FOB Kutchsbach. The 2nd Battalion remained predominantly in the Khost province, with slice elements in Paktika and Kandahar provinces as well. The fighting for the 2nd Battalion was particularly stiff and the unit lost seven soldiers in multiple engagements with the enemy during its deployment. In March 2009 the 506th redeployed back to Fort Campbell.
Thus in July 2010 the 2nd Battalion “White Currahees” began to prepare for its second Afghan deployment. In a ceremony, the 2nd Battalion’s Commander Lieutenant Colonel Donn Hill and his senior enlisted member Command Sergeant Major Christopher Menton cased the battalion’s colors ahead of the unit’s forward mobilization for OEF X-XII.  By late August that same year, a majority of the 2nd Battalion had established their positions throughout Paktika Province in the Gomal, Bermel, Gayan, Zerok, Sarobi, and Orgun districts. During the 2nd Battalion’s tenure in Afghanistan the unit would work tirelessly under the organization of Task Force “White Currahee” and achieved such notable accomplishments as the largest Combined Air Assault in the 506th Brigade’s history to that date into Charbaran Valley on October 27th.  Later in April 2011 the 2nd Battalion also launched Operation OVERLORD, a joint Afghan National Police and 2nd Battalion air assault into Naka District to clear and eliminate the insurgent staging areas that took months of preparation and planning.  By August 2011 the 2nd Battalion’s deployment in Afghanistan met its closure and the unit again returned to its stateside garrison comfortable in the knowledge that they had provided great security efforts in their area of responsibility while working to improve life for rural Afghans. 
For their efforts in the OEF X-XII deployment, the Command of the 2nd Battalion 506th Infantry established two versions of a deployment challenge coin to present to soldiers in recognition of their accomplishments. When asked about these coins, (then) 2nd Battalion Commander LTC Hill said,
The big thing we wanted was for the Soldiers to be proud of their service and to have a distinctive item that recognized that. Unit esprit was a big focus. Soldiers want to be a part of a special unit and the history of 2-506 served to reinforce that. We wanted them to have something that said they had served in 2-506 and where they had served. These were deployment coins, different from the Commanders excellence coins. These Deployment Coins were for everybody who served on this deployment. “Been there, done that, got the coin.” There were only a few Soldiers who didn’t get one and they didn’t deserve them based on their sub-standard performance and pending UCMJ and separation from the Army.
As such the 2nd Battalion presented a small, and large version of their deployment challenge coin (both with the same design). The smaller measures approximately 3” and the larger is 3.5” and both deployment coins use a base of highly polished brass for both sides of the coin.
Taken from the 506th “bug” the obverse features the famed pocket-patch worn during World War II. The origins of the bug are lost; however, the background is azure blue, which represents the Infantry (it should be noted the only variation between the versions of the 2nd Battalion’s 2010-2011 Deployment Challenge Coin is in the larger version the azure blue is instead a highly polished brass). Superimposed is a parachute, which is symbolic of the airborne history of the Regiment. A pair of dice stands for the nickname of the 506th — the “Pair-a-dice Regiment” — and these combined with the adjoining circle spells the numerical designation of the Regiment, “Five-O-Six”. The eagle stands for the exalted 101st Grand Eagle, poised and ready to strike. Along an outer edge of the Obverse is a white band where at the top; flanked by black spades (to be explained later) was the unit’s Task Force “White” designation during its 2010-2011 tenure in Afghanistan. On either side of the outer band is the name and rank of the unit’s Commander (LTC Hill on left) and Senior Enlisted (CSM Menton on right). At the bo