A combat jump and the gold star on your wings is the desire of all airborne personnel.
During World War II, the US Army fielded five airborne divisions, four of which saw combat, as well as numerous independent regimental combat teams and parachute infantry battalions.
Today, the US military fields one airborne division, two airborne brigade combat teams, and a number of special operations forces, all airborne qualified.
Throughout the history of these forces, they conducted all manner of combat operations and tactical insertions.
Here are the eighteen times, in chronological order, that the US military conducted large-scale combat operations with airborne forces.
SEE ALSO: A rare glance into the heart of a WWI German U-boat
1. Operation Torch
The first large-scale deployment of American paratroopers took place on 8 November 1942 as part of Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. The men of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion (at the time designated 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment) were tasked with securing airfields ahead of the seaborne force landings.
To accomplish this, they conducted the longest flight of airborne forces, originating from airfields in England.
However, the jump was unsuccessful with troops widely scattered and ten planes having to land in a dry lake bed to disembark their troops due to a lack of fuel. A week later, three hundred men of the battalion conducted a successful combat jump on Youks-les-Bains Airfield in Algeria.
2. Operation Husky
America’s second attempt at a combat jump was during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. On the night of 9 July, the 505th PIR reinforced by 3/504 PIR and with attached artillery and engineers spearheaded Operation Husky. Two nights later on 11 July, the remainder of the 504th parachuted into Sicily to block routes toward the beachhead.
However, due to numerous Axis air attacks and confusion within the invasion fleet, the troop carrier aircraft were mistaken for German bombers and fired on. This resulted in twenty three planes being shot down and the loss of eighty one paratroopers with many more wounded.
3. Landing at Nadzab (Operation Alamo)
The first airborne operation in the Pacific Theatre was carried out by the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment in the Markham Valley of New Guinea as part of Operation Alamo on 5 September 1943.
The 503rd seized an airfield that allowed follow-on Australian infantry forces to conduct an airlanding as part of the greater New Guinea campaign and were successful in driving out Japanese forces from the area.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider