Eight years ago, the Kremlin annexed the Crimea peninsula, an act globally condemned as breaking international law. Putin has since amassed an estimated 150,000 ground troops near the border of Ukraine, threatening a full-scale invasion. Washington’s response is now reminiscent of the escalations that fueled the ongoing feud between the two superpowers during the Cold War. The Biden administration says that this sudden deployment of paratroopers and other soldiers is not intended as preparation for a fight with the Russians in Ukraine should they invade. Instead, the White House insists that U.S. troops will serve as an element of international aid to Americans and refugees escaping the potential military conflict.

I wish I could believe that.

I wish I could believe that we sent the 82nd anywhere “just to help.” But that’s not what the 82nd does.

I know the level of terror and mayhem just one battalion of elite paratroopers from this division can deliver — because from 2002 to 2006 I was an infantry squad leader in the 82nd helping to deliver it. For context, the 5,000 paratroopers gathering around Ukraine is about 4,500 more than it took us to occupy thousands of square miles in the most dangerous places on Earth during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The 82nd Airborne Division is America’s rapid response infantry. It’s been called “The Presidential Unit,” as it can be ready to deploy to any point on the planet within 18 hours. The division’s unequaled readiness and level of training has made it one of the most utilized divisions since its inception in 1944 — especially over the past two decades. That’s the reason that someone like me, who signed up for just one enlistment, still managed three combat tours.

The 82nd was at the head of the fight in the European theater during WWII, when the Soviet Union was our ally. Military generals agreed that a new strategic and elite fighting unit was need in order to successfully invade Nazi-occupied France, one that could be expected to fight faster, harder and longer than any other troops on the ground. Out of this need came the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the latter of which is no longer active.

Paratroopers arrive on the field of battle by hurling themselves out of a moving airplane, oftentimes while under enemy fire. Their arrival in Europe marked the first time in the war that the Germans faced a formidable enemy. Those paratroopers were the tip of the spear in the victory at Normandy and the eventual defeat of the Nazi party.

During Vietnam, the 82nd Airborne was used in the cities of Hue and Khe Sanh, the bloodiest locations during and after the Tet Offensive of 1968. Since Vietnam, the 82nd is the only conventional military unit to engage in direct infantry and combat action in Grenada, Panama and the First Gulf War.

The 82nd has only been sent on one significant modern day peacekeeping mission — to provide extra security to the streets of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Most of the soldiers who went there were fresh back from a tour in Iraq. They were sent there to strike fear into the hearts of an already disenfranchised people — and it worked.

82nd Airborne paratroopers are not aid workers. They are not peacekeepers. They are not humanitarians. They are elite killers who train day in and day out to execute the bloodiest of missions.

I hold my time in the 82nd Airborne Division with equal parts pride and shame. Pride in knowing that I was part of one of the best fighting units the world has ever known. And shame in knowing what that means when you’re actually on the ground.

I say all this to hammer home the point that the 82nd Airborne is not deployed lightly. If paratroopers are on the ground, it means a fight is almost certainly imminent. As a student of history, and as a veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, I’m now dripping with unease.

At best, this deployment of paratroopers is a major show of force to Putin, stating that America will not stand by and let Russia invade Ukraine without a fight. At worst … frankly, I don’t want to speak it into being.

The ranks of the 82nd are made up of career combat soldiers. They are the very best at what they do. But, make no mistake, what they do is swiftly and efficiently kill enemy combatants.

Joseph Holsworth is a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is the author of two novels and holds a masters in fine arts in writing from California College of the Arts.