2014-11-13 & 14-Fort Bragg & Fayetteville, NC-Gabe's...

2014-11-13 & 14-Fort Bragg & Fayetteville, NC-Gabe's...

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In our hotel room: Gabe's new custom made shoes

Sharp! Perfect fit.

Gabe sips a Guiness as he gets used to his new threads

Yes, he also bought a pocket watch.

Gabe in his Afghan hat and Tom wearing a scarf Gabe bought him in Kandahar

Gabe's gone native

Gabe's combat medic kit

Ready for a knife fight

Gabe wore this in a field hospital treating Afghan Army casulties

Gabe's Barracks-As nice as any college dorm

Gabe and Georgia at the 82nd Airborne barracks

82nd Airborne Compound

Gabe's battalion HQ

Gabe, Georgia and I had an excellent Italian dinner here

The Army Achievement medal for exceptionally meritorious service with Task Force White Devil

General Hugh Shelton, SOCOM and 82nd Airborne Commander and later Chairman of the Joit Chiefs (Shelton served two tours of duty in Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces Group, and with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, followed by a series of command and staff assignments. Following the Gulf War, Shelton commanded the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in his home state of North Carolina. In 1993, he was given command of XVIII Airborne Corps. Shelton led the Joint Task Force responsible for Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti in 1994. In 1996, Shelton, a Special Forces soldier, was promoted to the rank of General and the position of Commander in Chief of United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).Upon the retirement of John M. Shalikashvili, Shelton was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 1997. Shelton led the planning of the Kosovo War in 1999 during his time in office.)

General Hugh Shelton's DIstinguished career

Airborne and Special Operations Museum

Iron Mike, an Airborne Trooper

Iron Mike welcomes you to the Airborne and Special Operations Museum

Dedication plaque

WW II Paratrooper-Airborne and Special Operations Museum

Ranger Gabe, an Army "operator", with his mom

Special Forces operators enjoy liberal grooming standards

75th Rangers-The US Army's premier raid force

Various Army units have airborne capabilities.

The Screaming Eagles, originally paratroopers, now an Air Assault (helicopter attack) Division (The 101st Airborne Division ("Screaming Eagles")—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord (the D-Day landings and airborne jumps), Operation Market Garden, the liberation of the Netherlands and action during the Battle of the Bulge around the city of Bastogne, Belgium. During the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division fought in several major campaigns and battles including the fight for Hamburger Hill in May 1969.In mid-1968 it was reorganized and redesignated as an airmobile division, then in 1974 as an air assault division. These titles reflect the division's shift from airplanes as the primary method of delivering troops into combat, to the use of helicopters. Many current members of the 101st are graduates of the U.S. Army Air Assault School. Division headquarters is at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In recent years, the division has served in Iraq and Afghanistan.)

The "All Americans"-The backbone of the Army's Airborne force (The 82nd Airborne Division is an active duty airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps.The 82nd Division was constituted in the National Army on 5 August 1917, and was organized on 25 August 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Since its initial members came from all 48 states, the unit acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its famed "AA" shoulder patch. Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C. York, General James M. Gavin, Senator Strom Thurmond (325th GIR in World War II), Senator Jack Reed, R&B singer Lou Rawls, actor William Windom, country music singer Craig Morgan, fashion critic/choreographer Bruce Darnell and Congressman Patrick Murphy (the first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress).)

WW II paratrooper

Many Airborne and Special Operations soldiers have won the nation's highest honor

The ultimate scarifice

WW II Paratrooper

The Airborne and Special Operations Museum

82 Airborne Trooper lands in Normandy

The 82nd drops in for a visit to Normandy

PAratroopers advance cautiously in Normandy

82 Airborne Trooper lands in Normandy

Exhibit on the Battle of Mogadishu a/k/a Black Hawk Down

WW II Leaders of the 82nd Airborne

Ready to jump into Normandy

Ready to jump into Normandy

Paratroopers in the Pacific

Battle of the Bulge: BG McAuliffe refusing to surrender Bastogne to the Germans. "Nuts" he replied. (The German commander, Lt. Gen. Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz, requested Bastogne's surrender. When Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101st, was told of the Nazi demand to surrender, in frustration he responded, "Nuts!" After turning to other pressing issues, his staff reminded him that they should reply to the German demand. One officer, Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard, noted that McAuliffe's initial reply would be "tough to beat." Thus McAuliffe wrote on the paper, which was typed up and delivered to the Germans, the line he made famous and a morale booster to his troops: "NUTS!" That reply had to be explained, both to the Germans and to non-American Allies.)

Valiant men fought like tigers, including airborne troops of the 82nd and 101st.

Battle of the Bulge: Brig. Gen. McAuliffe tells the Germans "Nuts" to their surrender demand.

A WW II glider disgorges a jeep

Light artillery delivered via glider, a vital component of WW II airborne forces

Viet Nam-A Sky Soldier of the 173rd Infantry Brigade (Activated in 1915, as the 173rd Infantry Brigade, the unit saw service in World War I, but is best known for its actions during the Vietnam War. The brigade was the first major United States Army ground formation deployed in Vietnam, serving there from 1965 to 1971 and losing almost 1,800 soldiers. Noted for its roles in Operation Hump and Operation Junction City, the 173rd is best known for the Battle of Dak To, where it suffered heavy casualties in close combat with North Vietnamese forces. Brigade members received over 7,700 decorations, including more than 6,000 Purple Hearts. The brigade returned to the United States in 1972, where the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 503rd Airborne Regiment were absorbed into the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. The remaining units of the 173rd were deactivated. Since its reactivation in 2000, the brigade served five tours in the Middle East in support of the War on Terror.)

Panama Invasion

The M551 Sheridan light tank in action in Panama. Once a component of offensive airborne operations (The M551 Sheridan was a light tank developed by the United States and named after Civil War General Philip Sheridan. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to swim across rivers. It was armed with the technically advanced but troublesome M81/M81E1 152mm gun/launcher which fired conventional ammunition and the MGM-51 Shillelagh guided anti-tank missile.The M551 Sheridan entered service with the United States Army in 1967. At the urging of General Creighton Abrams, the U.S. Commander of Military Forces in Vietnam at the time, the M551 was rushed into combat service in Vietnam in January 1969. In April and August 1969, M551s were deployed to units in Europe and Korea, respectively.Now retired from service, it saw extensive combat in Vietnam, and limited service in Operation Just Cause (Panama), and the Gulf War (Kuwait).)

Spec Ops operators in Afghanistan

Special forces operators interacting with Afghan tribesmen

A special forces scout in Afghanistan

Airborne and Special Operations Museum

Gabe and Georgia at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum

The plaza fronting the Airborne and Special Operations Museum

Iron Mike on the plaza fronting the Airborne and Special Operations Museum

General Hugh Shelton, A Special Operations legend

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