Latest news with #101st
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's who's getting the Army's first long-range assault aircraft
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The U.S. Army will field its first Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, commonly known as FLRAA, to the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the Army vice chief of staff told an audience at the Army Aviation Association of America's annual conference Wednesday. 'That decision was based on their mission profile and theater demands,' Gen. James Mingus said in prepared remarks. 'This decision makes sense, the 101st is a formation built to deploy rapidly and operate in austere conditions. The 101st flies into real world contested environments, across wide terrain, often without the luxury of fixed support infrastructure. They need speed, endurance, and reliability.' The operational insights from that first fielding 'will shape initial doctrine, sustainment models, and maneuver concepts,' Mingus stated. 'And we're not waiting for a distant out-year to make this thing real. Under the Army Transformation Initiative, we are driving to get this aircraft online years ahead of schedule." When the Army will field these first aircraft remains to be seen, but the service has recently vowed to move faster to build and field the first FLRAA that is presently expected to be delivered in 2030. 'We expect to field the first aircraft in 2030 and that's according to the plan as it stands today,' Col. Jeffrey Poquette, the service's project manager for the program, told Defense News in an interview earlier this spring. He added that there 'are opportunities ... the Army is looking at to potentially see if we can go do something different and there's different risks for going faster.' Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George testified during a recent House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing that he thinks the Army could move up the timeline to 2028. 'We're just figuring out what we can do by working with them on how we can pull it as far left,' George said. The service is finalizing its design for FLRAA by the end of the year that will ultimately take the place of UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters. Bell beat out Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky and a Boeing team following a competitive technology demonstration phase, in which each company built a flying demonstrator. Sikorsky and Boeing's Defiant X featured coaxial rotor blades. The design process for FLRAA, which will culminate in a critical design review either sometime toward the end of this fiscal year or in the beginning of the next, has allowed the Army to move much faster than in previous aircraft development programs, Poquette said. 'When we had our ... preliminary design review we got to see and have access to that design on a level we've never had, which is going to make for a much better CDR,' he said. 'We have a compressed test schedule. That's really where the benefits of digital engineering are going to pay off.'
RTÉ News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
1916 Rising leaders remembered at Arbour Hill ceremony
The annual 1916 Commemoration Ceremony has taken place at Arbour Hill in Dublin. President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris attended, along with other elected representatives, members of the judiciary and family members of the leaders and others who fought in the 1916 Rising. A guard of honour was formed by the 27th Infantry Battalion at Aiken Barracks in Dundalk. Flag officers from the Army, Air Corps and Naval service were in attendance along with the Army band who played under sparkling blue skies. Inside the Church of the Most Sacred Heart, a mass was held with interfaith representatives, to remember those who fought in 1916. Afterwards, President Higgins laid a wreath at the grave of the executed 1916 leaders, commemorating all those who died. This is the 101st State commemoration at Arbour Hill - with ceremonies beginning after the end of the Civil War in 1923. Mr Harris said it was a privilege to host the event as Minister for Defence in the company of relatives of executed leaders.
RTÉ News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
1916 Rising leaders remembered at Dublin ceremony
The 101st State Commemoration of the Arbour Hill ceremony took place in Dublin. The President, Taoiseach and Tánaiste took part in the event also attended by elected representatives, members of the judiciary and family members of the leaders and others who fought in the 1916 Rising. A guard of honour from the 27th Infantry Battalion at Aiken Barracks in Dundalk welcomed the Tánaiste, Taoiseach and finally President Michael D Higgins to Arbour Hill Church. Flag officers from the Army, Air Corps and Naval service were in attendance along with the Army band who played under sparkling blue skies. Inside the Church of the Sacred Heart, a mass was held with interfaith representatives as well as assembled dignitaries and family members of those who fought in 1916. Afterwards, President Higgins laid a wreath at the grave of the executed 1916 leaders, commemorating all those who died. This is the 101st State commemoration taking place at Arbour Hill – with ceremonies beginning after the end of the Civil War in 1923. Tánaiste Simon Harris said it was a privilege to host the event as Minister for Defence in the company of relatives of executed leaders.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
101st Airborne tests new battalions designed for large-scale battles
During a recent home station training exercise, the 101st Airborne Division put three of its newly created division-focused battalions to the test in a large-scale air assault. In the months leading up to the Army's Operation Lethal Eagle, the division formed the 302nd Division Intelligence Battalion, 21st Division Signal Battalion and 326th Division Engineer Battalion to help push mass into the fight as the Army prepares for a division-level fight. The Army's new chief has a plan and it's all about warfighting The units, still considered in their initial operational capability phase, were used extensively throughout the exercise at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Col. Travis McIntosh, the division deputy commander, told Army Times. The three battalions worked their respective assets — intelligence, signals and engineers — as assets for the larger division during this year's exercise, which featured large-scale movements and maneuvers with force-on-force fighting drills down to the squad level and company live-fire ranges, McIntosh said. 'That 21-day division-level exercise gave us the opportunity to take a little more than 7,000 of our soldiers into the field,' McIntosh said. This year's Operation Lethal Eagle, held from Feb. 19 to March 10, included 82nd Airborne Division soldiers and assets from joint forces such as the Marine Corps and Air Force. The exercise saw 1,100 soldiers attack by three separate air assaults using 34 helicopters, McIntosh said. The 'Geronimo,' or opposition force that the soldiers faced, used their own drones and technology to mimic what observers are seeing in the Russia-Ukraine war, McIntosh said. That turned part of the exercise into a hide-and-seek mission for each side's command post — the first spotted was usually the first targeted and likely destroyed. But the work wasn't limited to standard training, according to McIntosh. Troops integrated 65 new pieces of technology, a move inspired by the service's larger Transformation in Contact effort to modernize and ready its troops while keeping units in the deployment cycle. Transformation in Contact, or TIC, efforts previously focused on three separate brigades, one each with the 101st, 10th Mountain Division and 25th Infantry Division, respectively. But the Army has pushed the experimentation up the chain to the division level, in what Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy George has called 'TIC 2.0.' Soldiers participating in this year's Operation Lethal Eagle got a taste of what their 10th Mountain counterparts experienced during a recent rotation of their TIC brigade and associated units to Germany: freezing weather. And then some. Over the three-week exercise, McIntosh said soldiers endured weather ranging from minus-6 degrees and five inches of snow to 60 degrees with flooding and 40- to 50-knot winds. To haul the gear they needed alongside the 1,100 air assault troops and their accompanying units, the 101st called on the Air Force's 61st Airlift Squadron out of Little Rock, Arkansas, McIntosh said. That's because, much like a real-world event, the 101st will rely on joint and partner forces and is likely going to need to resupply and reinforce by air only, the colonel said. Beyond the big platforms, the division started 3D printing and experimenting with new drones ahead of the event, ultimately building and flying 105 unit-made drones during the exercise. Those flights, however, weren't without their hiccups. The colonel estimated that eight to 12 of the drones crashed at some point but were operational and back in the fight within 24 hours, after some quick maintenance. Soldiers are using lessons learned from the drone printing and employment to build a better, 2.0 version of their 'Eagle' drone for the next exercise, McIntosh said. That work will focus on the division's 1st Brigade, which is set for a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, in May, according to McIntosh.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Defiance on the battlefield: A modern parallels to Bastogne
On December 20th, 1944, in the middle of what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, German forces surrounded the Americans, including the 101st Airborne Division, in the town of Bastogne. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, the artillery commander attached to the 101st, was the senior American officer inside the siege. His boss, Major General Taylor, had been called away to a conference, so McAuliffe assumed command. Two days later, a German delegation arrived and transmitted a letter demanding the surrender of McAuliffe and all his forces. McAullife, never one to swear, read the message, laughed, and said, "Aw, nuts!" An account written shortly after said, "It really seemed funny to him at the time. He figured he was giving the Germans' one hell of a beating' and that all of his men knew it. The demand was all out of line with the existing situation." The staff talked it over and decided McAuliffe's initial response would be best, so they typed up the following with his consent. To the German Commander. NUTS! The American Commander. Four days later, the 4th Armored Division arrived and broke the siege. Lt General Patton awarded McAullife the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism and, as Patton wrote in his diary, "a historic answer." Two weeks later, McAuliffe was promoted to Major General and given permanent division command. The story of Bastogne is the most enduring lesson I have ever learned about how an American officer should respond to a demand for surrender. From the earliest training days, officer candidates are taught the Code of Conduct for members of the Armed Forces of the United States. Article II of the Code is explicit: I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist. The Code of the US Fighting Force, published in 1986, takes this further for individuals: Only when evasion by an individual is impossible and further fighting would lead only to death with no significant loss to the enemy should one consider surrender. Right now, transgender service members are being asked to surrender. They have been "encouraged" through additional pay and administrative leave, so they don't have to conform to dehumanizing standards, to step forward and apply for separation within 30 days voluntarily. They are being asked to turn in their boots, uniforms, and identities as defenders of this nation. I am a senior officer standing in the middle of this battlefield as the chaos swirls. Though I may not formally be in command of anyone, I look around at my fellow transgender troops and see their fighting spirit. They are not broken—far from it—they are the bravest people I know. They stand up for who they are and for what's right in the world despite overwhelming obstacles. They hold fast to their oaths, uphold their duty, and honor their commitment to serve. Their training gives them the means to resist. Surrender is not an option. I hold fast to the final article of the Code of Conduct: I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. So, to the demand for voluntary surrender, I offer the only response a senior officer can: NUTS! Bree Fram is a colonel and astronautical engineer in the U.S. Space Force. She is stationed at the Pentagon, leading requirements integration, and is one of the highest-ranking transgender service members in the military. Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ and Allied community. Visit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@ Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.
