• 82nd Military Police (MP) Company: To provide traffic control, prisoner of war (POW) handling, and security services for the brigades, the 82nd MP Company can split into four MP platoons.
• 82nd Chemical Company: With the threat of chemical and biological attack on our troops growing every day, the 82nd has been assigned an organic chemical warfare company. Equipped with chemical warfare vehicles, as well as laboratory and decontamination equipment, this company can also be broken into platoons for assignment to the brigade task forces.
Now some of you who might be familiar with the history of the 82nd Airborne are probably saying, “Clancy, you forgot the tanks!” Well, actually, I have not, and this leads us to one of the unpleasant developments in the structure of the division. The tanks that I am referring to are, of course, the three-decade-old M551 Sheridans that have equipped the 3rd Battalion of the 73rd Armored Regiment (3/73), the only airborne armored unit in the U.S. Army. Unfortunately, by the time you are reading this, the 3/73 will likely be no more. As of July 1st, 1997, the Army will disestablish the 3/73, and armored support for the troopers of the 82nd will be no more. Frankly, this decision is just downright stupid.
It had been planned that the 3/73 would be equipped with the new M8 Armored Gun System (AGS). Armed with a superb 105mm automatic cannon and clad with a new generation of composite armor, the AGS was to have become the backbone of the 3/73 Armored and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (Light) (ACR [L]). The contractor, United Defense Systems, was on schedule and cost, and the 3/73 was due to stand up with the new systems on October 1st, 1997. Unfortunately, the need to support the expensive peacekeeping operations in places like Bosnia, Haiti, and Rwanda caused the top leadership of the Army to cancel the AGS program, and reprogram the funds. Frankly, given the small size of the AGS program, this was a bad decision. Unfortunately, without any replacement for the M551, the same Army leaders moved from bad decision-making to outright stupidity when they decided to stand down the 3/73 Armored, thus denying the 82nd even the services of 66 thirty-year-old obsolete light tanks.
Allegedly, there is an HMMWV-mounted version of the hypervelocity Line-Of-Sight Anti-Tank (LOSAT) antiarmor system. It will be years, though, until LOSAT becomes operational, and there are rumors that those same Army leaders may cancel this system as well. Right now, the only plan to get armor to the 82nd when it deploys is to fly it in with C-17 Globemaster IIIs. More on this later. Frankly, though, someone near the office of the Army’s Chief of Staff needs to take a hard look at how much is being spent on systems that don’t
Getting There: Supporting Units
If you have been reading any of the earlier books of this series, you know that no U.S. military unit goes into action these days without a lot of help from supporting units. The 82nd is no exception to this rule, and actually requires a lot more help than an equivalent Marine amphibious or Air Force combat unit. Unfortunately, without the assistance of Air Force transport aircraft, the 82nd cannot even get off of the ramp at Pope AFB, much less sustain operations in the field. In addition, because of force structure changes like the deactivation of the 3/73 Armored, the 82nd sometimes requires some augmentation to give it the necessary combat muscle to survive in the field. We’re going to explore those supporting units, and show you how they make airborne warfare possible in these modern times.
Ground Muscle: The XVIII Airborne Corps
General Keane understands that even an elite infantry unit like the 82nd Airborne sometimes needs a little help from its friends, and is ready to use all of the resources of XVIII Airborne Corps to make General Crocker’s job a bit easier. To this end, XVIII Airborne Corps has a vast array of units to draw from when the 82nd needs a little help. Some of the more common attachments include:
• 18th Aviation Brigade: One of the biggest needs that the 82nd may require will be additional antiarmor and transport helicopter capability. To supply this, the 18th Aviation Brigade can be tasked to provide units up to battalion size of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, and CH-47D Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.
• XVIII Airborne Corps Field Artillery: It is a little known fact that the 82nd has a permanently assigned battalion of towed M 198 155mm howitzers from the XVIII Airborne Corps Field Artillery. This battalion, made up of three batteries of eight guns (with their 5-ton trucks as prime movers), gives the 82nd a usable counterbattery capability against enemy artillery. Normally, each brigade of the 82nd is assigned one eight- gun battery of M198s. In addition, should it be required, additional units of M198s could be assigned. Finally, the XVIII Corps Field Artillery is equipped with M270 armored carriers for the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and Army Tactical Missile System (A-TACMS). These systems can provide a virtual “steel rain” for the paratroopers, if the corps commanders decide it is necessary.
• 108th Air Defense Brigade: While the organic Stinger/Avenger SAM units give the 82nd a good air-defense capability, the local threat level may require even more firepower. For example, the enemy may have a large number of aircraft, or be equipped with ballistic missiles like the notorious SCUD that was used during Desert Storm. Should additional help be required, XVIII Airborne Corps can assign elements of the 108th Air Defense Brigade to assist the 82nd. These reinforcements can include additional Stinger/Avenger units, as well as extra air defense /control radar sets. However, for the really serious threats (ballistic/cruise missiles, etc.), the 108th can send batteries of the famous Patriot SAM system to defend the area. Recently, the advanced PAC-2 missiles that were the stars of Desert Storm have been augmented by a new missile, the Lockheed Martin Loral- built PAC-3 Extended Range Interceptor (ERINT). This new missile is designed to defeat ballistic and cruise missiles at longer ranges than the PAC-2, and will be mixed in the launcher units to provide full coverage of the battlefield.
• 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized): As I mentioned earlier, with the disestablishment of the 3/73 Armored, the 82nd will no longer have any sort of armored vehicles in its inventory. However, there are plans afoot to provide the 82nd with a limited amount of armored power, in the form of the Rapid Reaction Company (RRC) of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized).
The RRC was created in the aftermath of the disastrous firefight in Mogadishu, Somalia, in late 1993. Prior to the fight which killed over a dozen American Rangers and aircrew, the Somali Task Force commander had requested that he be supplied with armored vehicles (tanks and infantry fighting vehicles) and artillery. However, in one of the more idiotic decisions of a failed tenure as Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin denied the task force the armored muscle that might have allowed U.S. forces to save some of the men that died in the firefight. When word broke about the denial of weaponry, the press and public erupted at the decision, which was reminiscent of the same kinds of denials that had been made by Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War. Aspin resigned shortly thereafter, and the Army immediately moved to rectify the shortcomings.
Down at Fort Stewart, Georgia, the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), now reflagged as the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), was ordered to form a small company-sized unit of four M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks and four M2A2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Along with a few other command and supply vehicles, the force, dubbed the RRC, was flown to Mogadishu by Air Force C-5 Galaxy heavy transports, where they served until the pullout. Today, the RRC has become a permanent part of the XVIII Airborne Corps plan for supporting the 82nd should they need armored muscle in the field. Today, the RRC stands on an alert status, ready to be flown into even unimproved airstrips by the new C-17 Globemaster IIIs being introduced by the Air Force.
However, the RRC concept has two weaknesses that will have to be dealt with. First, there is the question
