XVIII Airborne Corps
The XVIII Airborne Corps is the corps of the United States Army designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world. It is referred to as "America's Contingency Corps" and is the Army's largest warfighting organization. As of 2009, it consists of approximately 45,000 soldiers in one division and five separate brigades. Its headquarters are at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
History
World War II
The corps was first activated on January 17, 1936 as the II Armored Corps at Camp Polk in Louisiana. When the concept of Armored Corps proved unnecessary, II Armored Corps was redesignated as XVIII Corps on October 9, 1937 at the Presidio of Monterey, California.
XVIII Corps deployed to Europe on August 17, 1944 and became the XVIII Airborne Corps on August 25, 1944 at Osbourne, St. George, England, assuming command of the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions, as part of the preparation for Operation Market Garden.
Major General Matthew B. Ridgway commanded the corps, which then consisted of the 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division and was part of the First Allied Airborne Army. Following the Battle of the Bulge, all airborne units in the U.S. Army fell under the command of the corps. XVIII Airborne Corps planned and executed Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine river into Germany. It was one of the largest airborne operations in World War II, including the 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division. The 13th Airborne Division was to participate in the assault, however due to a lack of a sufficient number of transports, it was unable to take part. The XVIII Airborne Corps returned to the U.S. in June 1945 and deactivated on October 15, 1945 at Camp Campbell, Kentucky.
Cold War to Desert Storm
The Corps was reactivated at Fort Bragg on May 21, 1951 under the command of Major General John W. Leonard. Since then, the Corps has been the primary strategic response force, with subordinate units participating in over a dozen major operations (Listed Below) in both combat and humanitarian roles, primarily in Central America and the CENTCOM area of responsibility. In 1991, XVIII Airborne Corps participated in the Persian Gulf War. The Corps was responsible for securing VII Corps' northern flank against a possible Iraqi counterattack. Along with the 24th Infantry Division, 82nd and 101st, XVIII Airborne Corps also gained operational control of the French 6th Light Division (which also included units from the French Foreign Legion).
21st century
In January 2005, the XVIII Airborne Headquarters deployed to Iraq to assume command of the Multi-Nataional Corps-Iraq. During the Corps' deployment, the Iraqi Goverment successfully conducted Provincial election in October and historic national election in Dec 2005. More than 12 million Iraqi citizens risked their lives to cast their votes.
In support of the Army's Campaign Plan, the four habitually assigned divisions were reassigned to the United States Forces Command reducing the Corps from 85,000 to 45,000 personnel. The ACP transitions the Army from a division-centric to brigade-centric force. For traditional and historical reasons, the formation continued to be called the XVIII Airborne Corps.
In August 2006, XVIII Airborne Corps traveled to South Korea to participate in Ulchi Focus Lens, a joint training exercise between the Republic of Korea Army and coalition forces stationed there.
In January 2007, the XVIII Airborne Corps headquarters returned to Iraq relieving III Corps as the MNC-I at Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq. During the Corps' 15-month deployment insurgent/terrorist attack levels were reduced from more than 700 attacks per week to less than 100. In March, the Iraqi president launched a major operation in Bashra leading to a series of operations across the country that greatly improved security and setting the conditions for successful elections. In addition, more than 100,000 Sons of Iraq, former insurgents who decided to partner with Coalition Forces, were successfully transitioned to Iraqi control. Once again, the Corps helped to ensure successfull Iraqi national elections that further broadened the governments ability to care for its own people.