501st Infantry Regiment (United States)  The 501st Airborne Infantry Regiment (501st AIR), previously the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (501st PIR) and later 501st Infantry Regiment (501st IR), is an airborne forces regiment of the United States Army, with a long history, having served in World War II and the Vietnam War, both as part of the 101st Airborne Division, as well as the War in Afghanistan. It is the first airborne unit by designation in the United States Armed Forces. Its 1st Battalion is assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, located at Fort Richardson, Alaska. Its 2nd Battalion is assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. "The following history was provided by 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Public Affairs Office." The 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment was activated at Camp Toccoa, Georgia on 15 November 1942. The 501st was part of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II and the Vietnam War. The famous test platoon, the prime ancestor of all American parachute units, provided the nucleus of the 1st Parachute Battalion, which in turn provided part of the cadre, the unit number, the genealogical lineage and the heraldic background of the 501st Parachute Regiment. Its initial group of officers were hand picked by its first commander, Colonel Howard R. Johnson. Known by his peers as "Skeets", he was very much in the swashbuckling mold of most of the original parachute regimental commanders, of whom the popular saying was "To command a parachute unit, you don't have to be nuts, but it helps!" Johnson attended the Naval Academy for two years; he boxed while a midshipman. He had transferred to the Army after leaving Annapolis and had most recently been at the tank destroyer center before volunteering for parachute duty. To say that he took to parachuting is a gross understatement: he ate, slept, and breathed it, and jumped whenever he possibly could, often jumping many times in a single day. His nickname among his men became "Jumping Johnson." He was a zealot on physical conditioning, for himself and everyone in his regiment, and personally led calisthenics, running and all other physical activities. He set a record for running up Currahee Mountain (which loomed over Camp Toccoa) and challenged anyone in the regiment to beat his time.