This is a big week for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the Fort Campbell community. The 2011 Week of the Eagles in itself is a huge undertaking by the division, brigades and garrison staff, but the weeklong esprit de corps event has been further highlighted by several redeployment flights from 4th Brigade Combat Team (Currahee), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
What a way to welcome home our Soldiers!
The 2011 Week of the Eagles kicked off Aug. 5 with a Division Run, a three-mile jaunt around the heart of Fort Campbell for thousands of Soldiers as each brigade and tenant unit joined the 101st Division Command Group, led by Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) kick off their Week of the Eagles celebration with a division run, Friday, August 5, 2011.
Troops were joined by retired and former Screaming Eagles, including ‘Retired Eagle’ Command Sgt. Maj. Dayton Harrington, 80, who hasn’t missed a Division Run in 30 years, and who also put in an appearance at the o’darkthirty road march during the Toughest Air Assault Soldier competition Aug. 9.
'Retired Eagle’ Command Sgt. Maj. Dayton Harrington, 80, who hasn’t missed a Division Run in 30 years also put in an appearance at the early morning road march during the Toughest Air Assault Soldier competition Aug. 9. 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Soldiers competed in the 2011 Week of the Eagles Toughest Air Assault Soldier competition Tuesday, August 9, 2011.
Sunday saw approximately 5,000 runners from the Fort Campbell community turn out for the Run for the Fallen. Participants were encouraged to remember fallen comrades and family members as they traversed one of two routes. Each fallen warrior since September 11, 2011 from the Fort Campbell community was remembered with a flag on the Division Parade Field. The historic spot served as a home for 601 flags. Fallen Screaming Eagles will also be memorialized during an Aug. 10 ceremony at the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Headquarters.
The action kicked up as our week began with events like the Legacy Golf Tournament, softball and basketball games, a marksmanship competition, Army combatives matches and The Toughest Air Assault Soldier, hosted and overseen by the cadre at The Sabalauski Air Assault School. The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Parachute Demonstration Team took several lucky community members for a ride to remember over three days of tandem jumps. Units with Soldiers raking in the highest scores all week long will be in contention for the Week of the Eagles Commander’s Cup, a coveted prize among troops at Fort Campbell.
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Parachute Demonstration Team shows 'em how it's done! The team conducted several tandem jumps, Monday, August 8, 2011 as part of this year's Week of the Eagles celebration.
The weeklong event wouldn’t be an Army celebration without a nod to history and plenty was on hand as 1st Brigade Combat Team (Bastogne), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) hosted Bastogne Day Aug. 9, complete with a memorial dedication ceremony. And just in case we haven’t covered enough of our storied past, the Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum at Fort Campbell will host a Normandy BBQ Aug. 11.
But the culmination of this week will be the Division Review and Change of Command, Aug. 12. We will thank Maj. Gen. Campbell and his family for their service to both the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, and welcome Maj. Gen. James C. McConville, as he assumes command of the division.
With more combatives, more tandem jumps and more Screaming Eagles in action, there is a lot to follow this week.
How can you keep up?
On Twitter: @101stAASLTDIV, @FortCampbell, @USArmyOnTheGo, #EaglesWk.
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/101st; www.facebook.com/FortCampbell; www.facebook.com/FortCampbellCourier. On Flickr: www.flickr.com/FortCampbell.
