82nd Airborne Division in the context of "United States Army Reserve"

Matthew Bunker Ridgway (3 March 1895 – 26 July 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Although he saw no combat service in World War I, he was intensively involved in World War II, where he was the first Commanding General (CG) of the 82nd Airborne Division, leading it in action in Sicily, Italy and Normandy, before taking command of the newly formed XVIII Airborne Corps in August 1944. He held the latter post until the end of the war in mid-1945, commanding the corps in the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Varsity and the Western Allied invasion of Germany.

Ridgway held several major commands after World War II and is most well-known for resurrecting the United Nations (UN) war effort during the Korean War. Several historians have credited Ridgway for turning the war around in favor of the UN side. He also persuaded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to refrain from direct military intervention in the First Indochina War to support French colonial forces, thereby essentially delaying the United States' Vietnam War by over a decade. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 12 May 1986. Ridgway died in 1993 at the age of 98.

Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but the Allies landed in an area defended by German troops. Planned under the name Top Hat, it was supported by the deception plan Operation Boardman.

The landings were carried out by the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark. It comprised the U.S. VI Corps, the British X Corps, and the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, a total of about nine divisions. Its primary objectives were to seize the port of Naples to ensure resupply, and to cut across to the east coast, trapping the Axis troops further south.

Al-Asad Airbase (IATA: IQA, ICAO: ORAA) is an Iraqi airbase located in al-Anbar Governorate of western Iraq. It was originally known as Qadisiyah Airbase.

It was the second-largest US military airbase in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Until January 2010, it was the home of the II Marine Expeditionary Force/Multi-National Force West. Other major tenants have included the 3rd ID's 4th IBCT, 82nd Airborne Division Advise & Assist Brigade, 332nd Medical Brigade, 321st Sustainment Brigade, Vertical Onboard Delivery Detachment-1 (VOD-1), VAQ-141, Navy Customs Battalion Juliet, elements of the Iraqi Army's 7th Division, and the United States Air Force (USAF).

Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023 to 2025) is a U.S. Army military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 military personnel.

Covering more than 251 square miles (650 km), Fort Bragg is home to the Army's XVIII Airborne Corps and serves as the headquarters of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, which oversees the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) and the 75th Ranger Regiment. Additionally, it hosts the 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army Forces Command, U.S. Army Reserve Command, and Womack Army Medical Center. Fort Bragg also operates two airfields: Pope Field, where the U.S. Air Force stations global airlift and special operations units, as well as the Air Force Combat Control School, and Simmons Army Airfield, which supports Army aviation units for airborne and special operations missions.

Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 December 2014. Pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2189 of 2014, RSM was a noncombat mission aimed at advising and training Afghan security forces to provide long-term security to the country, under the aegis of the U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement between the United States and Afghanistan, which was originally supposed to run from 1 January 2015 and was to "remain in force until the end of 2024 and beyond" unless terminated with two years' advance notice.

The number of troops and contributing nations diminished throughout the mission. In October 2019, RSM had its largest size of troops, which was 17,178. Moreover, throughout 2015, the RSM had its peak of contributing nations, which was 42. The US accounted for the largest contingent, while Italy, Germany, and Turkey served leading roles. Intended to play a temporary and transitionary role, the mission gradually withdrew its forces, which numbered around 10,000 at the start of 2021. On 14 April 2021 via a North Atlantic Council Ministerial Statement, NATO announced a drawdown of RSM troops by 1 May, and the mission was terminated early September 2021. The last remaining RSM troops to leave was the 82nd Airborne Division commanded by Major General Christopher T. Donahue, which were withdrawn on August 30, 2021.

Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named landing beaches in Normandy, Utah is on the Cotentin Peninsula, west of the mouths of the Douve and Vire rivers. Amphibious landings at Utah were undertaken by United States Army troops, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the United States Navy and Coast Guard as well as elements from the British, Dutch and other Allied navies.

The objective at Utah was to secure a beachhead on the Cotentin Peninsula, the location of important port facilities at Cherbourg. The amphibious assault, primarily by the US 4th Infantry Division and 70th Tank Battalion, was supported by airborne landings of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division. The intention was to rapidly seal off the Cotentin Peninsula, prevent the Germans from reinforcing Cherbourg, and capture the port as quickly as possible. Utah, along with Sword on the eastern flank, was added to the invasion plan in December 1943. These changes doubled the frontage of the invasion and necessitated a month-long delay so that additional landing craft and personnel could be assembled in England. Allied forces attacking Utah faced two battalions of the 919th Grenadier Regiment, part of the 709th Static Infantry Division. While improvements to fortifications had been undertaken under the leadership of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel beginning in October 1943, the troops assigned to defend the area were mostly poorly equipped non-German conscripts.