82nd Airborne - Softcover

Drawing recruits from all 48 states at the time of its inception, the 82nd Airborne earned the nickname “All American.” And indeed, from its beginnings in 1917 to its service today in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 82nd has remained the nation’s best-known--and most widely respected--airborne unit. This book traces the 82nd Airborne’s history from its roots in the 82nd Infantry Division to its current service.

While providing a historical overview of the grand heritage of the All Americans--the unit’s stellar service during World War II, its reserve status during the Cold War, its peacekeeping mission in the Dominican Republic and sustained action in Vietnam--82nd Airborne focuses primarily on the unit’s contemporary service. Author Fred J. Pushies discusses the division’s involvement in small conflicts, including Grenada and Panama, throughout the 1980s. And he details the 82nd’s service throughout the 1990s in Iraq, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo--and, since 9/11, in Afghanistan and Iraq. His is the most thorough and up-to-date account of the legendary All Americans in the modern era.

The “82nd Infantry Division” was activated at Camp Gordon, Georgia, on August 25, 1917, as a division of primarily draftee soldiers who served with distinction in World War I. Since members of the Division came from all 48 states, the unit was given the nickname “All Americans,” hence its famed “AA” shoulder patch. On August 15, 1942, in the early days of World War II, it was redesignated the “82nd Airborne Division,” parachuting into combat more than any other division. Today’s 82nd Airborne is a more flexible and modular fighting force than ever in its long, distinguished history.

On any given day, a third of the “All American” division is on a wartime training cycle, a third on support cycle, and the rest of the division is at its highest state of readiness—mission cycle—poised to respond to all contingencies and ready to deploy anywhere on the planet. Comprised of four brigade combat teams, the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, and 82nd Sustainment Brigade, this division is the largest parachute force in the western world.

Many of these All Americans have received Medal of Honor citations and fame over the years, but awards and fame are the farthest things from the mind of the division’s thousands of unnamed paratroopers. Also known as “America’s Guard of Honor,” the 82nd Airborne plans, coordinates, and executes rapid, combined arms, and forced-entry operations alone or as part of a joint task force across the depth and width of the battlefield. Most recently, the division has been conducting sustained combat operations throughout Iraq and the CENTCOM area of operations, and has been deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq.

82nd Airborne covers all aspects of the All American division’s history, organization, training, and weapons, the evolution of its organization, and its combat history, past and present, through the current global war on terrorism.