COLD WAR WARRIOR
US ARMY
AIRBORNE
82ND ‘ALL
AMERICAN’
DIVISION 1983
Gadge Harvey crosses
the pond to continue his
journey through Cold
War Warriors – and
looks at a truly ‘AllAmerican’ division,
The 82nd Airborne
I
n 1983 the United States deployed
overwhelming military force to
‘rescue’ US students in Grenada
from communist forces. While
the operation was politically and
militarily dubious it did do an excellent
job of showcasing America’s cutting edge
military technology.
The American 82nd Airborne
Division has had a fairly consistent
and impressive record in
combat. Formed during WWI
as infantry, the division
converted to an airborne
role in WWII. While the
82nd didn’t deploy to
Korea in the 1950s, as
they were kept as a
strategic reserve in the
event of a European
land war, they did
serve with valour in
Vietnam – although
there was little this
gallant division could do
to win a war that was, by
this point, already lost.
After Vietnam in
the early 80s
the morale
of the US army was at an all time low. The
humiliating defeat of a world superpower
by ill-equipped but determined guerrillas in
the jungles of South East Asia had made
a career in the armed forces decidedly
unpopular. To counter this, the US
Government launched a massive campaign
in the 80s to encourage young men and
women to see the Army as a viable career,
with the ‘Be All You Can Be’ campaign.
Coupled to this recruitment drive was a
massive review of the Army’s kit and a
revamp in particular of the infantryman’s
equipment.
Vietnam had seen US soldiers
starting the war with WWII-era
helmets and Korean War-era
weapons and kit – US army
equipment was in dire need
of rapid modernisation.
However, even as late as
1980 the US infantryman
in North West Europe
didn’t look vastly different
from those who had fought
in Korea and Vietnam. The
M1 steel helmet and olive drab
fatigue were still the norm in most
units, although canvas webbing was
largely superseded by newer nylon M67
equipment.
Rebuilding the War Machine
While the US government was indeed
spending billions of dollars on new
uniforms, weapons, tanks and helicopters
to bolster its forces and play its part in any
www.airsoftactionmagazine.com
077