Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force

Foreword

“Airborne… all the way!” This is both a greeting and a response that you often hear in and around XVIII Airborne Corps Headquarters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. There’s a lot more in this simple phrase than meets the eye. It’s an insight into what I like to call the “Contingency Culture,” inherent in being a member of the XVIII Airborne Corps. More on that later, but first let me say some things about our past. The history of the Corps is replete with examples of courage, dedication, and professionalism. The saying above was born in the tradition of its Airborne leaders. In particular, their personal high standards of duty, dedication, and the Airborne spirit itself. These were men with a vision for what airborne forces could do for America, as well as how they could help free half a world that was then enslaved under the rule of a handful of ruthless dictators and warlords.

These were truly extraordinary men. The great leaders that started the XVIII Airborne Corps back in World War II are names that ring through the history of our Army and history itself. Included were the likes of General Bill Lee (the father of the Airborne forces and first commander of the 101st Airborne Division), General Matthew Ridgway (the first commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps), General James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin (the legendary wartime leader of the 82nd Airborne Division), and General Anthony McAuliffe (the on-scene commander of the 101st Airborne during the “Battle of the Bulge”—“Nuts!” was his answer to a German demand for his unit’s surrender). They, and many others like them, were there at the very beginning, and started the long, proud tradition that you hear ringing through the greetings from various units of the XVIII Airborne Corps. Cries like: “Air Assault, sir!” (from the 101st Airborne Division [Air Assault]); “All the Way, sir!” (the 82nd Airborne Division’s greeting); “Climb to Glory, sir!” (for the 10th Light Division [Mountain]); and “Rock of the Marne!” (the battle cry of the 3rd Infantry Division [Mechanized]). There is a ton of tradition in these phrases to be sure. The men and women who utter those battle cries today are even more impressive.

The leadership of our military for many years has been rooted in the duty, honor, and devotion of officers produced by the Airborne. Names like Palmer, Westmoreland, Wickham, Lindsay, Stiner, Foss, Shelton, and so many, many others. They set the standards that made airborne forces something our national leaders could trust, and were leaders in whom soldiers could believe. Just how those young troopers felt is shown in a personal memory of mine. Recently, while rummaging through some of my late father-in-law’s (H. R. Patrick) personal possessions, I came across a Bible that he had kept as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II. Issued to troops prior to entering combat, there was a place in the center of these Bibles where one could keep important information, both personal and professional. In one section, there was a place for unit information. One spot asked for the company clerk’s name. My father-in-law listed (I believe) a Technical Sergeant Hill. It then asked for his commander’s name, which clearly meant his company commander. However, PFC Patrick had penned in “Gen. Gavin.” Think about that. This means that a soldier at the bottom of the 82nd’s organization felt a direct connection to his division commander. I am told that the entire division felt that General Gavin was their “personal” commander, such was his leadership style, and such was their trust and confidence in him. These are the types of leaders that this unit and others in the XVIII Airborne Corps have continued to produce. Men and women with the vision to see the future, but the personal integrity and leadership to touch the individual soldier in the field.

These standards of duty and dedication continue today in all the units of XVIII Airborne Corps. Certainly the original Airborne spirit lives on. However, that spirit has been transformed into a broader definition which for lack of a better term I refer to as the “Contingency Culture.” This term fits today’s XVIII Airborne Corps in every way imaginable. What this implicitly means is if you are in one of the units of the Corps, and there is a crisis somewhere in the world, then you will be one of the first to deploy in defense of America’s national interests. In addition, you must be ready. Intense and rigorous training is the lot of an XVIII Airborne Corps soldier, whatever his or her specialty. It also means that your rucksack is always packed and you are man or woman enough to carry it whenever called. Since the end of the Vietnam and Cold wars, this response to crisis has included such places as Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, and many others that never made the evening news. Life in the XVIII Airborne Corps is tough and demanding with a lot of time away from home and loved ones. However, the “Contingency” lifestyle also provides much in the way of satisfaction and pride for those who choose to embrace it fully. It is this pride in doing a hard job well that keep standards high and morale rock-solid in our Corps.

The units of XVIII Airborne Corps are wide and varied. This variety insures that the Corps can rapidly embark on almost any kind of operation required by our national leadership. These units include a heavy armored /mechanized force (the 3rd Infantry Division [Mechanized]), rapidly deployable light infantry (the 10th Mountain Division), instantly deployable forced-entry forces (the 82nd Airborne Division), highly mobile heliborne units (the 101st Airborne Division [Air Assault]), and numerous other equally qualified units. Along with combat force, the XVIII Airborne Corps can also deploy its units with a humanitarian and peace focus. Many of these capabilities come from the forces already mentioned, as well as from our “total force” mix of active, reserve, and National Guard units, which gives us a “rainbow” of skills to bring to any kind of crisis that might break out around the world. For this reason, the units of XVIII Airborne Corps have become the force of choice when our great country calls. There is a saying around the Corps that “… when trouble breaks out somewhere in the world, the phone rings first at Fort Bragg.” I think that says it all.

This book describes those units, along with the traditions, standards, dedication, and a view to the future of the XVIII Airborne Corps. The flexibility and agility of these units clearly define the Corps as the “force of choice” now and in the future. A future, I might add, that is less clear than the exciting times that we have so recently passed through as a nation and a world. Tom Clancy’s book Airborne lays this out in detail for the reader. I think you will find it both interesting and informative.

“Airborne… all the way!”

Gary E. Luck

General, U.S. Army (Retired)