What exactly do airborne troops do?

1. Jump out of plane
2. Land safely on ground
3. Gather any supplies dropped during your drop
4. Continue with mission which may include one or more of the following
4a: Provide surveilence for future misions
4b: Eliminate key targets for future misssion
4c: Infiltrate enemy lines an wait for further orders
4d: Be the front line in an offense operation meaning you will likely die
4d-4z: Do whatever your superior officer tells you to do

The 82 airborne does the same thing as most infantry division except they can be deployed in less than 24 hours and they jump out of planes

Vertical Encirclement is an early expression of principle of shock and awe. By dropping from the sky the troops would be able to seize important points such a crossroads, strategic towns, and bridges etc. They are then to hold that position till relieved or destroy the area making it unusable to the enemy and become a mobile strike force disrupting enemy rear communications and reinforcements to support a conventional attack on the enemies front line.
This need for mobility and constant alertness is also one reason for the high physical and mental fitness. The major argument against airborne is that a para Private would be a Sargent in a straight leg unit. A para Sargent could make a good straight leg lieutenant or at least he would keep a lot of troops alive in a regular unit. Paratroopers operate in small units where as, with the training they receive they can keep company or larger force alive. Secondly, since there are difficulty in troops landing in the same area, even using the para-glide, the small strength of the force becomes smaller. The force must be re supplied from the air and has only those weapons it has with it. If you want to learn what difficulty developing an air deliverable tank check out the story of the Sheridan. Ammo, food and reinforcements have to be dropped to the force in the field and they don't always get them.

I'm sorry but I don't agree with any of the answers I've seen for your question yet. It doesn't matter which branch of service your in. It doesn't even have anything to do with what you do when you hit the ground. The title airborne simply means what it says. Airborne only means you jump from planes. All of your other duties falls under different titles. Also, the different breed of soldiers that are considered tougher isn't airborne alone but the main key there is Infantry. They are the tough guys. The infantry are the ones put up on the front lines and sent to strategic places. There are some people who are airborne who never leave the office.

they are pretty much shock troops as mentioned before. they are deployed in situations where regular army units would take too long to be deployed. they carry only enough supplies for short periods of time. just long enough to hold ground until more specialized/larger forces arrive

They preform the same as other troops once on the ground, except that they are strategically placed (usually behind enemy lines) using parachutes. Useful for negotiating an impassable (by road vehicle) mountain range, or as "shock troops" for the element of suprise.

It is also said that this is a tougher type of soldier.

Airborne troops in which service? Army, Marines or AF?

Deliver the babies of skydiving moms? Air-born???
Yeah... I know. Keep my day job. :-/