Combat Jump Veteran Tapestries

If a soldier completes an airborne jump into a combat zone, they are authorized to wear a Combat Jump Device on their Parachutist Badge. The device consists of a star or arrangements of stars, indicating the number of combat jumps. The use of stars as Combat Jump Devices did not gain official approval until after the 1983 invasion of Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury). The stars are awarded as follows

If a soldier completes an airborne jump into a combat zone, they are authorized to wear a Combat Jump Device on their Parachutist Badge. The device consists of a star or arrangements of stars, indicating the number of combat jumps. The use of stars as Combat Jump Devices did not gain official approval until after the 1983 invasion of Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury).

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, all three Ranger Battalions were assigned to a new Task Force. It was based on the concept of a prior successful Task Force, and its task was to seize key locations, long distance Special Reconnaissance and capturing HVTs. On 24 March 2003, 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment conducted a combat drop onto H-1 Air Base, securing the site as a staging area for operations in western Iraq. On 1 April 2003, 290 Rangers from 1/75th and 2/75th took part in the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch; also that day Delta Force and 3/75th captured the Haditha Dam and held it for a further 5 days.

A basic tee for paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Sky Soldiers!

A basic tee for paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade!

On 20 December 1989, the "All-American", as part of the United States invasion of Panama, conducted their first combat jump since World War II onto Torrijos International Airport, Panama. The goal of the 1st Brigade task force, which was made up of the 1-504th and 2-504th INF as well as 4-325th INF and Company A, 3-505th INF, and 3-319th FAR, was to oust Manuel Noriega from power.

Operation Allied Force: Kosovo In March 1999 the TF 2-505th INF deployed to Albania and forward-deployed along the Albania/Kosovo border in support of Operation Allied Force, NATO's bombing campaign against Serbian forces in the Former Yugoslav Republic. In September 1999, TF 3-504th INF deployed in support of Operation Joint Guardian, replacing TF 2-505th INF. TF 3-504th INF was replaced in March 2000 by elements of the 101st Airborne Division. On 1 October 1999, the 1-508th ABCT (SETAF) made a combat jump in "Operation Rapid Guardian": 500-foot altitude jump near Pristina.

The 11th Pathfinder Company (Provisional) was the first and largest Pathfinder unit to serve in Vietnam, and a 1st Air Cavalry Pathfinder team was among the last Army units to leave Vietnam in 1972.

The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas.Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. The 82nd Airborne Division is the U.S. Army's most strategically mobile division. Some sources consider the 82nd Airborne the best trained light infantry division in the world.

The 101st Airborne Division has a history that is nearly a century long. During World War II, it was renowned 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.

A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into an operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World War II for troop distribution and transportation. Paratroopers are often used in surprise attacks, to seize strategic objectives such as airfields or bridges.

The brigade arrived in Vietnam on 7 May 1965, the first major ground combat unit of the United States Army to serve in the country. Brigadier General Williamson boldly predicted on arrival that his men would defeat the Viet Cong quickly and that they "would be back in Okinawa by Christmas".[23] The 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division; the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division; and the 1st Cavalry Division quickly followed the 173rd into Vietnam, the first of what would eventually be 25 U.S. Army brigades to serve in the country

On 25 October 1983, elements of the 82d conducted an Airland Operation to secure Point Salines Airport following an airborne assault by the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions who conducted the airfield seizure just hours prior. The first 82d unit to deploy was a task force of the 2d and 3d Battalions (Airborne), 325th Infantry. On 26 October and 27, the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 505th Infantry, and the 1st and 2nd Battalions (Airborne), 508th Infantry, deployed to Grenada with support units. 2-505 deployed as well.

The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas with a U.S. Department of Defense requirement to "respond to crisis contingencies anywhere in the world within 18 hours." Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. The 82nd Airborne Division is the U.S. Army's most strategically mobile division.[4] Some journalists have reported that the 82nd Airborne is the best trained light infantry division in the world. More recently, the 82nd Airborne has been conducting operations in Iraq, advising and assisting Iraqi Security Forces

The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America's Contingency Corps". Its headquarters are at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Panama 90 - The United States Invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos–Carter Treaties were ratified to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the U.S. to Panama by 1 January 2000. During the invasion, de facto Panamanian leader, general, and dictator Manuel Noriega, who for a long time worked with the Central Intelligence Agency, was deposed citing racketeering and drug trafficking.