Air Assault

As part of the Air Assault exercise during Swift Response21, Sky Soldiers board Blackhawks and Chinooks from 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade and head to assault an objective at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria. After landing, paratroopers moved out to capture key points at the drop zones and clear the enemy of all of their defensive positions. Thanks to the resistance by our allies in the Bulgarian Armed Forces acting as enemy forces, our units received tough and realistic training! Swift Response 21 will occur May 6-11, as the airborne operation portion of DEFENDER-Europe 21. It will validate U.S. European Command's ability to send high readiness forces into a designated area by conducting an airborne exercise consisting of strategic jumps as part of a Joint Forcible Entry (JFE) in three countries to seize key terrain.

By Staff Sgt. Jacob Sawyer , 173rd Airborne Brigade Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria May 17, 2021

Task force ready: SETAF-AF strategizes for emergent crisis scenarios

VICENZA, Italy – Planners with U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), locked in for a high-stakes week of strategic planning, focused on the successful launch of a Joint Task Force (JTF) at a moment’s notice. Basically, when the Department of Defense calls, SETAF-AF will be prepared to execute with multiple courses of action already validated.

Paratroopers make history with U.S. Army’s first drone-on-drone kill

For 1st Lt. Francesco La Torre, the Army’s first drone-on-drone kill wasn’t the Hollywood moment most would imagine. “In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker flies an X-Wing through the Death Star trench and blows it up,” La Torre said. “This wasn’t like that. It was way harder. Honestly, it felt more like Darth Vader shooting down rebel pilots. He might be the villain, but he’s also one of the best pilots in the galaxy.”

Sky Soldiers ruck and laugh their way through four-day Nijmegen March

Imagine walking nearly 100 miles in the summer heat with a rucksack, sore feet, and a few thousand new friends. For Sky Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, that was Nijmegen 2025 in a nutshell.

Task force ready: SETAF-AF strategizes for emergent crisis scenarios

Paratroopers make history with U.S. Army’s first drone-on-drone kill

Sky Soldiers ruck and laugh their way through four-day Nijmegen March

Imagine walking nearly 100 miles in the summer heat with a rucksack, sore feet, and a few thousand new friends. For Sky Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, that was Nijmegen 2025 in a nutshell.

Task force ready: SETAF-AF strategizes for emergent crisis scenarios

Paratroopers make history with U.S. Army’s first drone-on-drone kill

Sky Soldiers ruck and laugh their way through four-day Nijmegen March

Imagine walking nearly 100 miles in the summer heat with a rucksack, sore feet, and a few thousand new friends. For Sky Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, that was Nijmegen 2025 in a nutshell.