101st Airborne Remembers Vietnam, Where Air Assault Was Born

The 101^st Airborne is hosting Vietnam Veterans at Fort Campbell this week as part of the division’s 75^th anniversary. While the unit was born in World War II, Vietnam is where the division earned its modern role in the Army.

Air assault. That’s what makes the 101
^st Airborne unique. Every Army division has helicopters. But the 101
^st can move everything and everyone by chopper. Commanding General Andrew Poppas says it’s a capability born from necessity.  

“Especially in the depth of Vietnam where you have very tough ability to maneuver on the ground, even airborne operations through parachute became difficult,” Poppas says.

A year into the conflict, Poppas says the Army realized helicopters could drop soldiers in a more precise location. Instead of scattering across a landing zone after jumping from a plane, everyone in a chopper can stay together and hit the ground running.

It was a turning point, Poppas says.

“In the fight, a pretty demanding fight for the formation, we asked the 101
^st itself to transform the way in which they fought,” he says.

Since having to learn on the fly during a war, the 101
^st Airborne has become the experts,
with its own air assault school at Fort Campbell.

Fundamentally, not much has changed. Poppas says helicopters remain the preferred way to move soldiers and their gear around in places like Afghanistan — 50 years later.