FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Most farewell ceremonies include speeches, well-wishes and good-byes. But the XVIII Airborne Corps does things a little differently and says farewell with one last static line jump from 1,300 feet. And that's exactly what XVIII Airborne Corps Deputy Commanding General Maj. Gen. Daniel Allyn did on April 2 at the Sicily Drop Zone. He said farewell as only an airborne Paratrooper could. "This was an extraordinary send-off for one proud paratrooper," Allyn said. "To spend my last few hours under silk with the finest war fighting Corps in the world was pretty sweet." Allyn came to Fort Bragg in June 2007 and his first assignment was as the XVIII Airborne Corps chief of staff. He deployed for 15 months to Iraq in that position at Multi-National Corps-Iraq. In April 2009 he assumed the role of deputy commanding general and earned his second star. Allyn is no stranger to Fort Bragg. He was stationed here with the 82nd Airborne Division on two separate occasions. From 1982 to 1985, he served with 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He returned in 1992 to serve as commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team and in 1995, he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team until 1998. In addition to two deployments to Iraq, Allyn most recently deployed with the Corps to Haiti in support of Operation Unified Response. He has been awarded the Silver Star and Defense Superior Service Medal among others throughout his career, which began in 1981 when he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. During the ceremony on Friday he was awarded the Legion of Merit. "He was one of the very first Soldiers on the ground in Haiti," said Lt. Gen. Frank Hemlick, XVII Airborne Corps commanding general. "He started with nothing on Jan. 12...nothing worked. Dan Allyn and the Corps and 82nd Airborne Division tried to make something out of the chaos that was down there. When he finished, about 60 days later, Haiti was much better off than they were before the earthquake...the U.S. military saved a country and I attribute a lot of that to Dan Allyn's leadership." Ninety Soldiers, including Hemlick, joined Allyn for his last descent over Fort Bragg. They jumped from a C-130H Hercules aircraft that has special meaning to the XVIII Airborne Corps-the nose art of the aircraft was dedicated to the Corps by the 440th Airlift Wing last summer. The C-130 nose is painted with the XVIII Airborne Corps patch, master parachutist badge and the American and Army flags and was done to celebrate the 65th Anniversary of the Corps. He leaves Fort Bragg to assume command of the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. His wife, Deb, and children, Josh and Danielle, will join him. "To the team, this great team that you see represented here is the finest team," he said. "It's an awesome assemblage and it was an unbelievably humbling honor to have been a part of it."
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