82nd Airborne Division All-American Week “Forging the Future”

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – The 82nd Airborne Division’s annual celebration of airborne heritage, unit cohesion and family fun, All American Week 2013, will be held May 20-24. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Forging the Future’.

“After more than a decade fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the entirety of the 82nd Abn. Div. is back at home station. This will be a very special All American Week, with more than 19,000 Paratroopers at Fort Bragg to celebrate, in addition to their families and friends and Division veterans from years past,” said Maj. Gen. John W. Nicholson, Jr., 82nd Abn. Div. commander. “This year's theme is pertinent as we shift from constant deployments to assumption of the ground component of America’s Global Response Force and on to future operations.”

All American Week will kick off with a Division run with more than 19,000 Paratroopers calling cadence down Longstreet Road. These Troopers will compete against each other in multiple sporting events, all looking to take home a first place trophy, while also building morale and camaraderie within the unit. Weapons and equipment will be on exhibit during the static displays to demonstrate the Division’s capabilities. Nicholson will lead his Paratroopers in massing the colors during the Division review and finally, the most solemn of events, the Division memorial will honor our fallen Paratroopers and pay tribute to their families.

Ultimately, this week gives the Paratroopers an opportunity to meet and bond with 82nd veterans from World War II-era to present time, proving that the Airborne bond reaches across generations.

“This is one of the few opportunities each year our Paratroopers have to meet their past counterparts; they take this chance to demonstrate that the sense of duty and honor that Paratroopers have always exhibited holds true today,” said Nicholson. “With as much that has changed since the veterans’ time of service, some things will always remain the same. We must always remember where we came from even as we continue towards the future, and events like All American Week help us do just that.”