Feet & Knees together

2,684 Views | 15 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by champagnepapi
champagnepapi
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Currently at the final phase, jump week.


Anyone been through a long time ago or have some good Airborne stories?
45-70Ag
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AG
Went through in '03
Kind of uneventful
Scared the you know what out of myself

Are the towers closed?
champagnepapi
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Still in use however I hear students will actually use them once in a blue moon.

Requires a huge detail and just another way to get hurt.
Swing Your Saber
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The Army's equivalent of a theme park, enjoy it!

Towers were closed when I went as well. Storms and high wind. Class ahead and behind got to go, watching them I am not sure I missed much.

Being in an Airborne unit is a lot of fun. Hopefully you will get the chance to jump out of some wild aircraft.

Funny story: I went to Airborne school while at A&M, and always wrote my family two letters, one for my mom and one for my dad. My mom's letters all painted it as this fun happy go lucky super safe environment. My dad's letters were about spot on. She found out years later. We still laugh about it.
AEK
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You are going at a good time of year. Not too hot so they probably won't push hydration as much as they would in summertime. Still, watch out how much water you consume. You can be in the harness for a few hours as I recall and it can be torture if you have to pee. I remember the priorities of work being PLF, pop canopy release (so you don't get drug across the DZ), pee, remove harness, roll chute and put in kit bag, move out smartly

BLUF. Always pee one last time before you get in the harness. Trust me!
2004FIGHTINTXAG
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Went in 2006. Three weeks of learning how to fall down correctly. That and train to time.

Went to Pensacola every weekend. Damn near missed the Sunday evening muster before jump week. My buddy and I averaged 95mph all the way back from FL. Made it with five minutes to spare.
SECeded
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tgray99
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AG
Hit shift & rotate
DevilD77
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Waaaaay back in the summer of '78 I went through the Airborne course. Now come Thursday night of ground week, most of us were still feeling muscles we didn't know we had. My stomach muscles were just a little tender. We were in the day room warching TV in the evening when Mork and Mindy premiered with Robin Williams and Janet Dawson. We were laughing and crying at the same time. Humor and pain, what a combination.
CT'97
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Swing Your Saber said:

The Army's equivalent of a theme park, enjoy it!

That's my description of it as well. Really long lines for a few not so great rides. I'm glad I went through after I commissioned and not as a cadet. I had a large contingent of USMA cadets in my class and they took all the attention from the black hats. I was glad I wasn't those guys.
champagnepapi
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Graduated yesterday afternoon on the drop zone! Most exciting week of my life, minus the harness shed.....

The T-11 parachute made for some soft landings. I imagine some of you older guys had a faster drop.
AEK
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Congrats on losing your leg status and earning your wings. If you are heading to an Airborne unit, enjoy it! My 8 years in Division were the best in my career. Get your cherry jump out of the way and start working toward getting your star. The AAS is a tough course but being a JM is where it's at.
Lobster Twins
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Congrats Airborne!

I think the Airborne School jumps are by far the worst so every one you have after this should be a better experience. Different planes, maybe helicopters, less people and more efficient.

Have they remodeled or moved to another facility? One memory I have is that nasty barracks we had to stay in. I stayed in a lot of nasty places while I was in but that was by far the worst.

I went through the school back in January of 2003 during what is probably the one thing that can make that type of school really suck...bitter cold. After just having done Infantry training on the other side of Benning I was positive that Georgia was the coldest place on the planet. Of course, no snivel gear was really the root of the problem. The conditions were always so bad that we had to sit there with all our gear on waiting...and waiting...for hours on each jump. I just remember being so uncomfortable, having to take a whiz (nope), can't feel your fingers...because pockets aren't for hands to keep warm...and make sure you keep your bare hands out on your reserve at all times.

On a few of the nights it was well below freezing but the day of our final jump I believe it was in the single digits. We must have sat in that hangar for 4 or 5 hours with all our gear on. I think they finally said 'F it" and put us in the air. Circles upon circles later (and a whole lot of puking by some) They started pushing us out the doors. No one had any dexterity left in their fingers or toes so even exiting the aircraft was a cluster F because you couldn't walk right. We heard a dude at one point bounce off the side of the plane...and that was only confirmed by the wide eyes on a few of the jump masters who stopped to look. Funny and scary as hell at the same time.

Finally the best thing about any jump...no more plane, no more smell, it doesn't seem like anyones going to hit me so I enjoy the view for at least 3-4 seconds and then oh sh#t TREES...TREES!!!! There were a few people who landed in trees and I was lucky to avoid them but not by much. I landed in some frozen marsh on the outskirts of the DZ...had no sort of recognizable PLF as my feet hit ice and went flying, hit my head and knocked me silly for a couple seconds. I just remember being happy to be done...until suddenly being dragged across this marsh getting mud and ice down my pants because I couldn't force my fingers to pull the canopy release. I must have been dragged 40 or 50 feet. When I finally got it pulled by wedging my useless fingers in there all I could do is lay there and laugh. I limped in like I had just gotten hit by a car and got my badge. And hell yeah I'd do it over again...preferably in another season! Airborne!

I went through with about 20 or so 'battle buddies' from basic so that was fun. More fun was that our Drill Sgt went through the course with us. He was from Compton, CA and about the most intimidating DS you can imagine. Very squared away and eyes of a hawk. He was pretty widely known as that DS you don't want to have one on one time with. It didn't take long for us to realize he didn't have much power any more over us so he got a fair share of verbal harassment when he would mess up during PT or somewhere else. He was a good sport about it and we even saw him smile a couple times.

There was also rumor that some SEALS in the class before ours climbed to the top of the towers one night to do pull-ups and got kicked out of the course. May have been a rumor for years and years.

Ahh the memories...
champagnepapi
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Man it sounds like you had a hell of a time at Airborne School.

Those barracks you speak of are now torn down and one still stands waiting to be demolished. Looks like hell. Officers and senior NCOs live the high life in Abrams Hall, on-post hotel rooms with all the bells and whistles. Someone made my bed every morning. Room all to myself tv, fridge stove and so on.

I must of had the best weather ever for the month of February you could ask for. Made some good friends and memories. But hours in the harness shed was indeed the most miserable part of the school.
Hey Nav
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Quote:

Someone made my bed every morning. Room all to myself tv, fridge stove and so on.
You joined the Air Force just to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft 5 times ?
Trench55
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For what it's worth ( which is about what you're paying for it ) I went through Airborne School in July 1966 under cat 5 heat warning the entire three weeks. Almost all training at Fort Benning was shut down except Airborne School. Next stop Fort Riley, Kansas, 9th Infantry Division and on to Vietnam.
champagnepapi
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Hey Nav said:

Quote:

Someone made my bed every morning. Room all to myself tv, fridge stove and so on.
You joined the Air Force just to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft 5 times ?


I'm in the Army. 11A.
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