天兵 Sky Soldiers

http://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/?URN=3251590

(影片) 「天兵三號」空降作戰演習

http://www.skysoldiers.com/ssm/2006-fall.pdf

美軍第173空降旅刋物-天兵

美軍第173空降旅

On March 26, 1963, the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) was assigned to the regular army and activated on Okinawa. Brigadier General Ellis W. Williamson took command of the unit,^[14] which was chartered to serve as the quick reaction force for the Pacific Command.^[1] Under Williamson, the unit trained extensively, making mass parachute jumps. They earned the nickname Tien Bien, or Sky Soldiers, from the Taiwanese paratroopers.^[1][14] During their time in Okinawa, they prided themselves as the "toughest fighting men in Okinawa, if not the entire US Armed Forces".^[14] They took their theme song from the television series Rawhide.^[14] As the Pacific quick-reaction force, they were the first brigade to be sent to Vietnam two years later when hostilities escalated there.^[15]

The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team is an airborne infantry combat team of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Europe.

Since its reactivation in 2000, the brigade has served three tours of the Middle East. The 173rd participated in the initial invasion of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and two tours in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; one from 2005 to 2006, and another deployment that began in 2007 and ended in mid 2008. The brigade returned from duty in eastern Afghanistan in July of 2008.

A decorated unit, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team has received 20 campaing streamers and several unit awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the Battle of Dak To during the Vietnam War.

173rd Soldiers conduct air assault training in Germany (2007) 美軍第173空降旅