XVIII Airborne Corps
One of four active corps of the U.S. Army
Follow XVIII Airborne Corps on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
| October 5 2024 | Soldiers from the 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team 'Strike' and 101st Combat Aviation Brigade deployed to western North Carolina in response to Hurricane Helene damage. The mission involved Defense Support of Civil Authorities, providing comprehensive support including search and rescue, medical aid, route assessment, traffic control, warehouse management, supply distribution, debris removal, transportation, and equipment maintenance. |
| 2023 | Airborne Corps further reorganized to consist of 5 airborne brigades, 1 air assault brigade, 1 special operations brigade, 1 support brigade, 1 fixed-wing transport brigade, and 1 helicopter regiment. |
| 2023 | Awarded the Romanian National Order of Faithful Service, Knight Rank, in recognition of peacetime military contributions. |
| November 24 2023 | 3rd Brigade Combat Team 'Rakkasan' replaced the 1st Brigade Combat Team during a transfer of authority ceremony. |
| April 5 2023 | Mission authority transferred from the 101st Division to the 10th Mountain Division, with the 101st Division's battle flag decorated with the National Order of Faithful Service. |
| March 31 2023 | 1st Brigade Combat Team replaced the 2nd Brigade Combat Team in the European deployment mission. |
| 2022 | Airborne Corps restructured to include 2 airborne mechanized brigades, 3 airborne light motorized brigades, 1 air assault brigade, 1 special operations brigade, 1 transport aviation brigade with a helicopter regiment, 1 combat support air brigade, 1 training base, and 1 new training brigade. |
| 2022 | Reached a fleet composition of 31 Y-20 and 20 Il-76 transport aircraft, significantly enhancing the Airborne Corps' strategic airlift potential. |
| July 30 2022 | 101st Airborne Division Headquarters and 2nd Brigade Combat Team uncased their colors and conducted an air assault demonstration at the 57th Air Base 'Mihail Kogălniceanu' with the Romanian 9th Mechanized Brigade, attended by Maj. Gen. Joseph P. McGee and Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă. |
| June 2022 | 101st Airborne Division Headquarters and 2nd Brigade Combat Team deployed to U.S. Army V Corps' mission to reinforce NATO's eastern flank during the Ukraine invasion, rotating in approximately 4,700 soldiers to various European locations. |
| 2021 | Airborne Corps organizational structure confirmed to include 6 airborne brigades, 1 special operations brigade, 1 transport air brigade with a helicopter regiment, 1 combat support air brigade, and 1 training base. |
| 2021 | Concluded operations in Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. |
| 2019 | Media reports suggested the Army was working to restore the division's aviation capabilities. |
| September 2019 | 1st Brigade 'Bastogne' returned from their deployment to Iraq and Syria. |
| January 2019 | 1st Brigade 'Bastogne' deployed troops to Iraq and Syria, with many Combat Action Badges awarded, primarily to artillery batteries conducting fire missions against Islamic State fighters. |
| 2018 | Transitioned from a 'traditional motorized force' focused on parachuting operations to developing mechanized warfare capabilities. |
| 2018 | Military exercises for airborne troops began emphasizing increased sophistication and realism in training scenarios. |
| 2018 | Reorganized to integrate combined arms units at the brigade level and participated in the PLAAF's annual 'Red Sword' exercise for the first time. |
| 2018 | Participated in Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria. |
| 2018 | Chinese paratrooper team placed second in the Airborne Platoon contest at the International Army Games. |
| 2017 | Airborne Troop College closed due to military college reductions, and subsequently replaced by a dedicated training base. |
| 2017 | Chinese paratrooper team dominated the International Army Games, winning first place in the Airborne Platoon contest. They won 11 out of 12 events, scoring 62 points, with Russia placing second with 50 points and Kazakhstan third with 42 points. |
| April 2017 | The 15th Airborne Corps is renamed the People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps and is reorganized to consist of 9 brigades. |
| 2016 | Augmented airlift capacity with the introduction of the Xi'an Y-20 transport aircraft, improving the corps' large-scale mobility and transportation capabilities. |
| 2016 | Chinese paratroopers secured third place in the International Army Games held in Russia. |
| November 17 2016 | 101st Airborne Division returned home after a nine-month deployment to Iraq, during which they trained Iraqi security forces, authorized 6,900 strikes against ISIS, and played a significant role in liberating several Iraqi cities. |
| October 17 2016 | 101st Airborne led a coalition of 19 nations supporting the liberation of Mosul from ISIL, having previously helped liberate Hit, Fallujah, and Qayyarah. |
| September 21 2016 | Battery C, 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment reported successfully conducting artillery raids against ISIS, executing hundreds of missions and firing thousands of rounds since late May. |
| September 6 2016 | The U.S. Army announced the deployment of approximately 1,400 soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan for Operation Freedom's Sentinel, a counter-terrorism mission targeting al-Qaeda, ISIS-K, and other terror groups in the ongoing War in Afghanistan. |
| August 7 2016 | 101st Airborne Division M777 howitzer crew conducted fire missions supporting Iraqi forces at Kara Soar Base in Iraq. |
| July 11 2016 | Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the presidential-approved deployment of 560 U.S. troops to establish a logistics hub at Qayyarah Airfield West to support Iraqi and coalition troops in the Battle of Mosul. |
| June 26 2016 | Iraq successfully recaptured full control of Fallujah from ISIS, with Iraqi ground troops having been under the direction of the 101st Airborne since early 2016. |
| January 14 2016 | Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that 101st Airborne soldiers would be assigned rotations to Iraq to train Iraqi ground forces in preparation for action against the Islamic State. |
| 2015 | Experienced a reduction in aircraft with the inactivation of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade. |
| 2015 | Deployed to Afghanistan for operations. |
| 2015 | Chinese paratroopers achieved first place in the International Army Games held in Russia, demonstrating exceptional performance in airborne military competitions. |
| 2014 | 101st Airborne Division Headquarters deployed to West Africa to assist in containing the spread of Ebola during Operation United Assistance. |
| April 2014 | 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division was inactivated as part of the Army's 2020 Brigade Combat Team restructuring program. |
| 2012 | Expanded the helicopter unit to a full regiment, significantly increasing its rotary-wing aviation capacity. |
| 2011 | The PLAAF creates its first female reconnaissance and guidance team, a combat team responsible for airdrop and cargo missions. |
| 2010 | 2nd Brigade deployed to Afghanistan, receiving Presidential Unit Citation and Valorous Unit Award for 2010-2011 operations. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles 101st Airborne Division & People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.