The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has a mission to provide forcible entry capability through heliborne 'air assault' operations. Capable of inserting a 4,000 soldier combined arms task force, 150-kilometers into enemy terrain in one lift, and possessing 281 helicopters, including three battalions of Apache attack helicopters, the division was one of the most versatile in the Army. For this reason, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) was said to be the division most in demand by combatant commanders.

The 101st stood as the Army's and world's only air assault division with unequaled strategic and tactical mobility. The 101st was unique in that it normally conducted operations 150 to 300 kilometers beyond the line of contact or forward-line-of-own-troops, requiring theater- and national-level intelligence support as a matter of course.

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) demonstrated the characteristics of military professionalism since the unit's activation.

*To Be Continued*