101st Airborne Division

"101st Division" and "101st" redirect here. For other uses, see 101st Division (disambiguation).

101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
Insignia of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
Active
  • 1918 (National Army)
  • 1921–42 (Organized Reserve)
  • 1942–45 (Army of the United States)
  • 1948–49, 1950-56, 1956- (Regular Army)
Country United States
Branch United States Army
SizeDivision
Part ofXVIII Airborne Corps
HeadquartersFort Campbell, Kentucky
Nickname(s)"Screaming Eagles" (special designation)
Motto(s)Rendezvous With Destiny
Beret color  Black
March“The Screaming Eagles”[1]
Mascot(s)Bald eagle (Old Abe)
Engagements
WebsiteOfficial Website
Commanders
CommanderMG Brett G. Sylvia
Command Sergeant MajorCSM Charles D. Walker
Notable
commanders		Complete list of commanders
Insignia
Combat service identification badge
Subdued shoulder sleeve insignia worn on OCP-ACU
Distinctive unit insignia of division headquarter elements
Airborne background trimming of division headquarter elements
Division Flag

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles")[2] is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations.[3] It can plan, coordinate, and execute battalion-sized air assault operations to seize terrain. These operations can be conducted by mobile teams covering large distances, fighting behind enemy lines, and working in austere environments with limited or degraded infrastructure.[4][5][6] For example, it was active in foreign internal defense and counterterrorism operations in Iraq, in Afghanistan in 2015–2016,[7][8][9] and in Syria, as part of Operation Inherent Resolve in 2018–2021.

Established in 1918, the 101st Division was first constituted as an airborne unit in 1942.[10] During World War II, it gained renown for its role in Operation Overlord (the D-Day landings and airborne landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France); Operation Market Garden; the liberation of the Netherlands; and its action during the Battle of the Bulge around the city of Bastogne, Belgium. During the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division fought in several major campaigns and battles, including the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May 1969. In mid-1968, the division was reorganized and redesignated as an airmobile division and in 1974, the division was again redesigned as an air assault division. The titles reflect the division's shift from airplanes to helicopters as the primary method of delivering troops into combat.

At the height of the War on Terror, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) had over 200 aircraft.[citation needed] This shrank to just over 100 aircraft with the inactivation of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade in 2015.[4] In 2019, media reports suggested the Army was working to restore the 101st's aviation capabilities so it can return to lifting an entire brigade in one air assault operation.[4]

The 101st's headquarters is at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Many members of the 101st are graduates of the U.S. Army Air Assault School, which is co-located with the division. The school is known as one of the Army's most difficult courses; only about half of those who begin it graduate.[11]

The Screaming Eagles was referred to as "the tip of the spear" by former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates,[12] and the most potent and tactically mobile of the U.S. Army's divisions by General Edward C. Meyer, then Chief of Staff of the Army.[13]

  1. ^ "The Screaming Eagles". The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” official Spotify. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  3. ^ Sof, Eric. "The 101st Airborne: The Only Unit in the World That Can Do This". Special-ops.org. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Cox, Matthew (16 October 2019). "After Almost 5 Years, Army's 101st Airborne Will Return to Full Air Assault Power". Military.com. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  5. ^ Salgado, Joel (11 April 2014). "101st Airborne Division conducts brigade air assault". United States Army. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  6. ^ Russ & Susan Bryant, p.63.
  7. ^ Block, Gordon (6 November 2015). "Army to Deploy 101st Airborne Soldiers to Oversee Iraqi Army Training". Military.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  8. ^ Dickstein, Corey (14 January 2016). "Carter to Army's 101st: You will prepare Iraqis to retake Mosul". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  9. ^ Bull, Gregory (6 September 2016). "Army to Deploy 101st Airborne Soldiers to Afghanistan". Military.com. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. ^ Ingersoll, Stephanie (14 August 2020). "Five historical things to know about 101st on its anniversary". U.S. Army. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Air Assault School, 10 Toughest Days in the Army". CNN.com. 20 September 2001.
  12. ^ "Gates Praises 101st Airborne As 'Tip Of The Spear'". Defence News. 8 December 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  13. ^ Kelly, Jack (15 February 2002). "Reconfigure Army divisions to make military stronger". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2016.