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82nd Airborne paratroopers to replace Marines protecting US Embassy in Baghdad
Paratroopers from Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division will be protecting the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, officials said.
82nd Airborne paratroopers just deployed without their phones. Your unit could be next
Editor's Note: This article by Matthew Cox and Gina Harkins originally appeared on Military.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community.
As America's adversaries become more sophisticated, U.S. combat troops heading to the war zone may have to get used to leaving behind their phones, laptops and even personal gaming devices, military experts say.
The Pentagon doesn't have a blanket policy barring service members from taking electronic devices on deployment, but combat commanders are beginning to prohibit them when going into the unknown.
A 43-year-old paratrooper with stage 3 kidney disease just hit the max ACFT score
When Maj. Carpaccio "Pace" Owens was into about the seventh year of his Army career, he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.
His personal, civilian insurance company has denied him term life insurance based on the preexisting condition.
At 43, Owens is in "stage three" of the disease, meaning his kidneys function at about 50%.
Now 19 years into his Army career, Owens, 43, is one of the first soldiers within the 82nd Airborne Division known to reach an unofficial maximum score on the new Army Combat Fitness Test that goes into effect by October 2020.
Retired Lt. Col. Jay Nelson is often asked when he recovered from a 1994 accident that killed 24 fellow paratroopers as they were preparing for a jump.
"I tell folks I'll let them know when I get there," he said.
Nelson, who was burned over about half his body in the accident, spoke at a ceremony Friday that honored the soldiers who died. The event marked the 25th anniversary of the accident, which happened on March 23, 1994, at Green Ramp on what is now Pope Army Airfield.
Like father, like son: 82nd Airborne soldiers jump together at Fort Bragg
Since joining the military in 2005, Master Sgt. Michael Mabry has jumped out of military aircraft more than a hundred times.
Yet a jump in January is what the 45-year-old describes as the highlight of his military career. That's when he saw his son, 18-year-old Pvt. William Mabry, participate in his sixth jump and his first under the 82nd Airborne Division.
"It's really an honor to be able to serve in the same division as my son as paratroopers," Michael Mabry said. "There's a long lineage of heritage and honor within the 82nd of the American paratrooper, and to be able to pass that on is quite special."
Watch The Army Test The New ‘Hawkeye’ Humvee-Mounted Howitzer
The Hawkeye 105 mm Howitzer mobile artillery system developed by Mandus Group looks like something straight out of Command & Conquer. If you don’t believe me, check out this sweet slow-motion video of some lucky 82nd Airborne soldiers testing out the new hotness that popped up on Twitter on August 5.
