82nd Airborne Division | |
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![]() Insignia of the 82nd Airborne Division | |
Active | 1917–1919 1921–present |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Airborne light infantry |
Role | Airborne assault |
Size | Division |
Part of | ![]() |
Garrison/HQ | Fort Liberty, North Carolina, U.S. |
Nickname(s) | "America's Guard of Honor" "All American Division" "82nd Division" "Eighty Deuce" "The 82nd" |
Motto(s) | "All The Way!" |
Color of berets | Maroon |
March | "The All-American Soldier" |
Engagements | |
Website | Official Website of the Division |
Commanders | |
Commander | MG J. Patrick Work |
Deputy Commander – Operations | BG Andrew Saslav |
Deputy Commander – Support | COL Jason Williams |
Deputy Commander – Plans | Brigadier David Pack, British Army |
Command Sergeant Major | CSM Randolph Delapena |
Notable commanders | Complete list of commanders |
Insignia | |
Shoulder sleeve insignia (subdued) | ![]() |
Combat service identification badge | ![]() |
Flag | ![]() |
Seal | ![]() |
The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into hostile areas[1] with a U.S. Department of Defense mandate to be "on-call to fight any time, anywhere" at "the knife's edge of technology and readiness."[2] Primarily based at Fort Liberty, 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.[3]
The division was organized on 25 August 1917, at Camp Hancock, Georgia, (now subdivided and owned by a combination of the City of Augusta-Richmond County, Veterans Administration, and private parties) and later served with distinction on the Western Front in the final months of World War I. Since its initial members came from all 48 states, the division acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its "AA" on the shoulder patch. The division later served in World War II where, in August 1942, it was reconstituted as the first airborne division of the U.S. Army and fought in numerous campaigns during the war.