Headquarters: Ft. Bragg, NC
History: Formed during WWII as the overall command for
US Airborne forces in Europe. XVIII Airborne Corps fought
in Holland, Belgium, and Germany during the war, and was the command
for Operation Varsity, the Anglo-American paradrop behind the
Rhine. During the Cold War, XVIII Airborne Corps continued
to command Airborne forces in the United States and later became
the Army's component of the Rapid Deployment Force in the 1980s.
In Desert Storm the XVIII Corps deployed to Saudi Arabia and fought
in Southern Iraq to cover the Allied flanks. XVIII Airborne
Corps also commanded the UN Haiti operation in 1995-96.
Current Status: America's primarly quick-reaction ground
force. It is expected that the entire XVIII Airborne Corps
of four divisions will deploy to the Middle East in 75 days, with
the 82nd Airborne Division arriving in 12 days, the 101st Airborne
and 3rd Infantry arriving in 30 days, and the rest arriving another
45 days afterwards.
The "Airborne" in XVIII Corps is an honorary designation
from World War II. While there are Airborne-qualified units
within the corps, the entire formation is not parachute-qualified.
Deployment
Major Combat Formations
82nd Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized)
10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (Light)
Corps Combat Support units
This unit controlls all corps-level artillery. There is
one active brigade, and several National Guard units that are
attached in Wartime.
| Unit ID | Unit Type | Weapon Systems | Notes |
| 3rd Bn, 27th Field Artillery | Rocket Artillery | 27 MLRS | |
| 1st Bn, 321st Airborne Field Artillery | Airborne Medium Artillery | 24 M198 155mm howitzers | Parachute-qualified |
| 3rd Bn, 321st Field Artillery | Medium Artillery | 24 M198 155mm howitzers | |
| 1st Bn, 377th Airborne Field Artillery | Airmobile Medium Artillery | 24 M198 155mm howitzers | Air Assault-qualified |
| A Co, 511th Airborne Infantry | Guided Missile | EFOG-M | Test unit for Enhanced Fiber Optically Guided Missile |
National Guard Augmentation for
XVIII Corps Artillery:
103rd FA Brigade (RI/ME - 2 155mm towed
Bns: 1-103, 1-104?)
113th FA Brigade (NC - 2 8" Bns: 4-113, 5-113)
196th FA Brigade (TN - 1 MLRS, 3 155mm towed Bn:
1-181,1-115, 2-115, 3-115)
197th FA Brigade (NH - 2 155mm towed Bn: 1-172,
2-197)
| Unit ID | Unit Type | Weapon Systems | Notes |
| 2nd Bn, 43rd Air Defense Artillery | Corps Air Defense | 6 Patriot batteries |
| Unit ID | Unit Type | Weapon Systems | Notes |
| 159th Avation Regiment | Combat Support | ||
| 1st Bn, 159th Avation | Command/Support | OH-58 & UH-60 | |
| 2nd Bn, 159th Avation | Medium Lift Helicopter | 48 CH-47 | one company is National Guard |
| 229th Avation Regiment | Attack Helicopter | ||
| 1st Bn, 229th Avation | Attack Helicopter | 24 AH-64 | |
| 2nd Bn, 229th Avation | Attack Helicopter | 24 AH-64 | conversion unit at Avation school |
| 3rd Bn, 229th Avation | Attack Helicopter | 24 AH-64 |
National Guard augmentation:
159th Avation Regiment:
6-159 Avn (UH-60) GA NG
1-169 Avn (UH-1H) CT NG
1-224 Avn (UH-60) LA NG
1-131 Avn (UH-60) AL NG
449th Avation Regiment:
1-130 Avn (AH-64) NC NG
1-151 Avn (AH-64) SC NG
20th Engineer Brigade (Airborne)
Location: Ft Bragg NC
two general support, one topographic Engineer battalions