Free Republic

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...

  Navy Ship Steams For U.S. With 101st Equipment CAMP DOHA, Kuwait - The first of a number of cargo ships transporting 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) equipment back to the United States left port this morning. Loading the division's equipment onto the U.S.N.S. Benavidez took approximately three days. Cargo from the 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT) includes a variety of helicopters, as well as ground equipment such as High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) and Light Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTVs). All helicopters were shrink wrapped with plastic to protect them from the ocean environment over the course of the voyage....

EL CAMPO - Of all the honors bestowed upon U.S. Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. Roy Benavidez of El Campo, his children said the naming of a U.S. Navy supply ship after him is by far the most appropriate and the one that would have given their father the most satisfaction. Currently on its maiden voyage, the USNS Benavidez is carrying supplies to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. It sailed from the port of Beaumont on Dec. 17 carrying 13,574 tons of equipment and supplies, including tanks and Humvees. "It is ironic, I guess, that the U.S. Navy...