The Airborne Times
Wisdom from the Community: Top Five Pieces of A...
Wisdom from the Community: Top Five Pieces of Advice for New Paratroopers Hear ye, hear ye! Young paratroopers, we believe you deserve some valuable advice because you are at a...
Wisdom from the Community: Top Five Pieces of Advice for New Paratroopers
Wisdom from the Community: Top Five Pieces of Advice for New Paratroopers Hear ye, hear ye! Young paratroopers, we believe you deserve some valuable advice because you are at a stage where you need it to shape your military career. Because we care, we reached out to our community to...
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U.S. Soldiers and Marines Conduct Jump Ops in t...
From August 21st until September 1st, 2023, troops from 21 allied and partner nations joined forces with the U.S. Armed Forces to conduct one of the most extensive airborne exercises...
U.S. Soldiers and Marines Conduct Jump Ops in the Caucasus
From August 21st until September 1st, 2023, troops from 21 allied and partner nations joined forces with the U.S. Armed Forces to conduct one of the most extensive airborne exercises of the year. The exercise's objectives became even more relevant in light of Russia's aggression on Ukraine, focusing on security...
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VA Secretary Smacks Down Idea to Cut VA Disabil...
The Department of Veterans Affairs has been under scrutiny in recent years for its budget and disability compensation system. Recently, there have been talks of cutting VA disability pay for...
VA Secretary Smacks Down Idea to Cut VA Disability Pay
The Department of Veterans Affairs has been under scrutiny in recent years for its budget and disability compensation system. Recently, there have been talks of cutting VA disability pay for "wealthier" veterans. However, VA Secretary Denis McDonough has smacked down the idea, stating that it would be a disservice to...
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Operation Market Garden: A Failure of Planning,...
Operation Market Garden was a World War II military operation that was conducted by the Allied forces in September 1944. The operation was intended to be a bold and decisive...
Operation Market Garden: A Failure of Planning, Intel, and Coordination
Operation Market Garden was a World War II military operation that was conducted by the Allied forces in September 1944. The operation was intended to be a bold and decisive strike that would bring an end to the war in Europe. The plan was to drop paratroopers behind enemy lines...
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5 Reasons The 82nd Airborne Is Awesome
The 82nd Airborne Division is a highly trained and specialized division of the US Army that can be rapidly deployed to any location worldwide within 18 hours. These soldiers are...
5 Reasons The 82nd Airborne Is Awesome
The 82nd Airborne Division is a highly trained and specialized division of the US Army that can be rapidly deployed to any location worldwide within 18 hours. These soldiers are experts in conducting forcible entry parachute assaults and other military operations. Let’s read several stories that make this unit one...
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The Army’s recruiting problem: Low Test Scores ...
Apparently fewer Americans want to become soldiers of the nation’s Army and for the first time in generations the U.S. Army Recruitment Command has grossly underperformed. The statistics are somewhat...
The Army’s recruiting problem: Low Test Scores and A Childhood Obesity Crisis
Apparently fewer Americans want to become soldiers of the nation’s Army and for the first time in generations the U.S. Army Recruitment Command has grossly underperformed. The statistics are somewhat shocking as in July only 50% of the annual goal was achieved and by the end of the fiscal year...
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We are Fort Liberty: The renaming of Fort Bragg
It was unveiled on Tuesday 24th May 2022 how the name Fort Bragg and the North Carolina base’s memorial and remembrance of the Confederate officer was going to become a...
We are Fort Liberty: The renaming of Fort Bragg
It was unveiled on Tuesday 24th May 2022 how the name Fort Bragg and the North Carolina base’s memorial and remembrance of the Confederate officer was going to become a matter of the preceding as a result of a long-expected process of public recommendations to rename it to Fort Liberty....
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Five Years Ago, we were “Lying to Ourselves.” I...
In February 2015, the Strategic Studies Institute and the U.S. Army War College Press published a report that sent shockwaves throughout the officer corps. Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army...
Five Years Ago, we were “Lying to Ourselves.” Is the Army still doing it?
In February 2015, the Strategic Studies Institute and the U.S. Army War College Press published a report that sent shockwaves throughout the officer corps. Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession outlined in brutal detail a “culture of dishonesty” within the Army and the organizational failures that nurtured it. For years...
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The Great GWOT Debate: Rip It vs. Wild Tiger
After 18 years of war, many in GWOT have grown accustomed to having as many cases of energy drinks as they do water. We have seen many off-brand drinks that...
The Great GWOT Debate: Rip It vs. Wild Tiger
After 18 years of war, many in GWOT have grown accustomed to having as many cases of energy drinks as they do water. We have seen many off-brand drinks that gave us the energy, power, and total activation we needed to stay awake. Yet, there are two cans of liquid energy...
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To the mothers who grieve while others are cele...
In late summer of 2012 when Charlie Company, 1-504th, came home from Muqor, Afghanistan, I met Christian Sannicolas’ mom, Deanna Howard, who had flown in from Anaheim to welcome her...
To the mothers who grieve while others are celebrating this Mother’s Day, know that when your sons and daughters made the ultimate sacrifice, we understand that you did too. They are not forgotten, and neither are you.
In late summer of 2012 when Charlie Company, 1-504th, came home from Muqor, Afghanistan, I met Christian Sannicolas’ mom, Deanna Howard, who had flown in from Anaheim to welcome her son’s platoon mates home. I hugged her, and she cried. Many people strive their entire lives for an accomplishment as...
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Civilians often obsess over why soldiers serve,...
In garrison, soldiers spend the majority of their time training for war. After one “mass-tactical” night jump onto Fort Bragg’s Sicily Drop Zone that began a two-week field exercise, I...
Civilians often obsess over why soldiers serve, but in combat, all the many reasons are meaningless. What matters is shooting, moving, and communicating, and that’s it.
In garrison, soldiers spend the majority of their time training for war. After one “mass-tactical” night jump onto Fort Bragg’s Sicily Drop Zone that began a two-week field exercise, I linked up with the Huffington Post’s senior military reporter, David Wood, to escort him around the battlespace. A massive summertime...
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Soldiers who have tasted the brine of combat un...
On the eve of the seventh-year anniversary of the deaths of paratroopers PFC Michael Metcalf and 1LT Jonathan Walsh, whose demise by IED I detailed in my book The Brave...
Soldiers who have tasted the brine of combat understand this, which is why they get so angry when someone disrespects the flag. This country is the value, what we value is the value, and often, that’s as specific as one can get.
On the eve of the seventh-year anniversary of the deaths of paratroopers PFC Michael Metcalf and 1LT Jonathan Walsh, whose demise by IED I detailed in my book The Brave Ones: A Memoir of Hope, Pride, and Military Service, a reader sent an email disagreeing with my analysis. In...
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When you are in line at manifest, no one cares ...
General Matthew B. Ridgway on why he declined to talk to soldiers from stages or platforms: "I always disliked standing above people. I’m no better than they are. In...
When you are in line at manifest, no one cares what rank you are: You are a paratrooper.
General Matthew B. Ridgway on why he declined to talk to soldiers from stages or platforms: "I always disliked standing above people. I’m no better than they are. In rank, yes; in experience, yes; but not as a man…When reviewing troops I would never permit them to raise a...
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"We’re the 82nd Airborne and that’s the way we ...
“There’s a lot of things you’re going to see here that are a little messed up or a little different. Don’t try to change it. We’re the 82nd Airborne...
"We’re the 82nd Airborne and that’s the way we do it. We like it that way.”
“There’s a lot of things you’re going to see here that are a little messed up or a little different. Don’t try to change it. We’re the 82nd Airborne and that’s the way we do it. We like it that way.” –An officer at a newcomer’s brief, Hall of...
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