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Pvt. Kaleb Matlack and Pvt. Jorge Cabrera, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, provide security for their ground assault convoy as it moves forward in Iraq. The 502nd Infantry Regiment makes up the 2nd Brigade for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
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101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
Soldiers: 20,000
Home fort: Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Deployed to: Kuwait
Units: The division includes three brigades plus two aviation brigades, an artillery unit and several supporting units, totaling 20,000 soldiers.
Duties: The 101st Airborne, known as the "Screaming Eagles," bills itself as the "only air assault division in the world" and has the ability to conduct air assault operations and long-range helicopter assaults. The division is armed with 270 helicopters, including thee battalions of Apache attack helicopters.
In Afghanistan, the 101st Airborne soldiers fought in Operation Anaconda, the March 2002 battle in the Shah-e-Kot valley. Apache helicopters from the 101st Airborne fired the first shots in the Persian Gulf war, destroying Iraqi early-warning radar sites 22 minutes before the air war began on January 17, 1991. The 101st Airborne also penetrated deep into Kuwait to cut off Iraqi forces fleeing toward the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border.
Official Web site 
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EDITOR'S NOTE: CNN's policy is to not report information that puts operational security at risk.
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| SOURCES |
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| CNN, U.S. Defense Department, GlobalSecurity.org, Periscope |
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