Airborne Command

U.S. Army Airborne Command (later the Airborne Center) · USA · 1943-1947

Stood up on 21 March 1942 under Colonel William C. Lee, Airborne Command was the parent organization for America's fledgling parachute and glider forces, moving from Fort Benning to Fort Bragg and then in April 1943 to Camp Mackall, North Carolina, where the 11th, 13th, and 17th Airborne Divisions were raised and trained. The shoulder sleeve insignia — a white glider and open parachute on a red shield beneath a black AIRBORNE tab — was approved on 22 March 1943 and worn by airborne troops not yet assigned to a division; the 501st and 506th Parachute Infantry Regiments both wore it at Camp Mackall before joining the 101st Airborne. The command was reorganized as the Airborne Center on 1 March 1944 and returned to Fort Bragg in November 1945, and the insignia was rescinded in 1947. It was revived in 1952 for wear by units whose real identity was classified, including the 10th and 77th Special Forces Groups.