Paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division who deployed to the Middle East in January amid a crisis with Iran arrived back home to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Thursday, according to a division spokesman.
The 82nd Airborne Division announced their arrival back home on social media, posting pictures of their homecoming. It posted on their Instagram account:
Today the #AllAmerican Division welcomed home the first elements of @1bct82nd from their deployment to the @uscentcom area of responsibility. These #Paratroopers are assigned to 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and they were the ones to answer our Nation’s call on New Year’s Eve. The Division executed a no notice deployment with the Immediate Response Force Brigade (1st Brigade Combat Team), rapidly projecting combat power into the CENTCOM area of responsibly. This was the most significant no notice deployment of combat forces in more than 30 years and a remarkable and historic effort by the logistical nodes on @fortbraggnc.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper sent about 750 paratroopers as part of the Immediate Response Force after pro-Iran protesters stormed the U.S. Embassy in Iraq amid threats from Iran. The president’s critics warned of “World War III,” but the crisis deescalated after President Trump ordered the killing of Iran terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani.
Division spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Burns said about 800 have arrived back home. Breitbart News first reported that the paratroopers would be coming home on February 7.
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