January 2026 News!
- Theresa Scheets
- 6 days ago
- 11 min read
Table of Contents |
A Short Note From the Association President
3rd Brigade News
35th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm
2026 Reunions
2026 Board Elections
Dates in Rakkasan History
Rakkasan Legacy - In Memory
Fundraiser
Chapter News
Contact Us
President's Note |
Happy New Year to all Rakkasans.
I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Holiday Season. As we stand at the beginning of 2026, we look forward to the months ahead and the hope of a new year. I encourage every Rakkasan to step forward and get involved with the Rakkasan Association. Help us preserve our legacy and ensure it remains strong for those who follow. Become an Annual, or better yet, a Life Member. Make your voice heard by voting in the upcoming Board elections. Share your experiences by submitting short stories or significant events for our monthly e‑newsletter. Reconnect by joining an existing chapter or take the lead in starting one in your area. Most importantly, join fellow Rakkasans (past and present) by attending our May Reunion. Your participation matters and your involvement makes a difference.
Looking into May of 2026, there are several events occurring that month in and around FT Campbell, Kentucky. The National Rakkasan Association Reunion (Sponsored by the Hamburger Hill Chapter) starts May 13, 2026. We will be honoring the 45th Anniversary & Reunion of the Association, the 57th Anniversary of the Battle for Dong Ap Bia (AKA Hamburger Hill) and the 35th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm (ODS). This Rakkasan Reunion will be held in Clarksville, TN with events at FT Campbell. We hope to have many ODS Veterans attend as we will have ODS related events during the core dates of the Rakkasan Reunion (May 13th to 17th) as well as additional ODS events on May 17th and May 18th. Link to the Events Page of the Rakkasan Association Website: Events | Rakkasan Association
There will be many attending the Rakkasan Reunion and the ODS events in anticipation of activities the following week. The 101st Airborne Division Association Reunion starts May 18, 2026. This will be their 76th Annual Reunion, and they will also be honoring the 35th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm. This 101st Association reunion will be held in Hopkinsville and FT Campbell, KY, and runs through May 23, 2026. Link to the Events Page of the 101st Division Association Website: CURRENT EVENTS. The 101st Airborne Division will be holding the Week of the Eagles (WOE) during this time period as well.
We hope to see everyone at these events. For questions, please email us at info@rakkasanassociation.org.
LVNF,
Bob
3rd brigade news |
A MESSAGE FROM RAK 6
Happy New Year! We hope you all enjoyed a joyous holiday season. Your continued support is the bedrock of our Regiment’s mission, and we thank you for it. As we enter 2026, here is an update on our Brigade’s combat readiness.
Rakkasans in Action: Building Combat Credibility.
Our Battalions have made significant progress in certifying combat readiness. Leader 1-187, White Currahee 2-506, and Iron 3-187 all completed platoon live-fire exercises, with Leader and Iron advancing to company-level Situational Training Exercises. Iron executed company air assaults, while Leader conducted a battalion air assault—both critical validations of our ability to rapidly project combat power.
White Currahee has led the way in mastering the Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), rehearsing belly-loading procedures onto CH-47s and successfully demonstrating the capability to transport two ISVs in a single helicopter. This innovation expands our tactical options and demonstrates the adaptability our Regiment has always been known for.
Iron's Mortar Platoon (Wolfpack Company) achieved a fully digital kill chain, reliably engaging new, unplanned targets in under a minute. This represents a quantum leap in our ability to rapidly and accurately deliver fires—a capability that will prove decisive in future operations.
Operation Lethal Eagle: The Final Test
In January and February, we will execute Operation Lethal Eagle against our sister brigade, Strike (2/101). Following that engagement, we will transition to company live-fire exercises and STX, executing a combined arms breach of a trench system and a 36-hour patrol lane in a contested environment characterized by drone activity and electronic warfare.
As we prepare for this final validation before JRTC, we are reminded of a timeless truth: the fundamentals of light infantry combat remain unchanged. Speed, violence of action, leadership at the point of contact, and soldier discipline—these principles that carried you through past conflicts remain the foundation of our lethality today.
Leader 1-187 and White Currahee 2-506 are ensuring that the legacies of our veterans are not just remembered, but truly honored. Their regimental rooms serve as living tributes, hosting promotion boards, unit functions, and preserving the history of those who came before us. In the coming weeks, both battalions will use raised funds to enhance these spaces. The regimental rooms will be formally dedicated during Rak Reunion 2026, scheduled for May 13-17. If you have photographs or memorabilia from your time in the brigade that you’d like to contribute, we would be privileged to display them and honor your service.
Let Valor Not Fail!
COL Ryan Bell
RAK6
35th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm |
On January 17, 1991, Operation Desert Storm commenced with the air campaign against Iraq. The ground campaign began in late February 1991. The following article was written by Pete Kinney, the 3rd Brigade S-3 during ODS.
Until February 25,1991, the 101st Airborne Division’s Third Brigade, the 187th Infantry Regiment – the “Rakkasans!” - had not been to war in almost 20 years. It’s only combat veterans were the Brigade Commander, COL Bob Clark and the Brigade Command Sergeant Major, CSM Jack Hardwick. That was about to change that night.
The brigade had planned a night air assault into AO Eagle on the Euphrates to cut Highway 8 leading up to Baghdad, but a terrible shamal, a desert sandstorm, was closing in fast and division moved up our timetable to fly late afternoon just before the sandstorm closed the flight window.
The first lift of 66 Blackhawks and 30 Chinooks passed over our First Brigade brothers who had flown north the day before to set up the world’s biggest FARP, supporting our leap to the Euphrates. COL Clark and the Blackhawk lift landed on Highway 8 with 6 foot-mobile infantry companies and the Chinooks, because of range limitation, landed 40 kilometers short of the objective area bringing up 3 companies of HUMVV-mounted infantry. They would drive 40 kms that night, thru the shamal, to get to the fight on Highway 8. The brigade was supposed to make 2 turns on February 25th; the shamal allowed only a single lift. COL Clark would fight that night with a pretty thin force, just light infantry with heavy rucksacks, no artillery and no truck-mounted TOWs. Essentially M-60 machine guns and AT-4s.
Shortly after landing the sandstorm hit and all FM communications went down. The only way to communicate with Division was with TACSAT. Brigade could only talk to its battalions over USAF JTAC HF radios.
In the early evening darkness BG Hugh Shelton, Division ADC-O called COL Clark on TACSAT: “200 MTIs inbound your location”. MTIs were Moving Target Indicators, some type of vehicle detected by JSTARS. It was the Iraqi Republican Guard Al Faw Special Forces Division, a light infantry outfit driving Mercedes trucks. They were headed up Highway 8 to Baghdad, desperately trying to get out of the way of 1,500 Abrams tanks smashing thru Kuwait and southern Iraq.
In ambush positions along Highway 8 was 2nd Battalion 187th Infantry commanded by LTC Andy Berdy; they were the brigade’s main effort. On their right flank was 1st Battalion 187th commanded by LTC Hank Kinnison oriented on the oil pipeline leading from southern Iraq to the As Samawah refinery. On 2nd Battalion’s left flank was 3rd Battalion 187th Infantry commanded by LTC Tom Greco, oriented on the truck traffic coming south from Baghdad on Highway 8.
The first Iraqi truck to be engaged by 2/187 was a Mercedes dump truck headed north. 2 Republican Guard soldiers were in the cab, the dumper was filled with TV sets, bicycles, woman and children’s clothes and shoes. They had been looting homes and stores in Kuwait to bring home as presents to momma and the kids. Nothing more than brutal thieves who after torturing and raping Kuwaiti civilians were headed for home in the safety of the night, or so they thought.
Almost every man in 3rd Brigade had AN-PVS 7 night vision goggles and the crew served weapons had AN-PAC 4 laser designators. Even in the shamal Rakkasan Soldiers could clearly make out Iraqi vehicles and engage with accuracy. The Iraqis never knew what hit them in the dark.
At first light on February 26th the Battalion Commander of 3/101 Attack flew into the brigade AO and asked me to guide him up to the brigade’s engagement areas along Highway 8. His OH-58 flew up behind 2/187 just in time to see SSG Steven P. Edwards, B/2/187 and his squad sweep the kill zone, squad abreast with bayonets fixed on their M-16A2s. They were checking the enemy dead and wounded.
A wounded Iraqi NCO who spoke English, surprised that the men who had just tried to kill him were now tending his wounds, asked “Aren’t you just going to shoot us?” SSG Edwards replied “We’re American Soldiers, we don’t do that”.
The wounded Iraqis were safely evacuated from the ambush site and their dead buried with respect. For his actions on Highway 8 SSG Edwards was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor by GEN. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, former Rakkasan and then CENTCOM Commander.
By its blocking action on Highway 8 the Rakkasans removed an entire Iraqi division from the enemy order of battle. This was confirmed days later when I flew south to coordinate with the 82nd Airborne Division and saw multiple wagon wheels of Mercedes trucks, abandoned in the desert along Highway 8, their previous owners not willing to risk the trip north thru the Rakkasan’s AO. – Ne Desit Virtus
Pete Kinney
3rd Brigade S-3, ODS.
2026 Reunions |
2026 National Rakkasan Association/Hamburger Hill Chapter Reunion
45th Anniversary & Reunion of the Association - 57th Anniversary of Hamburger Hill - 35th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm.
The reunion begins May 13, 2026 and the core dates run through May 17, 2026 with an optional extension for ODS specific events on May 17 and 18, 2026. The reunion will be held at the Country Inn & Suites in Clarksville, TN with some events held at FT Campbell.
For registration and lodging information please go to the Events Page on our website.
2026 101st Airborne Division Association Reunions
The 101st Airborne Division Association reunion is scheduled for May 18 to 23, 2026 in Hopkinsville/FT Campbell, Kentucky.
2026 Snowbird Reunion
Florida Chapter - 101st Airborne Division Association Reunion
The Snowbird Reunion will be held February 18 to 21, 2026 in Tampa, Florida.
2026 Elections |
The Nomination and Declarations Phase of the 2026 National Rakkasan Association Board Election closed on January 2, 2026. The Elections/Voting Phase will begin on January 15, 2026. The Ballot will be available on the Elections Page of the Association Website.
dates in rakkasan history |
January 2010
Operation Enduring Freedom 10-11
In January 2010, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Afghanistan in support of OEF 10-11 as part of Regional Command-East, near the Afghan-Pakistan border. This was the Rakkasans' fifth deployment since 2001.
Photo shows colors being cased by COL Viet Luong and CSM Greogry Patton as the 3rd BCT prepares to deploy. Link to Clarksville online article is below.
January 30, 1971
Republic of Vietnam - Dewey Canyon II/Lam Son 719
On January 30, 1971, the 3/187th and elements of 3rd Brigade were choppered out of Camp Evans and combat assaulted into locations along Highway 9 in Quang Tri Province. The objective of Dewey Canyon II was to secure and clear Highway 9, secure and rebuild Khe Sanh Combat Base, as well as patrol and secure the surrounding areas in support of Lam Son 719. Lam Son 719 kicked off in early February of 1971.
January 1945
World War II - Philippines - Luzon
After heavy fighting on Leyte, the Rakkasans headed towards Luzon in late January 1945, arriving in Nasgubu Bay around January 31, 1945. In early February, the battles of Tagaytay Ridge commenced.
If you have dates in history, events or a person you would like us to highlight, please send us an email at info@rakkasanassociation.org. OEF/OIF Rakkasans, we could use your input.
rakkasan legacy - in memory |
Clifford Trowbridge passed away in 2024, but his memory lives on. His beloved wife, Margaret Trowbridge, wrote to us recently. She wrote: "Cliff knew all the founding Rakkasan Association members, and we attended almost all the yearly gatherings. He was very proud to be a Rakkasan, loved music, wrote lyrics, sang, and recorded 'The Rakkasan' song... I miss him."
The following is an excerpt from his obituary: "Graduating high school in 1948, Clifford moved to Indianapolis and was employed two years prior to volunteering for the Army Airborne during the Korean War in 1950 as a Paratrooper with the 11th Division of 101st Airborne. After extensive training in the proper way to exit an airplane using a parachute, he was awarded his wings. In August 1950 he volunteered and deployed to Japan where he joined the 187th Regimental Combat Team known as the "Rakkasans". When the unit wasn't in battle, he was fortunate to be on their Army Basketball team. He participated in several battles with the North Korea and Chinese forces, especially one on August 14, 1952, when several troopers lost their lives. He participated in the control of over 3000 rioters in North Korean Prisoner of War Camps on Kojedo Island then rebuilding the camp. Another battle in Kumhwa Valley, and he was on the list to return to the United States, Camp Atterbury, Indiana."
Thanks for helping lay the foundation Cliff! You will not be forgotten.
fundraiser |
3/187th Memorial Stone Fundraiser
Vietnam 1968-1971
Rakkasan Alumni, the 3-187 Infantry is requesting your support to replace our Vietnam KIA Memorial Stone. The current stone contains the names of all the 1968 KIAs and has broken into several pieces. To honor all the Iron Rakkasan KIA from Vietnam, we are proposing an expanded memorial that includes all 252 KIA from ’68-’71. The stone will be upright and will list the KIA by year. It will sit on a rough-cut piece of quartz. It will be placed behind the Battalion headquarters underneath our Iron Torii. The area is used for Battalion formations, promotions, and award ceremonies. This area is significant as the gathering place for all Soldiers in the Battalion because it contains our parade field, Torii monument, and GWOT KIA memorial. This memorial is part of a broader effort to memorialize the Iron Battalion KIA from all conflicts we have participated in. The estimated cost for this memorial is $14,680. Any amount you are willing to donate will be greatly appreciated by the current and former members of the Iron Rakkasans. Thanks for your support!
chapter news |
Torrii Chapter
Based out of Clarksville, TN but accepts members from other areas.
President: Dave Reilly
Vice President: Louie Lee
Treasurer: CSM (Ret) Chuck Judd
Secretary: Sheila Patton
For information on the Chapter please email toriichapter@outlook.com.
Buckeye Chapter
Based out of Delaware, Ohio
President: Scott Hutmire
Treasurer: Hunter Everett
Meets at the VFW Reed Miller Post #3297
For additional information on the Chapter please email michael_smith672@yahoo.com.
Hamburger Hill Chapter
President: Bob Harkins
Vice President: Charlie Ricord
Secretary: Greg West
Treasurer: Mike Smith
The Hamburger Hill Chapter will be holding board elections during their annual meeting scheduled for May 14, 2026.
contact us/contribute |
Monthly E-Newsletters
If you have news or events that you would like to feature in future e-newsletters, please reach out to us. We welcome submissions of short stories about your experiences with the Rakkasans, information on important dates in Rakkasan history, the significance of staying connected, or other topics pertinent to the Rakkasan legacy, both past and present.
Photos & Memorabilia
If you have photos, memorabilia - either your own or a family member (father, grandfather, uncle, etc.) - that you would like to share with the Rakkasan Association, please reach out to us.
until next time - let valor not fail |
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