06-17-2010, 00:27
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#16
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kent, Wa.
Posts: 504
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Robin Sage Jump
Middle of the night, dark as heck. Bobbed wire fence on the DZ, briefed that there would be chem lights on it  . Not briefed that they would be the mini-chem lights  . landed well before I thought I would. Ouch  .
Blue
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Blue
NOUS DEFIONS
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bluebb is offline
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06-17-2010, 02:06
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#17
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Eastern Panhandle, WV
Posts: 719
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Clear night, 25,000' drop onto Sicily DZ in November 1984. We made a freefall to 3,500' using MC-3s. We faced into the wind but were steadily backing up and saw that we were going into the trees. Kept my rucksack up and my mask on for protection (hated the mask). As we backed up I saw an opening in the trees and hooked a turn for it. As I turned back into the wind at about 100' I saw the reflection of the moon on the "hole". I yelled "WATER", but since I still had on my O2 mask on, I was the only one who heard it before the SPLASH! While under water I struggled to get my harness and rucksack off, determined not to drown. Then it occurred to me . . . STAND UP DUMMIE. I did and the water was about waist deep. I took off my helmet and I heard a bunch of pissed off beavers slapping their tails on the water telling me I wasn't welcome there.
I got picked up in the DZ vehicle. They'd already policed up the rest of the team. There were lots of comments about "the creature from the black beaver pond" and lots of laughter. I reminded them that I was the only guy who'd missed a tree that night. 
The good times.  Gosh I miss that stuff!
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Green Light is offline
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06-17-2010, 08:43
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#18
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 20,929
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
Most of our jumps were at night before moonrise or after moonset for obvious reasons - hope that hasn't changed...for obvious reasons.
Richard's $.02  |
I once did a jump with two others into the Fla. Everglades, static line, loaded with equipment. SGM said "You're jumping at midnight, no moon, etc etc etc. I replied, "Let me get this straight, you're making us jump static line into a gator infested area, loaded with equipment into the pitch black. Every body of water in that area has a gator attached to it. Should make a great headline the next morning."
We jumped at EENT instead.
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Team Sergeant is offline
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06-17-2010, 12:00
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#19
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Georgetown, SC
Posts: 4,204
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Gatun DZ, Panama CZ - normally a 'bog' with tall 'elephant grass' but during the short 'dry' season it could get like concrete!
Oro Grande, NM - night jump, missed the 'real' DZ due to great JM-USAF work. Lotsa rocks (BFRs), yucca spines, and 'gopher-like' holes to trap your foot. Fun!
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"I took a different route from most and came into Special Forces..." - Col. Nick Rowe
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ZonieDiver is offline
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06-17-2010, 12:14
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#20
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Area Commander
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Clay House Stuttgart, Germany
Posts: 2,665
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Jumped into Ft. Bliss, TX on our way to Orogrande, NM for desert training in late '86. It had just rained like hell for a few hours before we jumped and after landing everyone was covered from head to toe with mud. A number of us got even more soiled after we tried to push a 2 1/2 out that got stuck.
Training with the 1st Moroccan Airborne Brigade near Rabat in April of '85. The DZ was covered with sheep that began to run in all directions as we started hitting the ground.
I don't seem to have that type of fun anymore...
Last edited by mojaveman; 06-17-2010 at 15:13.
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mojaveman is offline
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06-17-2010, 12:41
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#21
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Undisclosed Safehouse in South Texas
Posts: 573
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Ah, Desperation DZ .... lots of fond memories, including the time we had to abort due to a missle launch...
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nousdefions is offline
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06-17-2010, 12:50
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#22
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Southern Mo
Posts: 1,541
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Guys hung in trees on Ft. Lewis was interesting. Really, really tall trees.
Dude in tree: "Help"
First Sergeant: "Just get out of your harness and climb down, Ranger"
Dude in tree: "F*$k you"
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craigepo is offline
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06-17-2010, 13:19
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#23
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: St. Pauls, NC
Posts: 2,668
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We were performing a night jump using French parachutes (the one with the bar that goes across the chest). It was a mass tactical jump with the Tunisians (that's a long story in itself) but one of our guys later the next day told us his story and it went like this.
I came out and when I looked down some guy was directly below me. I yelled at him to slip away and I slipped to the left, they guy slipped the same way I did. I yelled at him again and I slipped to the right and he did the same. Every time I would slip he would slip in the same direction. That's when I hit the ground and realized I was looking at my shadow on the ground (it was a full moon).
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alelks is offline
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06-17-2010, 14:39
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#24
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Asset
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Spokane, WA
Posts: 34
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Best and worst
1967, Tolz, winter...tailjumped a 123, no winds and landed in 3 feet of snow. It was like a featherbed!
Worst...Tolz, one guy went through a barn roof and another collapsed a chimney. He didn't walk for a while.
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Bad Tolz is offline
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06-17-2010, 16:14
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#25
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: 11 miles from Dove Creek, Colorady
Posts: 3,924
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebb
Middle of the night, dark as heck. Bobbed wire fence on the DZ, briefed that there would be chem lights on it . Not briefed that they would be the mini-chem lights . landed well before I thought I would. Ouch .
Blue |
Managed to come down with the balls of my feet perfectly on top of a barb wire fence post. The night was darker than Drill Sergeant's heart. I assumed I was on the ground and did a plf. Imagine my surprise. At least I missed the wire.
Although it would have broken my fall. 
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I am the most offending soul alive."
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Lazy Bob Ranch
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Utah Bob is offline
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06-17-2010, 16:50
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#26
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Quiet Professional (RIP)
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Carriere,Ms.
Posts: 6,922
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Middle of the night,dark as hell,looking down and seeing the main power lines feeding the town of Joliet,Ill. and surrounding area.........I started cursing the pilot,the jump master and any others that came to mind..........I was drifting right toward them and my T10 parachute couldn't help my effort to miss them........I landed in the middle of those power lines which were on each side of me and thank JC for protecting me on that jump ............ Closest I ever came to being fried..........
Big Teddy
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SFA M-2527, Chapter XXXVII
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greenberetTFS is offline
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06-17-2010, 16:53
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#27
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: NorCal
Posts: 15,370
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Trees aren't the only obstacles found on small DZs...a moonless night tactical jump into a mountain pasture near Bad Reichenhall - JR ENGR on the team landed on a cow who immediately bolted for about 10' and stopped - JR ENGR was thrown, failed to do a good PLF when he hit the ground, and broke his tibia.
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02
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“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
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Richard is offline
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06-17-2010, 16:59
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#28
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BANNED USER
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,751
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
JR ENGR on the team landed on a cow who immediately bolted for about 10' and stopped - JR ENGR was thrown, failed to do a good PLF when he hit the ground, and broke his tibia.
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yeah, but did he last 8 seconds?
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Dozer523 is offline
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06-18-2010, 06:49
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#29
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: NorCal
Posts: 15,370
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dozer523
yeah, but did he last 8 seconds?
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Pete's feet landed on the cow - cow bolted - Pete hit the ground in probably what was one of the worst PLFs ever performed by a paratrooper - didn't last 1 second.
This was pre-NVG routine usage and our ' auxilliary' went looking for him when he didn't show up at the IRP or ARP within the specified time - he was still lying where he had landed - they almost stepped on him before finding him as it was pitch black and they were still operating in the tactical role-playing mode - they said he was lying there leaning against his ruck and going "Psssst...psssst....over here!" in a loud whisper when they found him.
Richard
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“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
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Richard is offline
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06-18-2010, 09:29
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#30
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 20,929
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We did the infil jump for O&I, a twin Otter I think, static line. We jumped, chute opened and "one" second later I hit the ground. To this day I'd swear we jumped no more than 200-250 AGL.
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Team Sergeant is offline
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