone knows the price, it is the men of the 101st Airborne Division. They know it all too well because they have paid it many times. They are known as the Screaming Eagles, the men of the 101st Airborne. They are...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Feb. 1, 2008 – Cold drizzle and hot metal rained upon the ground here yesterday as a group of 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) soldiers honed their mortar- and howitzer-targeting skills in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan in April. Forward observer Army Spc. Daniel L. Howes watches 81 mm and 120 mm mortar shells and 105 mm howitzer rounds explode down range during a training exercise at Fort Campbell, Ky., Jan. 31, 2008. Howes is among about 3,800 4th Brigade Combat Team soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) that will deploy to Afghanistan in...

Photos by Plea Deal and [Mrs] Trooprally WASHINGTON, DC, 9/08/06-- Two officers in full camo uniforms waved enthusiastically as their vehicle exited Walter Reed Army Medical Center to be greeted by our troop-support rally spread over the four corners of the gates. We had arrived and had set up our displays while they were inside the hospital visiting wounded members of their unit. Seeing the DC Chapter's huge banners and dozens of U.S. flags, they wheeled their vehicle back around and stopped at the northwest corner to talk with the young people who were gathered there to hold signs, wave...

Titans get surprise wakeup by 101st Airborne Division By Gary Glenn Titans Online Linebacker Keith Bulluck (53) and Titans players were surprised with an early morning workout Monday at nearby Ft. Campbell. CLARKSVILLE, TN, Aug. 7, 2006 -- As Titans players went to bed Sunday evening, they had no idea what was about to transpire only a few hours later. With only a single practice scheduled for Monday afternoon, they figured Monday morning would be a piece of cake. That turned out to be far from the truth. They were awakened at 4:30 a.m. by fists pounding on their doors from...

Forged in the fight Eads foundry's unit will shine at home of 101st By Jon W. Sparks Contact June 12, 2005 Standing in the same room with the unfinished warriors is unnerving. Four life-size figures loom in the sculpture studio of Andrea Holmes Lugar in Eads. They represent soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division who have faced the foe in World War II, Vietnam and both Gulf wars. Their destiny is to become part of a monument at Fort Campbell, Ky., headquarters of the 101st. Until then, they will undergo an amazing process of being shaped and then cast in...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - An Army sergeant charged with killing two officers in a grenade attack in Kuwait two years ago is competent to stand trial, a military judge ruled Friday. Sgt. Hasan Akbar, 33, is scheduled to undergo a court-martial this month in a March 2003 attack on fellow members of the 101st Airborne Division days after the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Akbar is accused of stealing grenades from a Humvee and using them and a gun in the attack. The pretrial hearing was originally scheduled for Wednesday. But two hours before it was to begin,...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

WEST POINT, N.Y. (Army News Service, Aug. 31, 2004) -- Great Army leaders not only live up to the values of duty, honor and country -- they also demonstrate courage, commitment, compassion and caring, according to a recent 101st Airborne Division brigade commander. That was the message Col. Mike Linnington, commander of 3rd Brigade, 101st, from June 2002 through this past June, gave cadets from the U.S. Military Academy class of 2005 shortly after the West Point seniors donned their class rings for the first time. “As I flash back to 1980, I can’t help but wonder if my classmates...

  Monument to Honor 101st Airborne Division Soldiers By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 24, 2004 — A new monument under construction at Fort Campbell, Ky., will honor soldiers who have served in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) throughout its history, including those who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq in support of the war on terror. Retired Master Sgt. Billy Colwell, left, oversees construction of the new 101st Airborne Division monument at Fort Campbell, Ky. Photo by Donna Miles(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available. The monument, directly in front of the division headquarters...

For 18,000 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) recently returned from a year in Iraq -- and for some, more months in Afghanistan -- there's no place like home. The "Screaming Eagles" said they returned to Fort Campbell, Ky., after deployments in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom with a newfound appreciation for the simple pleasures in life. And no single pleasure ranked higher than the opportunity to reconnect with their families. For some, like Staff Sgt. David Giddens with the 101st Corps Support Group's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, being home after an 11-month deployment means...

Calling the present "a crucial hour in the history of freedom," President Bush today lauded the U.S. Army's "Screaming Eagles" for their service in Iraq. The nation's commander in chief got a warm welcome as he visited troops from the 101st Airborne Division, the 5th Special Forces Group, and other units at Fort Campbell, Ky. Many of the soldiers present today have only recently returned from duty in Iraq, where they spent the past year. Fort Campbell deployed more than 5,000 vehicles, 254 aircraft, and 18,000 soldiers to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Bush noted. Troops from the 101st liberated the Iraqi...

Things have come full circle for the soldiers of 8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment. Just over a year ago at Jacksonville, they loaded the helicopters of the "Screaming Eagle" 101st Airborne Division on cargo vessels bound for Kuwait. This week, these same aircraft arrived back at Jacksonville, and many of the same soldiers, now combat-hardened, were waiting for them. The USNS Benavidez arrived the afternoon of Feb. 15 after a three-week voyage from the Middle East, carrying 19 CH-47D Chinook helicopters, 38 Black Hawk helicopters, 502 pieces of rolling stock and 182 containers of equipment. The Benavidez is the first...

  Last 101st convoy leaves Iraq, I Corps plants flagBy Pfc. Thomas Day and Sgt. Jeremy Heckler Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, commanderl, Task Force Olympia, and Sgt. Maj. Patrick Pacheco, unfurl the colors of 1st Corps during a ceremony held at the palace headquarters in Mosul Feb. 5.SPC Jesse Artis NAVISTAR, Kuwait (Feb. 10, 2004) – The last 101st Airborne Division convoy rolled across the Iraqi border just before 5 a.m. Kuwaiti time this morning, leaving behind a mission that spanned almost a year. Spc. Misael Santiago of Lawton, Okla., pulling rear convoy security with a .50-caliber machine...

  Transfer of Authority for AO North from 101st Airborne Division to Multi-National Brigade North. MOSUL, IRAQ – The 101st Airborne Division will transfer authority for AO North to the Multi-National Brigade North in Mosul Thursday, Feb. 5, at 10 a.m. Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, 101st commander, will encase the unit colors and they will not be unfurled again until the last of the division’s Screaming Eagle soldiers have returned to Fort Campbell, Ky. Media are encouraged to attend and should arrive no later than 9:30 a.m. A press conference will follow the event at 11 a.m. directly...