A Summary History of the XVIII (18th) Airborne Corps

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XVIII Airborne Corps "Sky Dragons"
(Original article written 6/26/08 by Jim Broumley)

The XVIII Airborne Corps is the corps size element of the United States Army designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world. Referred to as "America's Contingency Corps," it is the largest warfighting organization in the U.S. Army. It is headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and controls approximately 88,000 soldiers.

Currently assigned to the Eighteenth Corps are the 3rd Infantry Division, 10th Mountain, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery, the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, the 108th Air Defense Artillery, the 18th Aviation Brigade, the 229th Aviation Regiment, the 20th Engineer Brigade, the 525 Military Intelligence Brigade, the 16th Military Police Brigade, the 35th Signal Brigade, the 1st Corps Support Command, the 44th Medical Brigade, the 18th Finance Group, the 18th Personnel Group, and the Dragon Brigade.

The XVIII Airborne Corps was originally activated as the II Armored Corps on January 17, 1942. When the armored corps concept proved unnecessary, the unit was re-designated as the XVIII Corps at the Presidio of Monterey, California on October 9, 1943. The current XVIII Airborne Corps celebrates its birthday on August 25, 1944, when the blue airborne tab was added. On that day in Orbourne, St. George, England, the XVIII Airborne Corps assumed command of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. Within a month the Corps sent their divisions on a combat jump in the Netherlands for Operation Market Garden.

After the Battle of the Bulge, all airborne units in the U.S. Army were placed under the command of the XVIII Airborne Corps. The Corps planned and executed Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine River into Germany, which included the 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division. The Sky Dragons were returned to the United States in June of 1945 and deactivated at Camp Campbell, Kentucky on October 15, 1945.

The XVIII Airborne Corps was reactivated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on May 21, 1951, as part of the army buildup for Korea and the Cold War. Ever since, the XVIII Airborne Corps has been the primary strategic response force for the United States. The Corps and its various subordinate units have participated in over a dozen major operations in both combat and humanitarian roles.

During Operation Power Pack the Corps deployed to the Dominican Republic on April 30, 1965. The Sky Dragons served as the headquarters for U.S. forces sent to restore law and order, prevent a communist takeover of the country, and protect American lives. For Operation Urgent Fury, which began on October 25, 1983, the XVIII Airborne Corps invaded the island nation of Grenada. The Corps provided the bulk of land forces sent to rescue medical students and other stranded Americans. In this operation, the Corps participated with our Caribbean allies in an international peacekeeping effort.

During Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama on December 20, 1989, the XVIII Airborne Corps was placed in operational command of Joint Task Force South. The Operation simultaneously struck twenty-seven targets and conducted town night parachute assaults to seize critical terrain. Operation Just Cause set the stage for a freely elected government to be established in the country.

Operation Desert Shield began on August 9, 1990. The XVIII Airborne Corps rapidly deployed to Saudi Arabia as the first ground force in theater to spearhead efforts to deter aggression and assist in the defense of friendly nations. This was the largest deployment of American troops since WWII. The Persian Gulf War started with Operation Desert Storm in February of 1991. The Sky Dragons were responsible for covering VII Corps' northern flank. The XVIII Airborne Corp launched the first ground assault into Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division and the attached French 6th Light Armored Division. The largest, and farthest, air assault in history was conducted by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). A mounted attack was also made by the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. In less than 100 hours the XVIII Airborne Corps had effectively sealed off the occupying Iraqi Army and destroyed major elements of the elite Republican Guard.

During the 1990s the XVIII Airborne Corps deployed countless Corps soldiers to more than twenty-seven countries that include Bosnia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Haiti. They have also directed countless Joint Exercises that involve all of the services.

The XVIII Airborne Corps' most recent deployments have been in support of America's Global War on Terrorism, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. From January 2005 through January 2006, the Corps was deployed to Baghdad, where it served as the Multi-National-Corps-Iraq. The Sky Dragons deployed again to Iraq in November of 2007.

The XVIII Airborne Corps is superbly trained in tactical, operational, and strategic levels of war. They are capable of exercising the nation's ability to conduct strategic forced entry operations anywhere in the world on 18 hours' notice. Those soldiers and veterans who have worn the Sky Dragon shoulder patch are a proud group of men and women who truly served their country on the cutting edge.

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The Brazilian Expeditionary Force During WWII

Brazil’s Contribution to the Allies in World War II

I read an article recently in Military History Magazine about the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in World War II. Realizing that I am rather “America-centric” in my reading, this opened my eyes to the contribution of Allied nations other than “The Big Three” Allied countries of the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States.

Brazilian troops, newly arrived at Naples, Italy from
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. July 16, 1944. National Archives
Since the war began in 1939, the United States made ever-increasing overtures to Latin American nations to ally themselves with the countries fighting fascism. However, Brazil would become the only South American country to send troops into combat. Of course, this alignment was in Brazil’s best interest. The Atlantic is at its narrowest point between the coasts of Brazil and Africa. Brazil’s government knew that the United States would require air and naval bases for a safer and shorter route to get troops and supplies to Europe. A military alliance would also turn into a trading partnership that would give Brazil an advantage over its South American neighbors.

Initially, Brazil tried to maintain a neutral status. But after contracting for American bases to be built in Brazil, they severed diplomatic relations with Germany, Japan, and Italy on January 28, 1942. As a result Axis submarines began to target Brazilian merchant shipping. U-boats sunk 13 Brazilian merchant ships by July, killing 600. Brazil declared war on Germany and Italy on August 22, 1942.

The Brazilian Navy participated in the Battle of the Atlantic, escorting a total of 614 convoys. They sank a total of twelve submarines (11 German and 1 Italian) along their coast. Brazil lost a total of 36 ships, including merchant vessels, and losing approximately 1600 crewmen, both navy and civilian.

Shoulder sleeve insignia of 1st EID
Once war was declared, Brazil began to organize an expeditionary force to send to the European Theater. The country was woefully unprepared for war and the United States contributed to their training. However, political disagreements over the size, use, and command of the force delayed their deployment for two years. The first troops of the Brazilian 1st Expeditionary Infantry Division (1st EID) departed for Italy in July 1944. Before the end of the war, over 25,000 Brazilian soldiers would serve in Italy.

The 1st EID was assigned to the US IV Corps of General Mark Clark’s US Fifth Army. They fought alongside African American soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division and Japanese Americans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Although under American command, one could argue that the Fifth Army was a multi-national force. British units consisted of commonwealth and colonial forces from New Zealand, Canada, India, Nepal, Palestine, South Africa, Rhodesia, and various African colonies. Free French forces were comprised of Senegalese, Moroccans, and Algerians. Soldiers from occupied countries such as Poland, Greece, and Czechoslovakia were also part of the Fifth Army, as well as anti-fascist Italians.

The 1st EID wore a shoulder patch that has a caricature of a snake smoking a pipe. It was inspired by a saying in Brazil during their training that, translated from Portuguese meant “it’s more likely that a snake will smoke a pipe before the Brazilian Expeditionary Force would go to the front and fight.” The soldiers embraced this put down and came up with the motto “The snake will smoke.” The patch is the result of that and it gave them their nickname: “The Smoking Snakes.”

The 1st EID fought as part of the Fifth Army in northern Italy until the end of the war in May 1945. During their time in combat, the Brazilians took over 20,500 prisoners. They lost 948 men killed in action. For a rundown of their combat operations, read the article “The Boys from Brazil” by Jerome A. Long in the Winter 2023 issue of Military History magazine.

2nd Lt. Jorge E.P. Taborda, from Rio de Janeiro, a pilot
with the First Brazilian Fighter Squadron serving in Italy.
National Archives Photo. 
The Brazilian Air Force also made a significant contribution to the war effort. The 1st Squadron of the Brazilian 1st Fighter Aviation Group trained at US bases in Panama and was designated operational in May 1944. They participated in the defense of the Canal Zone until they deployed to Italy in September 1944. They flew the P-47 Thunderbolt, attached as a squadron of the US Air Force 350th Fighter Group. Most of their missions were supporting ground units. Unlike the ground element of the BEF, the aviators were not going to get any replacement pilots. Out of the 48 operational pilots that deployed with the squadron, 22 were lost: five were killed by anti-aircraft fire, eight others were shot down over enemy territory, six were medically grounded and three more were killed in accidents. In their cumulative 5,465 combat flight hours, the 1st Fighter Squadron amassed an impressive record of damage to the enemy.

Of course we are drawn to the history of our own country. But I think the takeaway here is that we need to acknowledge that the Second World War was definitely a world war. By my count, there were 21 combatant nations joining the Americans, the British, and the Soviets on the Allied side of the war. Not to mention the four former Axis nations that swapped sides and joined the Allies later in the war (Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, and Finland.) Who knows? Maybe knowing the contribution of a WWII ally will change how we view our foreign relations today.

A Short History of Army Aviation

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U.S. Army Aviation
(Original Article Written 12/12/12 by Jim Broumley)

Army Aviation became a separate branch on April 12, 1983, but soldiers had been taking to the air since the days of the observation balloon. Aviation is one of the combat arms branches today, but in the beginning, flying was just a method of observation and scouting. During the American Civil War, both the North and the South used balloons to direct artillery fire and observe enemy dispositions. This marked the beginning of aerial support for ground forces. The United States also used balloons during the Spanish American War and WWI. However, soon after the first powered flight the airplane quickly replaced balloons for all military purposes.

The Wright brothers flew the first heavier-than-air, engine-powered, full-size airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903. Within a few years, the leadership of the Army began to run tests of the new invention to see if it had any military benefits. During one of these tests, Lt. Thomas Selfridge became the first U.S. soldier killed in an airplane crash. He had been flying with Orville Wright on September 17, 1908, when the mishap occurred. The following year, the Army accepted delivery of "U.S. Army Aeroplane No. 1," built to specification by the Wright brothers, on August 2, 1909. The subsequent October 26 saw the designation of the first two Army aviators, Lieutenants Frederic E. Humphreys and Frank P. Lahm, when each completed their first solo flight.

Early Army Aviation, circa 1918.
Photo from Library of Congress
With the approval of Congress, an Aviation Section was created under the U.S. Army Signal Corps on July 18, 1914. The Punitive Expedition to Mexico saw the first tactical usage of Army airplanes when General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing used them for scouting while the expedition chased Pancho Villa's forces in northern Mexico. Nevertheless, the Army only had a few dozen aircraft in the inventory when the First World War began. During WWI, the number of Army aircraft grew to more than 11,000 planes with more than 190,000 aviation personnel in the Army Air Service, created in May 1918.

After WWI, the leadership of the Army Air Service, particularly General William "Billy" Mitchell, argued forcefully for the creation of an independent air force, separate from the ground forces of the Army. That argument was rejected at the time, but it was evident that aviation needed to be considered a combat arm unto itself. Again with the required action of Congress, the Army Air Service was changed to the Army Air Corps on July 1, 1926, with a newly designated "Secretary of War for Air" to manage it. This action put the Air Corps in equal status with the infantry, cavalry, and artillery.

During the 1930s the top leadership of the Army Air Corps was focusing on the potential for air power to be employed as a strategic asset (in other words, bombing major targets rather than supporting ground units). This concerned ground forces commanders, particularly in the artillery branch that benefited from using light observation aircraft for adjustment of indirect fire. The Army experimented with organic light aircraft in artillery units during maneuvers in 1940 and 1941. The tests of these "Grasshoppers," as the light planes were called, were very successful. Their performance was better than the larger Air Corps planes that had been used previously.

In the meantime, the advance of technology marched on. In January 1938 the War Department disbursed $2 million for research into the possibility of developing rotary-wing aircraft. The Army acquired its first real helicopter on November 1, 1941, a Sikorsky YR-4.

On June 6, 1942, the Air Corps was elevated to the Army Air Forces (AAF), which put that component of the Army on the same level as the Army Ground Forces. The Field Artillery branch was allowed to keep "organic army aviation" under its control. This meant that light observation aircraft like the L-4 Grasshopper and the L-5 Sentinel and their personnel were organic to the artillery battalions and brigades that they worked for. The Department of Air Training was established at the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. This date, June 6, 1942, is recognized as the birth date of Army Aviation.

Organic Army Aviation first participated in combat during Operation Torch in November 1942 in North Africa. While the original function of organic Army Aviation was to adjust artillery, during the course of the war, it expanded. During World War II, L-4 Grasshoppers and a few larger L-5 Sentinels were used to adjust artillery fire, gather intelligence, support naval gunfire, conduct medical evacuations (MEDEVAC), and perform other functions like command and control. The expanding mission and close coordination with ground forces were primarily because the aircraft were available to, and often under the command of, the commander on the ground where the assets of the Army Air Forces were not.

The difference in need, mission, priorities, and philosophy as to the employment of aviation assets caused a great deal of friction between the leaders of the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. It was time to separate the two. The United States Air Force (USAF) became its own branch of service, separate from the United States Army, on September 18, 1947. There continued to be a great deal of friction between the services with suspicion of overlapping areas of responsibility and competition for precious funding. On April 21, 1948, President Eisenhower signed the "Key West Agreement" that provided for the division of assets between the Armed Services. Under the agreement, the Air Force would have control of all strategic air assets as well as most tactical aviation and logistic functions. The Army was allowed to retain aviation assets to be used for reconnaissance and medical evacuation purposes. The Navy could have its own combat air arm to support naval operations, which included combat aircraft to support the Marine Corps. After the adoption of the Key West Agreement, the Army continued to develop its light planes and rotary-wing aircraft to support its ground operations. In 1949 the Army established the Warrant Officer Pilot Program to fly new cargo helicopters it was fielding.

The Korean War saw a leap forward in Army Aviation. On January 3, 1951, the first combat medical evacuation by helicopter was conducted - in Korea by 1LT Willis G. Strawn and 1LT Joseph L. Bowler. The H-13 Sioux rotary wing aircraft had been fielded since 1947 and was used for MEDEVAC and command and control operations. The helicopter proved its worth in the rugged terrain of Korea. This recognition of the capabilities of rotary-wing aircraft increased the demand for machines and pilots. In 1951 the Army began organizing helicopter transport companies and the fielding of H-19 Chickasaw, albeit in limited numbers due to the competition for the aircraft from the Air Force.

Forward-thinking leaders in the Army saw the potential of rotary wing aviation. General James Gavin published an article in April of 1954 titled "Cavalry, and I Don't Mean Horses." In this influential article, Gavin called for the use of helicopters in cavalry operations that would provide the mobility that the Army lacked in Korea due to the terrain. This was an indicator of a doctrinal push that rapidly expanded Army Aviation into the combat arm it is today. On November 1, 1954, the Army Aviation School was moved from Fort Sill to Fort Rucker, Alabama. The United States Army Aviation Center (USAAVNC) was established there in March 1955.

Under this new doctrine of "air cavalry," the Army saw the need to mount weapons on helicopters to serve as a kind of "aerial artillery." The French Army had seen some success mounting rocket launchers and 20-mm cannons on helicopters during the Algerian War of 1954-1962. Based on this example, the Army began running tests on armament systems for rotary-wing aircraft in 1956. Primarily, Colonel Jay D. Vanderpool directed these combat development experiments. Vanderpool also wrote the first doctrinal manuals. This research and development was conducted while the Air Force still theoretically had exclusive responsibility for aerial fire support. Nevertheless, Army commanders felt that the Air Force was not doing enough to prepare to support ground forces and under the Key West Agreement were not allowed to arm their fixed-wing aircraft. Therefore, it would seem that competition between the services actually led to the development of armament systems for Army helicopters.

A UH-1 "Huey" delivers a "mule" to the field in
Vietnam. Photo from NARA.
An armed helicopter company was activated in Okinawa in 1962 and later deployed to Thailand and then Vietnam. In Vietnam, the new helicopter company flew escort for lift helicopters. There were no mission restrictions on the army aircraft enforced by the Department of Defense, thereby giving implied permission to deploy armed rotary wing aircraft. Also in 1962, the Tactical Mobility Requirements Board was formed. Commonly known as "The Howze Board," this group had been established to develop and test the concept of air mobility. After test exercises, war games, and concentrated study and analysis, the Howze Board recommended that the Army commit itself to organic air mobility through the extensive use of helicopters. The 11th Air Assault Division (Test) put the Board's recommendations into testing from 1963 to 1965. Beginning with their deployment to Vietnam in 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) repeatedly demonstrated the validity of the airmobile concept in combat. On April 6, 1966, the Johnson-McConnell agreement was signed between the Army and the Air Force. The Army gave up its fixed-wing tactical airlift aircraft (primarily the DHC-4 Caribou) in exchange for the Air Force relinquishing its claim to most forms of rotary-wing aircraft.

Vietnam was truly America's "Helicopter War." The United States' involvement in Vietnam began with Army Aviation operating a fleet of reciprocating engine aircraft. In the early days of the development of air mobility, the UH-1 Iroquois, or Huey was introduced, a modern turbine-powered aircraft with both troop carrier and gunship versions developed specifically with deployment to southeast Asia in mind. Before the end of the Vietnam War, more than 5,000 of these truly versatile aircraft were sent overseas. Also during Vietnam, the OH-6 Cayuse (the "Loach") and the OH-58 Kiowa were fielded as scout aircraft, replacing the OH-13. In 1967, the AH-1G Cobra came online to begin replacing the Huey gunships as an attack aircraft. The U.S. Army's heavy lift helicopter in Vietnam (and ever since) was the tandem rotor Boeing CH-47 Chinook, introduced in 1962. The OV-1 Mohawk and U-21 Ute (Beechcraft King Air) were part of the small fixed-wing aircraft inventory flown by the Army.

After United States combat forces left Vietnam, Army Aviation continued to develop and pass major milestones. On June 4, 1974, Fort Rucker graduated the first female Army aviator, 2LT Sally D. Woolfolk (Murphy) from Rotary Wing Flight School. NASA chose Major Robert L. Stewart to be the first Army aviator to become an astronaut in January 1978. The aircraft inventory began to enter the modern era with the delivery of the first UH-60 Blackhawk to Fort Rucker on April 1, 1979. In recognition of the demonstrated increasing importance of aviation in Army doctrine and operations, Aviation became the fifteenth basic branch of the Army on April 12, 1983. Since then, commissioned officer pilots would be branched aviation, fully dedicated to learning its operations and tactics, rather than being temporarily detailed from another branch. The Army began to field the AH-64 Apache in 1984. On May 16, 1990, the 160th Aviation Battalion was reorganized and designated the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). The unit was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command and signaled the arrival of dedicated aviation assets to special operations.

Since Vietnam and during operations in Grenada, Panama, and the Persian Gulf Army Aviation has played a major role in combat and support operations. An Army aviator fired the first shot of Operation Desert Storm from an Army helicopter. Within a few minutes, two teams of Apaches destroyed two Iraqi radar stations on January 17, 1991. During the next 100 hours of ground combat, Army aviation dominated night operations. The Army can be justly proud of the performance of its aviation assets and personnel during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. Photo from NARA.
In April 1993, attack pilot positions were opened to female aviators. Another milestone was reached when Lieutenant Colonel Nancy J. Currie (formerly Nancy Sherlock), the first female Army aviator to become an astronaut, made her first space flight on June 23, 1993. By 1998 the AH-64D Longbow was arriving at Fort Hood, Texas. In December 2006 the Army accepted its first UH-72A Lakota, a twin-engine light utility helicopter long overdue in the inventory.

The mission of Army Aviation is to find, fix, and destroy the enemy through fire and maneuver; and to provide combat, combat support (CS), and combat service support (CSS) in coordinated operations as an integral member of the combined arms team. Army Aviation has the organic flexibility, versatility, and assets to fulfill a variety of maneuver, CS, and CSS roles and functions. These cover the spectrum of combined arms operations. Aviation can accomplish each of these roles during offensive or defensive operations and also for joint, combined, contingency, or special operations. Since its inception over one hundred years ago, Army Aviation has continued to modernize. With the integration of the AH-64D Longbow, MH-47E, MH-60K, and the UH-72A Lakota, Army Aviation stands on the threshold of a new century more mission capable than ever.

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