Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen. I am LTC Jim Browning, commander of 2nd Battalion 508th PIR. With me I have the battalion SGM - Command Sergeant Major Curt Donaldson. On behalf of MG Kurrilla, CDR of 82nd, I would like to thank you for maintaining this great lineage and connection to paratroopers around the world. A special thanks to the original members of the red devil regiment and generations of paratroopers that followed. Especially, let me thank Troy Palmer for his incredible dedication to our legacy.

I do have a confession that I am not an original red devil -I admittedly snuck into the fury battalion by spending my formative years as a blue devil in 3-504 PIR. I understand it is sacrilege to mention the dirty 504,1 have another confession that I'm a graduate of the institution just down the Ashley River - The Citadel. Now that I’ve committed all these egregious sins - my final confession is this is not the only reunion I'm attending this weekend. No, the 504 boys didn't get a better hotel than the red devils - this is my 15th year reunion from the Citadel. Charleston has a special place in my heart for many reasons but none more than finding the love of my life- Ms. Brandi Johnson who is a graduate of the College of Charleston and has blessed me with three amazing children, Ella, Benson, and Jake who are in attendance today.

As I began to prepare for the incredible honor of addressing the 508th reunion, I realized my true understanding of our history was lacking. And like any good battalion commander -1 had every platoon sergeant and platoon leader prepare with me by reading "Put Us Down In Hell" and a few other key excerpts. I've found that there is little difference between the men of our first generation to the paratroopers of today. As SGT Rock Merritt put so eloquently to Tom Broderick the day before he was shot - A day where Tom, usually well shaven and maintained a pressed uniform, was disheveled, uniform dirtied, a 5 O'clock shadow noticeable - Rock says "now you look like a damned paratrooper."

What has changed? Well. CSM Donaldson and I have had this conversation over many cups of coffee - we want tough, mean, unforgiving, unapologetic, hardened paratroopers - ready to jump tonight, pull out their cold steel - and do the business of tough warriors- willing to endure the heat, the cold, the lack of sleep, water, and food - we want paratroopers.

What has changed? Nothing much- I've studied and read through our history and see that what was demanded and what is still demanded - there is none better - there are none tougher.

What hasn't changed - the attention span of the paratrooper! So, I'm going to take a different approach to this dialogue - and yes it is a dialogue. The audience is part of this discussion

Paratroopers of the 508th - we jump 96HRS- this is your operations order. Prepare to copy, I have no new maps or updated overhead photographs of the area. The drop zone, I am told is a soft open field with nothing but a few dug in positions and a tank company.

Para 1. The situation - the 101st ABN DIV has been pinned down....again. MG Kurilla the Gorilla has offered up to the Corps Commander - Slim Jim Gavin - the legendary 508th REGT. The area of operation - it's the worst terrain and conditions the enemy could come up with - Sandy hot, Cold mountainous, Jungle thick: all exist within our battle space - the 101st ABN DIV got themselves into a pickle. Within our AO we have some significant obstacles - Hedgerows some of you may be familiar with, Waddis - large cracks in the earth you can drive camels and donkeys through without being seen, sheer cliffs at 12000 feet - don't ask me how they got there, and the wildlife - everything from Tigers, monkeys that throw feces, Camel spiders that will eat your flesh, and the black palm - palm tree that will make you wish you never stepped foot in this god-awful terrain. The winds - no more than 20 knots with gusts up to 35. The only good thing is you might drift out of this terrible AO.

The enemy is comprised of many forces - on one hand you have the regulars outfitted with tiger tanks, panzers, machine guns, Air defense pieces - on the other hand, jungle advisors from Panama, desert fighters from Afghanistan, Communist SouthEast Asian bush fighters, and handful of Iraqi/Syrian mercenaries. This collage of fighters have no rules and the ones they do have they are willing to break. They've ripped apart the fabric of everyday citizens and control the territory like tyrants. They're sneaky - while firing machine guns they will shoot tracers at 3 Ft above the ground but shoot 18 inches above the ground with regular rounds. To be captured by them would be worse than death - they speak many languages and most will be foreign to you. They've attacked the 101st ABN DIV position for the last 15 days and inflicted heavy casualties.

Para 2. Mission - Red Devils 508th conducts a night airborne operation on 6 NOV to destroy the enemies spoiling attack 10 miles west of the 101st ABN DIV position behind the enemies support trains IOT reopen ground access to the friendly forces

Para 3. Scheme of maneuver

We will accomplish this operation by conducting an infiltration - Decisive to the operation will be the destruction of the artillery on the mountain top. 1st Battalion (-) - you will be lead (SE1) and jump onto the high ground - there is a 1500 foot ascent following your jump to knock out the enemy plunging covering fire controlled by the SE Asian Bush fighters- purpose to allow the ME FOM to regain control of the road. 3rd Battalion - you will be 2nd airborne operation (SE2) to the South in the waddi systems - the enemy maintains a reinforcement of camel and goat born bombs led by afghan desert fighters that need to be destroyed to allow the ME to link with lOT. 2-319th glides in following 3rd Battalion's operation and provides supporting fire. 37th ENG battalion jumps in with 1st battalion with breaches, satchel charges, and road repair equipment to facilitate the opening of the road. 2nd Battalion - you will be the (ME) with the final jump and attack into the gut of the European regulars, backed up with Iraqi/Syrian mercenaries and Panamanian jungle advisors. At Endstate -the high is seized and the access road is controlled, the enemy is destroyed and unable to reconstitute a counter attack force, the 101st ABN DIV is fat and happy, and the 508th is prepared to take the defensive positions form the 101st ABN DIV.

Para 4. Service and Support -

Class I you'll have K Rations until 24 DEC - and if you're lucky you'll have the old man serve you some dinner - just make sure LT Lamm blows the bridges the first time. MREs will also be distributed for those that can stomach four fingers of death or frozen Ham slice.

Class V - door bundles of ammunition and explosives will be pushed prior to your jump - cache drops will be offset by 2KMs in secondary drop zones.

Class VIII - Blood plasma will not be available - we stopped doing that 60 years ago when the last mission went horribly wrong on hilltop 30. The CASH will be set up within the first 12 hours after the jump

Additional Notes - Jump Boots. Gentlemen, if I find out that you gave your jump boots and shine services to another nurse to get preferential treatment and a back rub, I will make you wear leg boots for the remainder of the operation.

No one will steal jeeps from the gliders - the artillery needs their jeeps. That includes any lSGs wanting to commandeer a jeep to wrangle up prisoners and shoot their Tommy gun at unsuspecting enemy positions.

Para 5. Command and Signal

Challenge and password - ok we're going to keep this simple Challenge: Fury, Password: Sky. Apparently Flash and Thunder is too hard to remember.

Thumb toy crickets will be issued but I better not hear them in the parachute shed - Last time sounded like I was in the swamps of Louisiana on a hot summer night.

Regt HHC Commander - we will not put the command post forward of the Main Line of Resistance - No matter how book-perfect the command post is - being behind the Forward Line of Troops is a preferred technique.

Final comment - no matter where we are at in the battle on 11 NOV we will stop and recognize Armistice Day -1 understand you may be in battle but I would like you to dtop and recognize that the Great War (WWI), the war to end all wars culminated on this day in History.

Alright my final final comment - if you have any issues with me or this operation, you Go Tell it to the Chaplain.

Backbriefs from Company Teams will be on Saturday Night prior to the jump; we will have a final mess; Wear your spit shines and 4-in-the-hand knot ties.

CSM - Please let me know your assessment of the men and our chances for success -1 need to know if these men have what we need to accomplish the mission.

In closing -I cannot thank you enough for your indulgence and patience. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you.