First Lieutenant Brian Femminella is that he looks exactly like the kind of soldier the Army has long celebrated. Square jaw. Close-cropped hair. Solid, muscular physique. The posture of someone accustomed to carrying weight over long distances and standing motionless during inspection. In photographs from the 82nd Airborne Division, the patch sits cleanly on his shoulder, and the silver wings on his chest mark him as a paratrooper, someone who has stepped out of military aircraft into open sky.
The 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina includes a brigade combat team of about 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers ready to deploy on 18 hours notice for missions as varied as seizing airfields and other critical infrastructure, reinforcing U.S. embassies and enabling emergency evacuations.