View Full Version : Foreign Jump Wings
mojaveman
08-24-2015, 21:59
Ok, I'll start. I earned mine in Morocco in '85. I almost got a set of Eqyptian wings but a safety officer from the 18th Airborne Corps deemed an Egyptian Mi-8 unsafe to jump for some reason. That was at Cairo West during Operation Bright Star.
So, who has the largest collection of wings? The most exotic? The hardest to earn?
Hmm, I got a few. no pics though. Belgium, Egyptian, Sudanese, Kenyan, British and UAE. been a coupla places I guess...
I should plaster'em all over a uniform one day, I'd look like a Spanish General...lolol
The two I wore most often - RTA (Thailand '73) and Battaglione Sabotatori Paracadutisti (Italy '76) - less often Brazil ('72) and BW (Germany '77).
Richard
1stindoor
08-25-2015, 06:22
Paraguayan were my favorite pair since I earned them in their aircraft flying over their country with their jumpmasters. At the time they were also fairly rare in the community. I also have Bolivian jump and jumpmaster wings, and a couple of others I "earned" during toy drops.
Kenya (Both Basic & Dispatcher) , Sudan, Pakistan and Zaire.
Got two jumps towards my French wings. One in Africa and one in France. Don't think I'll get the other three jumps in.
You can tell me and Glebo were hitting the same dirt.
Germany, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador (JM), Colombia (JM)
I should plaster'em all over a uniform one day, I'd look like a Spanish General...lolol
We used to have monthly 'Pay Day' formations in the 7th SFGA out on Alamo Field in either Class A (greens) or B (khakis/TWs) uniform.
One time our Group Cdr (COL Love) said he was tired of the senior NCOs not wearing all their authorized A&Ds (most just wore a CIB/CMB and parachute badge), and ordered them to wear ALL their awards for the next monthly formation.
The following month, as ordered, many of them then showed up with a half-dozen or so foreign wings and badges...and looked like some DPRK GO. The guys over in Center, IMA, and the 5th SFGA thought it was hilarious and the jokes came fast and furious.
That ended that, and things quickly returned to the way they had been. ;)
Richard
Most proud of my Egyptian wings, "earned" on a Bright Star. I was ADVON for 2/75, airlanded never jumped, but was somehow manifested:p.
Tunisian, German, Norwegian, Danish, Aussie, Poland.
Jordanian and Honduran jump wings, Jordanian Divers badge.
Team Sergeant
08-25-2015, 09:43
Ok, I'll start. I earned mine in Morocco in '85. I almost got a set of Eqyptian wings but a safety officer from the 18th Airborne Corps deemed an Egyptian MI-8 unsafe to jump for some reason. That was at Cairo West during Operation Bright Star.
So, who has the largest collection of wings? The most exotic? The hardest to earn?
North Korean
I'd tell you the story but......:munchin
Divemaster
08-25-2015, 11:16
Thai army, Thai marine corps, Philippines
The Reaper
08-25-2015, 11:48
Italian, Honduran, Paraguayan, Uruguayan, Colombian, Argentinian.
Some MFF, some static line, some both.
TR
Jump wings "earned": US, Italian, Thai, Cambodian.
I'd love to jump with a Polish jump master. Coolest looking wings ever.
Dutch and Latvian...I don't know many with the Latvian wings. Both static line.
I have the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge as well.
For those with Canadian wings, they are not authorized for some damn reason. New update to the reg only has aviator wings (officer only). If you were a participant in Menton Days, toy drop or other exchange and got the wings, you can't wear them. Not sure why, but I had to show one of my guys. He was poopoo faced.
let's see....Norwegian, Spanish, Moroccan....Jordanian, ...this is special Zaire Halo Wings, French, and think that's it.
I have Viet wings annotated on my DD214 but never jumped in RVN altho worked with ARVN Airborne so they don't count.
I've no idea how they got there and didn't bring it up as my DD214 was 'done'.
UWOA (RIP)
08-26-2015, 08:04
Jump wings "earned": US, Italian, Thai, Cambodian.
I'd love to jump with a Polish jump master. Coolest looking wings ever.
I'm half-Polish, does that qualify?
.
I'm half-Polish, does that qualify?
.
Lol, which half?
Chairborne64
08-26-2015, 13:21
British ones are the ones I felt I earned as we jumped their chutes, planes and used their Jumpmaster (dispatcher). I have several others but I think it is cheating when you are using your stuff and airframes.
British ones are the ones I felt I earned as we jumped their chutes, planes and used their Jumpmaster (dispatcher). I have several others but I think it is cheating when you are using your stuff and airframes.
Yeah, I guess but wtf...it's just a jump...not much of an event.
2018commo
08-26-2015, 13:56
German, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish.
In 1988 I was given a pair of Russian wings after a wind dummy drop with some questionable characters at the World Skydiving Championships in France. No orders, but those guys were not skydivers either...
...I think it is cheating when you are using your stuff and airframes.
We used to have to make the 5 requisite jumps with them using their a/c and equipment to be awarded their wings, and they had to do the same with us to be awarded ours.
The thing that was different was that you did not have to attend an advanced airborne school to be awarded senior or master wings; if you had senior wings you were awarded their senior wings and if you had master wings you were awarded their master wings as well.
For my wings:
5 jumps with the Brazilian Fuerzas Especiales from their Buffalo (C-7)
5 jumps with the IT Battaglione Sabotatori Paracadutisti from their NordAtlas (C-119)
5 jumps with the RTSF Krungropeset from their C-123/UH-1. This one took the longest to achieve because the first big gas crisis hit while we were there ('73-'74) and it became a challenge to get the fuel allocated for the jumps.
5 jumps with the BW Luftlandeschule from their C-160 Transall/CH-53
This is the jump 'certificate' (a registered ID card really) from the Italians - the bronze look is because we'd just returned from nearly 2 weeks on the Med in an IBS participating in ocean survival training and tactical exercises.
I'd like to jump into Normandy during the annual D-Day festivities wearing a WW2 paratrooper's kit. :cool:
Now I understand they do an annual holiday jumpfest at Fort Bragg where wings are basically exchanged upon making 1 multinational jump. Things change - and so it goes...
Richard
US
earned during a combined exercise in Germany. included jumps with US gear out german aircraft and vice versa.
alongside with belgium and french those are the most common for german airborne personnel.
But if you want good looking wings : it's the same as with women
go swedish.