|
Added March 17, 2008....The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, transferred authority for t he southern portion of Regional Command-East to the Currahees of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, during a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Salerno April 7. Task Force Currahee will partner with the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to ensure peace and stability in the region, relieving Task Force Fury after the unit’s 15-month deployment. “The transition with Task Force Fury has been seamless,” said Col. Pete Johnson, Combined Task Force Currahee commander. “To our Afghan brothers, we are very thankful and gracious for the hospitable welcome we received.” Johnson stressed the closeness the Currahees will have with Afghan Security Forces. The unit hopes to work in partnership with Afghans develop a safer Afghanistan before returning to Fort Campbell and their friends and family.
506th Infantry Regiment Website
Casing of the Colors Photo Gallery
Americans have always answered the call to duty. Since the American Revolution, our Soldiers have lived the ideals of the Warrior Ethos and are motivated by the unwavering belief they will be victorious in battle. American Soldiers understand that our Constitution and the freedoms it guarantees are worth fighting for. They sacrifice their personal comfort and safety to answer a higher calling – that of service in the cause of freedom, both home and abroad.
As part of the expansion of the Army in response to America entering World War II, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was established on July 20, 1942 at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. Colonel Robert Sink served as the first commander of the regiment and commanded the regiment throughout World War II. Under his leadership, the 506th gained a tremendous reputation as one of the best fighting unit in the Army. From tough physical training up and down “Currahee” or Stands Alone mountain near Toccoa, Georgia—through fighting in Normandy, Holland, Bastogne and Hitler’s Eagles’ Nest in the Obersalzburg area of Germany—the 506th faced extreme hardships and overcame enormous odds to assist in the defeat of Nazi oppression across Europe. The Currahee Regiment received Presidential Unit Citations for combat action in Normandy and Bastogne with battle streamers for action in Normandy, Rhineland. Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe. The 506th was inactivated at the end of World War II and later assigned as a training unit at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky and later moved to Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
As in World War II, the expansion of the Army due to another conflict called the 506th again to foreign shores, this time to the Central Highlands of Vietnam in 1967. While in Vietnam, the Regiment was converted from Airborne to Airmobile Infantry. Here, our battalions would serve for four years, earn twelve more battle streamers, and receive a third Presidential Unit Citation for actions at Dong Ap Bia Mountain, better known as “Hamburger Hill” in the A-Shau valley. In December 1971 the 506th redeployed back to Fort Campbell and was deactivated in May 1984.
From 1987-2004, the 1st Battalion (Red Currahee), “Stood Alone” in Korea as the only American combat force north of the Imjin River, less than three kilometers from the demilitarized zone. In August 2004, the Red Currahees deployed with other elements of the 2nd Infantry Division to Iraq where they served for one year and re-deployed to Fort Carson, Colorado—where the Currahee flag was inactivated in September 2005.
Just as in World War II, the Army is expanding again to fight the Global War on Terror. In response to this daunting task, the 506th was brought back, this time as the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division back “home” at Fort Campbell on October 13, 2005. The modern day Currahee “Band of Brothers” consists of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 506th Infantry, along with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry; 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery; the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion; and the 801st Brigade Support Battalion. This force deployed to Iraq from November 2005 through November 2006 where it served with distinction.
After re-deployment from Iraq, the Currahees were designated as a lifecycle brigade and experienced a nearly complete turnover of personnel and equipment. Over the past year, the Currahees have served as the Army’s Divisional Ready Brigade, and were notified in May 2007 they would deploy to Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
From the “Currahee Mountain” in Toccoa, to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in Bertchesgaden, Hamburger Hill in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and now the peaks of Afghanistan—the Currahee Soldiers “Stand Alone” before you proud of our past, and prepared to face the challenges of the future.
Click here to learn more about the 506th Infantry Regiment and keep your ear to the radio dial. CURRAHEE. 
Click here for photos from Afghanistan VIP Day, February 29th in our studios.
 March 10, 2008 Click here for information about the Casing of the Colors and General Schloesser's Comments to the Deploying Troops
Articles courtesy of Jake Lowary of the Leaf Chronicle
 Family Readiness Groups (FRG's) help families and soldiers understand the transition of deployment. Click here to read more.
|
