October 23, 2022
An elite unit of the US Army is practicing for a potential war with Russia, just a few miles away from Ukraine, at a time when Russia’s defense minister Sergei Shoigu took the rare decision of holding telephone talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin to discuss the war on October 21.
The 101st Airborne Division of the US Army has been sent to Europe for the first time in almost 80 years amid rising hostilities between Russia and the NATO military alliance, which the United States commands.
CBS News reported that the “Screaming Eagles” light infantry force is trained to arrive on any battlefield within hours and be prepared to engage in combat.
The 101st Airborne Division is a modular infantry division of the United States Army that is particularly trained for air assault missions.
It gained notoriety during World War II for participation in the Battle of the Bulge and the Normandy landings. The 101st Airborne Division was reclassified twice during the Vietnam War, first as an airmobile division and then as an air assault division.
Brigadier General John Lubas, the division’s deputy commander, and Colonel Edwin Matthaidess, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, traveled in a Black Hawk military helicopter for the hour-long trip to the very edge of NATO territory, which is only about three miles from Romania’s border with Ukraine.
The development is significant as it comes against the backdrop of Ukrainian troops advancing into the annexed territory of Kherson. At the same time, the Russians are believed to have fortified the region to prevent Kyiv from retaking it.
In addition, both sides have been trading barbs with one another for trying to destroy the Nova Kakhokva dam and flood Ukraine.
On June 30, the Headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team uncased their flags and performed an air assault demonstration in Romania.
The ceremony was believed to have marked the beginning of the division’s advance deployment in Europe, aimed at bolstering NATO’s eastern flank and reassuring allies across the continent.
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