‘Band of Brothers’ to go to Iraq

I had thought that this was good news out of Iraq this week, and that this was even better.

CurraheeBut I probably took more heart from this news than from anything I’ve seen in a while. I realize the other things are probably more substantially significant, but there’s something reassuring on a gut level about the 506th PIR being resurrected, even if it isn’t technically a Parachute Infantry Regiment any more.

That unit distinguished itself to such a degree in Normandy, Holland, Bastogne and Germany in 1944-45 that the young men who haveCurrahee2_1 adopted "Currahee" as their battle cry (after the foothill near Toccoa, Ga., that the original soldiers of the 506th had to run up and down — three miles each way — as a routine, daily part of their initial training in 1942) have a tremendous tradition of honor to live up to. From what I’ve seen from our soldiers and Marines in the field in this war, I’m sure they’ll meet the challenge, and old heroes such as Dick Winters and "Wild Bill" Guarnere will be proud to call them brothers

6 thoughts on “‘Band of Brothers’ to go to Iraq

  1. james potter

    i assume this is part of the army’s reorganization to create more brigade level units rather than focus on division levels since overseas deployments are of smaller units–both historical units are volunteers but the newer unit probably has females attached in some fashion

  2. Brad Warthen

    You know, you could be right about the unit including females, since it’s now called a “Regimental Combat Team,” which when you think about it is sort of nebulous. (It’s not even a regiment, but a “regimental team,” which is puzzling.) I guess I zeroed in on the word “combat” and thought that meant some form of light infantry, even though it’s no longer a PIR.
    All these newfangled terms confuse me. I see someone is in such-and-such “marine expeditionary unit,” and I wonder what that means in terms of what regiment or division he’s in. Or is he not attached to either? Perplexing.

  3. Steve Aiken

    Unit designations have been fuzzy for some time. However, it’s a long tradition in the British army for a person to serve in a regiment (e.g., Grenadier Guards, Black Watch) that sends battalions to serve as part of different expeditionary units or divisions (as the case may be). We may be moving in that direction.

  4. Jose Pimentel

    Well, I kinda stumbled on this page looking for some graphics for my Major and thought I could help with the “female” question. Yes we do have females in our brigade, since the new format for a brigade is to be self sufficiant, it allows females to be assigned to the unit instead of being attached. Although we do have different battalions within our brigade where females can not be assigned, but can still be attached. Hope this helps and I hope we make you guys proud. CURRAHEE!!!!

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