Popular monthly jumps resume on Fort Bragg
 

Popular monthly jumps resume on Fort Bragg

http://www.fayobserver.com/military/...3ac61d108.html

"When Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend took command of the Home of the Airborne earlier this year, he recognized a problem.

Fort Bragg is home to the 82nd Airborne Division, 18th Airborne Corps and a host of other paratrooper units.

But the soldiers in the famed maroon berets weren't spending enough time falling from the sky.

That was leaving them potentially unprepared to do what many Fort Bragg soldiers train to do - jump anywhere in the world on short notice.

To solve that problem, Townsend - who commands Fort Bragg and the 18th Airborne Corps - has brought back the Saturday Proficiency Jump Program, a monthly event that gives any paratrooper on post the opportunity to take part in a first-come, first-serve airborne operation.

The program was a staple of pre-Sept. 11 Fort Bragg, and could help paratroopers add several jumps a year to their training...."

Some good news from Ft Bragg.

It was a good airborne op. First lift out of Green ramp, remaining EROs Sicily.

For any who are interested, it's T-11 of course. There were also young hooahs who parked and slept at Sicily to get a chute. Arriving at 0400 should be more than early enough. Giving slots started around 0500-0530 IIRC.

Make sure you have your S-3 Air, or the memo stating you've been thru T-11 net training and that you're qualified to jump and not on profile.

Reasoning for the early timeline and large turnout is that since one of the BCTs just got back there's about 1200 paratroopers who need to cover their deployment pay.

Did it once and would have rather lost pay than do it again. Was on the 12 month rule due to a six month deployment. To get our 4th jump, the team did one of these. Showed up at 0130.....and were at the back of the line. Ended up getting manifested on the last of 14 lifts (C-141s) and jumped at 1700.....on a Saturday.

Big.....Giant.....Pain in the ass.

Used to do it ALOT in the early 80's as a junior enlisted guy...when MG Lindsey was the CG and he didn't believe in (rightly so) day jumps for training. In those days they were called "Fun Jumps," and were -1's, at 3000' AGL, usually tailgates, C-7A Caribou's or C-130's, but occasionally UH-1's. :)

We would get a keg, park in on the bleachers at Sicily, put our helmets in line since the unit running it would set up Friday evening, then we would party till they started manifest call, usually around 0600...got three in a day more than once....ah, the good ole days!

MG Steiner came in sometime around '86, and declared there was no such thing as a "fun jump." The Saturday jumps were meant to be an opportunity for troopers to hone their canopy control skills in a daylight, non-tactical environment, and promptly went to T-10's and mass exists at 800' AGL...:mad: kinda took "fun" right out of it!

Now I am paying for each and every one of them every morning when I roll out of bed...:D

Did it twice, once from a Huey when my parents were down for a visit. Easy jump, wave to Mom and Dad on the way down.

Second time I ended up on a CH-47 with a bunch of hooahs from the 82d. Second guy in the stick.

I was pushed off the ramp, practically riding the helmet of the guy in front of me. Watched his static line deploy off the pack tray, slide up the back of my leg (leaving a nice rope burn), d-bag hits my boot, flips me upside down, and I'm now looking at the next guy coming off the ramp with the same, astonished look on his face that I probably just had. There are a lot of jumps I don't remember clearly but I'll never forget that one.

That was the last Saturday morning jump for me.

Steve Townsend was my company commander in Cco 3/75th. Very good leader. Smart and charismatic. Looked out for the troops and trained us well.

He was very young looking and we called him CPT Kid.

Good to see that he made it this far.

Cherry. ;)

I did it in the late 70's when MG Guy S. Malloy was the the Commanding General......:munchin

HaHa...I wore my cherry helmet proudly! Today that would be hazing and would get somebody in some serious trouble!

Had a guest jumper who did it last Saturday. He lined up at 0200 and got on 1st stick. The good ol T11 mass exits resulted in a guy's leg in one of his air vents

Btw, do you gents prefer C-27 or Casa for those "fun jumps" ?
I was pleasantly surprised by lack of prop blast with C27 despite no wind deflector and closer engine to the door

He was the CO of A-4/21 when I was a PL in B-4/21. He always impressed me as a guy that new what he was doing in the field. He took a lot of time to train his LTs and make them tactically proficient.