The 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team is on duty at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The brigade is the division’s Immediate Response Force, America’s rapid response team. It is able to deploy within 18 hours of notification. “This is what the 82nd does and they do it very well,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

The 82nd trains for airborne assault operations into enemy areas with a specialization in airfield seizure. The 82nd's Immediate Response Force has seen action in recent years deploying on News Year’s Eve 2019 to Iraq to help secure the U.S. embassy as it came under attack by Iranian-linked Shia militias.

The Division again deployed troops in the summer of 2020 to the Nation’s Capital Region in response to civil disturbances in Washington, D.C.

The division’s commander, Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, is leading the paratroopers in Afghanistan.

Pictured: Paratroopers with 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division board a plane enroute to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy 82nd Airborne Division)