An elite unit of the US Army is practicing for a potential war with Russia, just a few miles away from Ukraine, at a time when Russia’s defense minister Sergei Shoigu took the rare decision of holding telephone talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin to discuss the war on October 21.
https://eurasiantimes.com/1st-time-in-80-years-us-army-deploys-its-screaming-eagles-ukraine/
The 101st Airborne may have been an elite force in WWII and subsequent wars/conflicts for some time thereafter, however as of 2004 they were in charge of Ramadi, Iraq. When I got there, they were replaced by the US Marines. I spoke to the contractors at the Coalition Provincial Authority base (CPA) about the replacement. The 101st was pulled out because Ramadi was out of control. The upper command of the 101st lost some men in ambushes, so they adopted a cut and run tactic when being hit. They would push through and move forward to get out of the ambush zone. Some distance away, they would regroup and then come back to engage. By the time they returned, the combatants had melted away. This tactic emboldened the enemy and the number of attacks became more frequent and more bold. Just before I arrived there, the 101st had been withdrawing and the Marines were replacing them. The Marine Corps had no "cut and run" policy. When they were ambushed on the streets, the Marines dismounted and engaged and then pursued the enemy until they managed to escape or were all killed. Needless to say, it turned into a very quiet place for insurgents. An occasional mortar would come into base, but that was it. It did not reflect well on the Commanders of the 101st and whomever they answered to. In my experiences in Iraq, there are very good men in the US Army, but I think the Command structure is so filled with incompetence and weakness that I don't have much faith in their fighting ability. Just mho from direct experience.
...excellent addendum....
Look, I gotta say something here since I'm a 2bct vet. Although my time with them was after Ramada, in 2011. Those commanders were relieved and the 101st culture changed rapidly. When the 101st went to rc east in Afghanistan after Iraq they fared much better and had no such tactic. We don't run from anyone. The screaming eagles are one of if not the best light infantry force in the US army for a multitude of reasons. Not to mention the most famous historical unit from ww2, holding a few presidential unit citiatations across the division. 2-502 from we were soldiers was turned into 2bct 101st airborne. (1-75 cav. Which is the unit I was in.) Amazing guys. Lastly, just because a unit wants to get out of a killbox doesn't mean they are running. That's ridiculous.
I was detailing my personal experiences. If the 101st returned to their core gallantry, then I am happy. I understand getting out of the killbox, but in ad hoc ambushes, the proper response is dismount and fight. The Marines proved that it was the correct response due to the limited weaponry of the insurgents. The recruited insurgents were fairly amateurish and under equipped. I believe that most of the real resources were directed to Najaf and that AOR was far more dangerous and required different tactics.