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General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in London January 2, 1944 to command Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) and to direct the last five months of planning for D-Day; the most difficult and complicated military operation ever attempted. Eisenhower’s study of leadership skills required he ignore opportunities for fear and doubt, which inevitably arise as strain and tension wear away endurance. He persevered to present confidence and optimism to those around him. For that reason, he brought with him a confident, battle tested team that had led successful landings in North Africa, Sicily, and Salerno, despite experiencing German counterattacks nearly...

This video appeared on social media early this week from the Flintlock 2019 military exercise in the Sahel region of Africa. Whoever the unit is in the video- and no one is giving them credit (or blame…), they demonstrate about every aircraft exit mistake a static line parachutist can make short of actually forgetting to hook up their static line. The video has disappeared from social media, but we managed to make a video of the video before it disappeared. ***** Jumper nine defies description. He apparently deduces that using his butt as a kind of braking device upon exit...

Every time a paratrooper in Britain’s airborne regiments goes to the stores to pick up his parachute as a prelude to going into action, it’s handed over with the same old corny gallows-humour banter — ‘Bring it back if it doesn’t work and we’ll exchange it.’ You could apply the same logic to the Parachute Regiment’s most famous World War II mission: the abortive attempt to capture from the Germans the bridge over the Rhine at the town of Arnhem in the north-east of the Netherlands in the autumn of 1944. It spectacularly did not work — and, once it...

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A great-grandfather has celebrated his 100th birthday with a skydive from 10,000ft (3,000m). D-Day veteran Verdun Hayes made the jump at Dunkeswell Airfield near Honiton, Devon, to raise money for the North Devon Hospice.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in London to command Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) for the last five months of planning for D-Day. During that time he achieved much more than the oft repeated portrayal of someone managing a political/military alliance. Though he never led troops in combat, his leadership sustained many unprecedented initiatives for the successful Normandy landings. The air assault exemplifies the frightful uncertainties plaguing this “Day of Days”. The night before D-Day, 20,400 American and British paratroopers dropped behind the Normandy beaches from 1,250 C-47 aircraft plus gliders. This massive assault was attempted just 17 years...

On June 6, 2012—the 68th anniversary of D-Day—a statue of Maj. Dick Winters was unveiled in the Normandy village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. Winters was the commander of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division after they parachuted into Normandy on June 6, 1944. His heroism and leadership was documented in the Stephen Ambrose book and mini-series "Band of Brothers". A young student named Jordan Brown—who lives just a few miles from Winters' Pennsylvania home—raised $99,000 selling armbands stamped with a phrase Winters used: "Hang Tough." The money was used to help pay for the statue of the late Mr....

By Peter Roper The Pueblo Chieftain Published: January 28, 2016; Last modified: January 28, 2016 11:01PM Elmer Melchi survived parachuting into Normandy on D-Day and he survived jumping into Holland in Operation Market Garden -- although a German soldier shot him when the young 82nd Airborne paratrooper tried to escape from a POW camp. But death finally caught up with the tough 92-year-old veteran Thursday afternoon, taking him in his sleep at the Sangre de Cristo Hospice here. It was expected. Melchi had cancer and knew he was dying. "My dad went for his last jump," said a tearful...

General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in London to command Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) for the last five months of planning for D-Day. During that time he achieved much more than the oft repeated portrayal of someone managing a political/military alliance. Though he never led troops in combat, his leadership sustained many unprecedented initiatives for the successful Normandy landings. The air assault exemplifies the frightful uncertainties plaguing this “Day of Days”. The night before D-Day, 20,400 American and British paratroopers dropped behind the Normandy beaches from 1,250 C-47 aircraft plus gliders. This massive assault was attempted just 17 years...

Reports say Saudi Arabia has dispatched paratroopers to southern Yemen to help the forces loyal to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. Local media said late on Monday that Saudi aircraft airdropped the paratroopers as well as arms cargos to the port city of Aden and parts of neighboring Ad Dali' Province. The official said that the army and naval special forces have provided the militants in Yemen with “coordination and guidance” against popular committees. Ansarullah fighters have taken over state matters, citing the inability of Hadi’s former government to properly run the affairs...

Three IDF paratroopers were killed in Gaza on Wednesday, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said. Lieut. Paz Eliyahu, a combat soldier in the Paratroopers Brigade, was 22 from Hebron. He was posthumously promoted from 2nd Lieut.

Reports from Slavyansk say that the army troops sent to the eastern Ukrainian city for an “anti-terrorist operation” are leaving en masse. Some troops are openly voicing support for the eastern Ukrainians, while others are speaking out against a war. According to Interfax, citing local self-defense activists, some 300 Ukrainian troops agreed to lay down their weapons and “go home” following negotiations in Slavyansk. “We managed to negotiate with them. About 300 military – only some of those who closed around the city – decided to lay down their arms and go home,” a self-defense activist was quoted as saying....

U.S. Paratroopers with Mohawks - World War II

General Dwight Eisenhower arrived in London to head Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) during the last five months of planning for D-Day. He achieved much more than the popular portrayal of managing a political/military alliance. Though he never led troops in combat, his leadership sustained many unprecedented initiatives for the successful Normandy landings. The air assault examples the frightful uncertainties plaguing critical hazards run on this “Day of Days”. The night before D-Day, 20,400 American and British paratroopers dropped behind the Normandy beaches from 1,250 C-47 aircraft plus gliders. This massive assault was attempted just 17 years after Charles...

A rock band made up of Russian former paratroopers has scored a surprise hit with a song that labels Vladimir Putin a "tyrant", registering half a million hits on YouTube. Beefy, tattooed, wearing berets and military decorations on their chests, two singers and three back-up musicians let rip at Putin, the prime minister who is seeking to return to the presidency in March 4 elections. "You've destroyed the military, the army is broken and you've spat on the soldiers and sent the officers packing," they sing. "We're asking you nicely: Go, tyrant!"

Dozens of U.S. Army paratroopers have been hurt during a massive airborne drop in Germany. Sixteen of the 47 injured men are still in hospital, two of them in intensive care after the jump involving 1,000 soldiers went terribly wrong. They suffered head, spine and pelvic injuries.

Army chiefs have decided to end a supplement paid to each member of the regiment for parachuting. It is worth more than £2,000 a year. The MoD is struggling with an estimated £1 billion shortfall in its budget for the current financial year. Cutting the so-called Para Pay bonus will save more than £4 million a year. But it will be a significant blow to up to 4,000 soldiers just back from a gruelling tour of Helmand, many of whom take home little more than £1,000 a month. (snip) The wage cut for the Paras has already been signed off...

LYRICS: He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright. He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight. He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar. You ain't gonna jump no more. Chorus: Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die. Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die. Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die. He ain't gonna jump no more. "Is everybody happy?" cried the sergeant looking up. Our hero feebly answered, "Yes", and then they stood him up. He jumped into the icy...

Eisenhower arrived in London with less than five months until D-day. That is one month less than I had as Finance Director of a private college to lead the management team in preparing the annual operating and capital budgets. His experience occurred in another world I can never adequately imagine. A popular historical portrayal describes General Dwight Eisenhower managing a political/military alliance, but reminds us he never lead troops in combat. However, his leadership sustained many unprecedented initiatives for successful Normandy landings. The air assault examples the frightful uncertainties of many critical hazards run on this “Day of Days”. The...