173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team

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Shoulder badge of the 173rd Airborne Brigade

The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team ( German  173rd US Airborne Brigade ) is an airborne unit of the United States Army . It is currently the only conventional airborne unit of the United States European Command . The brigade is currently headquartered in Vicenza , Italy .

history

Lineup

The brigade was established as an infantry brigade on August 5, 1917 and assigned to the 87th Infantry Division in Camp Pike, Arkansas on August 25 . Relocated to France in 1918 , she did not take part in any major World War I operations. Upon their return to the States, the brigade was deactivated for the first time in January 1919 at Fort Dix , New Jersey .

The brigade was reactivated on July 24, 1921, it was again subordinated to the 87th Infantry Division and classified as a reserve unit.

Second World War

Since at the beginning of the Second World War all brigades were disbanded as sub-units of the divisions, the 173rd Brigade received the designation "87th Reconnaissance Troop" in February 1942 and was reintegrated as an active unit in the 87th Infantry Division on December 15 . The first deployments then took place from summer 1944, the brigade fought in the Rhineland , in the Ardennes , in Alsace and was deployed in 1945 in the Pacific War against the Japanese-controlled Philippines island of Luzon . After the war it was again classified as a reserve unit, then reactivated again from 1947 to 1951, but then deactivated on December 1, 1951 in Birmingham , Alabama and separated from the 87th Infantry Division.

Vietnam War

The second reactivation of the unit took place on March 23, 1963 on Okinawa as the 173rd US Airborne Brigade. It was placed under the command of Brigadier General Ellis W. Williamson as a rapid reaction force of the United States Pacific Command of the regular army. The brigade trained intensively, especially parachute jumps and jungle fighting, and during its training missions in Taiwan quickly earned the nickname “Skysoldiers”, based on the Chinese national “Tien Bien” paratroopers. The name was later even adopted as the unit's official name.

Two soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade wait in the jungle of Long Khanh Province for a fallen comrade to be recovered

In May 1965, the brigade was relocated to South Vietnam as the first major unit of the US Army during the Vietnam War . The main area of ​​operation of the Skysoldiers was the area north of Saigon , which was called "War Zone D". On November 8, 1965, the brigade was ambushed by 1,200 Viet Cong fighters during Operation Hump and lost 48 men in the heavy fighting that followed.

As part of Operation Junction City in the spring of 1967, the 173rd Airborne Brigade carried out the only paratrooper mission during the entire Vietnam War . In the summer and autumn of the same year, the brigade fought in the so-called "Iron Triangle" northwest of Saigon, an impenetrable jungle region that served as a base and base of operations for North Vietnamese units and resistance fighters of the Viet Cong. The conquest of the hill 875 in November 1967 was one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Vietnam War.

During the Vietnam War, the 173rd Airborne Brigade took part in 54 major military operations throughout South Vietnam and received, among other things, 4 Presidential Unit Citations . 12 soldiers of the brigade received the Medal of Honor , some posthumously .

After returning to the States in 1971, the brigade was deactivated on January 14, 1972 at Fort Campbell , Kentucky , and removed from the active army. During the war, 1,602 soldiers of the Union were killed and 8,435 were wounded.

activation

The third reactivation of the 173rd Airborne Brigade took place on December 6, 2000 in Vicenza, Italy as an airborne unit of US Army Europe (USAREUR) , the European command of the US Army.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

The first combat mission took place on March 26, 2003, when soldiers of the unit jumped off in Operation Northern Delay as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in northern Iraq in the autonomous region of Kurdistan and secured the Bashur airfield, 50 km northeast of Erbil , as the base should be used for a second front against Baghdad . 954 soldiers were flown in directly from Italy with the C-17 "Globemaster III" because Turkey had banned the use of its airspace and the US bases for the attack against Iraq. In early April, more soldiers were flown in and a Joint Special Operations Task Force-North (JSOTF-N) was formed. The demarcation line was crossed together with Kurdish units and Kirkuk was taken on April 10, 2003 and Tikrit by the end of April .

During a raid in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyya in June 2003, soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade dug a secret base of the Turkish army . As a sack affair, the incident led to serious diplomatic entanglements between Turkey and the USA. The last soldiers of the association were relocated to Italy in February 2004, 9 soldiers were killed during the operation.

Enduring Freedom VI

Soldier of the 173rd Airborne Brigade during Operation Enduring Freedom (2005)

In the spring of 2005, the brigade moved to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom VI under the command of Colonel Kevin Owens as Task Force Bayonet. The brigade took control of Regional Command-South (RC South), consisting of the provinces of Zabul, Kandahar, Helmand and Nimruz with the exception of the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which ran its companies along the Afghan-Pakistan border in February Regional Command East (RC East) relocated. The 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment conducted combat operations in Zabol Province. The 3rd Battalion, 319th Artillery Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, was assigned to the brigade as Task Force Gun Devil in Kandahar Province. It consisted of the Delta Company, 2-504th Parachute Infantry, Bravo Company, 1-508th Parachute Infantry, a military police platoon, headquarters company of the 3-319th Field Artillery Regiment and an Afghan National Army company led by French special forces. Until mid-March 2006, the brigade was stationed in Kandahar , Afghanistan , where it cracked down on Taliban fighters. During the one-year mission from April to December 2005, a total of 16 soldiers from the brigade were killed in the provinces of Ghazni , Kandahar and Zabul .

Enduring Freedom VIII

Since June 6, 2007, the Brigade, transformed into the Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), has been back in Afghanistan. In the east of the country she took over as Task Force Bayonet in the provinces of Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar and Laghmam as an ISAF peacekeeping force. The staff as well as the support units are stationed in FOB Fenty in Jalalabad . The 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne) is deployed as part of Task Force Fury in Paktika Province under the command of the 4th BCT, 82nd Airborne Division from the FOB Orgun. The 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne) serves in the hotly contested Kunar Province. The companies of the battalion are distributed along the Pech River in small combat bases / fire bases. In the same area, parts of the 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment with their 155-mm howitzers in the FOB Blessing are stationed. In the far east, only 50 kilometers from the border with Pakistan, the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment in the FOB Naray and FOB Keating are on duty. The Engineer Company / Alpha Company, Special Troops Battalion and parts of the 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment with 105 mm howitzers are stationed in the FOB Koghyani north of Tora Bora in the province of Nangahar. After about 15 months in action, the brigade moved back to their garrisons in Vicenza, Bamberg and Schweinfurt in late summer 2008. From June 2007 to July 2008, 42 US soldiers in the brigade were killed.

Enduring Freedom X

The US Department of Defense announced in the summer of 2009 that the brigade was scheduled for a further deployment in the Hindu Kush and would be transferred to Afghanistan in the winter of 2009/2010. The brigade was mainly deployed in the Lugar province . From January to August 2010, nine soldiers in the brigade were killed.

Enduring Freedom XIII

In 2012, the brigade was deployed in the Afghan provinces of Lugar (province) and Wardak . From June to December 2012, 14 US soldiers from the brigade were killed, including 10 soldiers from the 503rd Infantry Regiment.

organization

Organization Chart of the 173rd Airborne Brigade ( Military Symbols )

In the course of the ongoing transformation of the United States Army , the brigade was reorganized as follows and stationed in Vicenza and Grafenwoehr:

  • Staff and Headquarters Company
  • 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne)
  • 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne)
  • 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne) (Texas National Guard)
  • 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment (Grafenwoehr)
  • 4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment (Grafenwoehr)
  • 54th Engineer Battalion (Airborne) (military police, engineers, telecommunications)
  • 173rd Support Battalion (Airborne) ( Supplies )

badge

Shoulder badge

Shoulder badge
  • Description: On a 7.62 cm high and 5.08 cm wide blue stylized cylinder with a 3.2 mm wide white border is a white wing that holds a red bayonet in its root. Above the cylinder there is a blue curved sign with the white lettering "Airborne".
  • Symbolism: The bayonet carried by the swing arm refers to the status of the brigade as an airborne unit, the colors blue, white and red are the American national colors.
  • History: The badge was introduced on May 13th, 1963 as the official shoulder badge of the Airborne Brigade, on July 29th the size was adjusted again. On April 26, 2000, the sign saying "Airborne" was added and the official description was changed.

Unity badge

Unity badge
  • Description: On an enamelled metal emblem, 3.18 cm high, there is a stylized parachute , in the center of which there is a sword and two lightning bolts on a blue background. Under the umbrella there is a banner with the words “Sky Soldiers” in blue letters. The lettering and the parachute are framed by stylized wings.
  • Symbolism: the parachute and the wings refer to the airborne character of the brigade. The sword pointed to the ground as well as the red spot in the umbrella refer to the combat jump of the association in Vietnam, to which the V formed by the two lightning bolts also point. The lightning bolts also symbolize power and speed, as well as the element of surprise. The numerical designation of the brigade can also be composed of various components of the badge.
  • History: The unity badge was officially introduced on August 10, 1967.

Trivia

On April 11, 2016, the unit held an airborne operation exercise at the Hohenfels Training Area , during which 150 payloads were dropped. Three Humvees released themselves from their parachutes and fell from over 30 meters onto a meadow. No one was injured in the incident.

Web links

Commons : 173rd Airborne Brigade  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 173rd.com ( Memento from June 17, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ globalsecurity.org
  3. ↑ Defense.gov News Release: DoD Announces Units for Upcoming Afghanistan Rotation . Defenselink.mil. March 12, 2009. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  4. ↑ Military symbols at mapsymbs.com and at army.ca ( Memento of April 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), viewed on May 17, 2008 (English)
  5. ↑ Order Of Battle. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010 ; accessed on May 16, 2008 .
  6. ↑ a b Airborne Brigade Combat Team ( Memento from May 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Kyle Jahner: Army launches investigation into airborne Humvee mishap: Video. In: armytimes.com. April 21, 2016, accessed April 26, 2016 .