There comes a time in every paratrooper’s life when the path leads to the “Center of the Universe,” otherwise known as Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Dubbed the “Home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces,” its major units include the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division, United States Special Operations Command (USASOC), United States Forces Command and Army Reserve Command (FORSCOM), and 1st Special Forces Command — which includes 3rd Special Forces Group and 1st Special Warfare Training Group, a.k.a. the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS or “Swick”). As a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Plan, Pope Air Force Base was absorbed into what was Fort Bragg and became Pope Field in 2011. The 43rd Airlift Group is the major Air Force unit at Pope Field.
Fort Bragg has a proud culture and rich history dating back to its beginnings in 1918 as Camp Bragg, an artillery training ground named for the Confederate general Braxton Bragg. A reckoning with the installation’s namesake’s lackluster military career landed Fort Bragg on the list of bases to be renamed, and the only name that was found agreeable to both the Airborne and Special Operations communities was not a name at all but a concept.
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