Beltway Confidential

A 4,600 mile Army airborne message drop to Russia

By Tom Rogan
Published May 11, 2021 9:48am ET
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A 4,600 mile Army airborne message drop to Russia
Paratroopers assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division prepare equipment and load aircraft bound for the U.S. Central Command area of operations from Fort Bragg, N.C. on January 4, 2020. This deployment is a precautionary action taken to respond to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities. The 'Devil' Brigade is the nucleus of the U.S. Immediate Response Force, capable of rapidly deploying anywhere in the world in response to a variety of contingency operations. | (U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Hubert Delany III)

The U.S. military illustrated on Friday why America remains the instrumental global force for freedom.

It did so by delivering the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division 4,600 miles from its Fort Bragg home base to Estonia. Without stopping to rest or refuel, approximately 750 paratroopers were dropped into northern Estonia in a simulated forcible entry operation. Once on the ground, they were just 70 miles from the Russian border and 150 miles from Vladimir Putin’s home city of St. Petersburg. The U.S. paratroopers jumped alongside B company, 2nd Battalion of the British Army’s Parachute Regiment.

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Tag:

Army Baltic States Britain Estonia NATO Russia