Students train on the mock door, the foot tower and the lateral drift apparatus. Tower Week completes the Soldier's individual skill training and further builds team effort skills. To go forward to Jump Week, Soldiers must qualify on the Swing Lander Trainer SLT , master the mass exit procedures from the foot tower, gain canopy confidence and learn how to manipulate the parachute from the foot tower, and pass all physical training requirements. Successful completion of the previous weeks of training prepares Soldiers for Jump Week.
During Jump Week, Soldiers must successfully complete five jumps at 1, feet from a C or C aircraft. Paratroopers who successfully meet course requirements are granted an additional skill identifier and are authorized to wear the coveted "Silver Wing" on their uniform.
The purpose of the Basic Airborne Course BAC is to qualify individuals in the use of the parachute as a means of combat deployment and to develop leadership, self-confidence, and an aggressive spirit through mental and physical conditioning. Airborne Soldiers have a long and distinguished tradition of being an elite body of fighting men and women — people who have always set the example for determination and courage.
Graduation is normally conducted at during the summer months and during the winter months on Friday of Jump Week at the south end of Eubanks Field on the Airborne Walk. However, if weather or some other reason delays the scheduled jumps, graduation may be conducted on Fryar Drop Zone DZ one hour after the last jump hits the ground.
Guests and family members are welcome to observe all of the jumps at Fryar Drop Zone, attend the graduation ceremony, and participate in awarding the wings to their paratrooper. Drive to the right around LAAF. There is a steel cable that runs from the top down to ground level about fifty yards away; it's similar to a short zip line. The trainee wears a harness of webbing the same as a real parachute; straps around your thighs and around your shoulders converging at the center of your chest with a round buckle, or quick release plate where the four straps converge.
It's similar to the straps in your car, but with the four straps inserted into the metal buckle. When you punch the buckle as you would after landing a parachute jump, the straps release along with the parachute attached.
In this case there is no parachute, just the straps. For the 34 foot tower jump your real reserve chute is attached in the front about where your belly button is located, to two metal D rings at your side. The purpose of the exercise is to simulate an actual exit from the airplane and the feel of the downward fall from the airplane. What it does not simulate is the prop blast from the powerful engines of a real airplane that propels you backward, nor gravity dropping the parachutist.
It would be a back and down motion. In a real jump from an airplane as powerful as a C the force is about 3-Gs. And, of course for military jumps the exit doors are actually at the back of the plane, one on each side. From the tower there is enough speed and fall to give you a feel of when a chute would open and the incredible jerk, especially in the groin area. If you have not tightened your straps sufficiently you can really hurt yourself.
You should get the picture: tight straps but not over your important body parts. The cadre are also watching your exit to see it is accurate with head tucked in, knees together and bent slightly. Frankly, on my first jump from the tower I was a tad scared. We had obviously seen others go and not hurt themselves. I still remember an old adage for such activity - "trust your equipment," but until you've done it a lot, it's still a bit scary.
My turn. I make two jumps. The first not bad, but it plain jerks the hell out of me and the speed coming down was much faster than I expected. I also did the standard count of "one thousand", "two thousand," "three thousand," "four thousand. Not the best exit on my part, so, with straps off I'm jogged back to the tower for my second jump and more pushups while waiting my next try. It's impossible to do anything perfect enough to not receive pushups.
If my first exit was average, the second was absolutely terrible, and I seriously injured myself for the first time in the Army. I had not tightened my leg straps nearly enough. The jerk hurt like hell. I thought I might have injured my private parts permanently and might never be able to have sex for the rest of my life. Because the straps were loose the release plate pulled upward, gashed my chin in a major way and I obviously bit down and took a nice chunk out of my tongue.
I bled all over the front of my fatigues, but the injury was not enough for stitches. But, strangely it's fun for me, and we get to do it all week and a little next week.
Even with the pain, I still loved the exercises. Why was I so happy? Adventures are always fun. Unfortunately, the weather was taking a turn for the worse.
Serious cold weather was coming in. For Georgia this was not normal. The next day I'm still woozy from the bloody jump. My tongue is swollen and sore, my head aches, my jaw aches, my throat is sore, I can barely talk, and I have an upset stomach. Good thing it was Friday because I'm a complete wreck.
No sick call, though. If I lose four hours training time in one week I get to return to "Go" and start all over again. No "Get out of jail card" here; they recycle you. And, no one wants to go through this hell more than once. Next up the foot tower. The tower holds four parachutes which are much larger than normal. With the enlarged size it allows for more air within the parachute, thus allowing you to come down more slowly. And, they have the ground all around the area plowed, making it less likely for someone to get hurt.
I'm actually amazed at the whole training. I've become less afraid of each new piece of equipment, such as the tower. You're simply attached and hauled up to maximum height of feet, then with a clank you're released. They simply want to see that you can keep clear of the tower by feeling the direction of the wind then climbing the risers the straps attaching the individual to the actual parachute to push you in the right direction.
It is all very cool and I had a blast. I passed that phase with ease. I'm ready to go back up for a re-do. But, now I've got other problems. I'm as sick as I've ever been in my life. It is much more than a cold. A terrible hacking cough. The minimum requirements are as follows: Age: Must be less than 36 years old on the date of application.
Hold your nose, close your mouth, and blow. Your ears have to pop. Keep in mind that this is based on the standards for those 17 — 21 years old. Sit-Ups min. Doing better on the test will not increase your chances of going to Airborne school.
Army Basic Training It should go without saying that successfully completing Basic Training is the main qualification for a recruit before entering Airborne School. For recruits straight out of infantry training, Airborne School will seem like a vacation. When do I sign up for Airborne School? You also need to have clear Ipro safety glasses, as well as a strap to keep them on your head. Your patrol cap is the only headgear you will wear, other than your Kevlar helmet.
Also, bring plain white or black socks no logos , and they need to be covering the ankles. This is often one of the most overlooked things most guys forget to bring. They should be lightweight, but good enough to run in. Also, make sure they have solid ankle support. You should also bring a combination lock.
Bring an extension cord and a power strip and your fellow recruits will love you for it. Make sure you lock up all of your stuff at the beginning of each training day, though. Image credit: Yourbestdigs. Another thing that you should bring to Airborne School is headphones. Food: No food is allowed. Pets: Seriously, who brings their pets to Airborne School? So how long is Airborne School? Ground Week Week 1 In the first week, an Airborne school recruit can expect to spend a lot of time familiarizing him or herself with: The equipment a paratrooper uses How to properly put on a parachute rig , and Classes on jumping procedures In this week, you will not complete any actual jumps.
Source: Wikimedia. You will practice the PLF from a variety of heights, progressively getting higher. When you hit the ground, you need to do so in a way to prevent yourself from getting injured. Source: Army. With that said, accidents do happen. You will learn the various recovery procedures for any and all types of chute malfunctions, including: Cigarette rolls: A partial malfunction that happens when the chute provides no lift capability.
Streamers: Also a partial malfunction involving a loss of lift. A streamer malfunction is when a parachute is deployed but fails to inflate properly. Collisions And Entanglements Another emergency procedure you will train for is collisions and entanglements. Like this… You will discuss several instances when this can happen, and go over the proper recovery procedures in excruciating detail.
Emergency Landings As mentioned earlier, the type of parachute used in Airborne school is not the kind that you can steer around.
Benning Ft. Try to have fun with it! Jump Week Week 3 Lastly, the third and final week, Jump Week, is when the recruit gets to put all of his or her theory into practice. Source: flickr. So expect to be sitting around a lot. Once your Chalk is called, you will shuffle out to either a C or a C and load up.
Airborne school students loaded up in a C 17 So how many jumps do you do in airborne school? The last jump the recruit does in Airborne School is a combination combat jump and night jump. Source: AF. Is Airborne School Really Difficult? Any special advice or tips? It goes without saying that jumping out of an airplane is extremely dangerous. However, most injuries in Airborne School occur during other phases of the training.
The most common injuries include: Physical injuries sustained during routine training. Injuries sustained from equipment. Injury sustained from static lines. Mid-air collisions Parachute failure extremely rare Injuries sustained from landings. Author Recent Posts. Elie P. Elie Piha served as a paratrooper in the US Army from to He currently works as a writing tutor, a freelance writer, and a bartender, is completing a novel based on his time in Afghanistan, and is pursuing graduate school.
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