101st Airborne to get 12 more Chinooks, 200 soldiers in 'heavy lift' company

The Leaf-Chronicle

The Army has decided to bolster the 101st Airborne Division with an additional company that includes 12 Chinook helicopters and 200 soldiers.

The decision to increase the "heavy lift capacity" of the 101st was announced by Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

“What a win for Fort Campbell," Blackburn said of what she called a "long-sought" activation. "Most importantly, it will increase the ability of the Screaming Eagles to ‘fight tonight’ in this new era of great power competition.”

A hook-up team, consisting of soldiers with 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Strike, attach an M1151 Humvee to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a sling load training exercise July 16 2016, in Taji, Iraq.

In her position on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Blackburn has pushed for the activation of a heavy lift company within the 101st, through avenues including public hearings and the annual National Defense Authorization Act, according to a news release.