re: To my fellow paratroopers, past and present...

Worked with 101 Airborne in Vietnam…..great group

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He ain't done shite. He doesn't have a CIB.

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I always felt like the CIB was a little biased since you can engage or be engaged by the enemy without being infantry or spec-ops. They rectified that about 20 years ago with the CAR.

Damn you

We need to get together when you come down to Florida my leatherneck brother

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I don't get the big deal about him trying to make a distinction about Airborne. It isn't like the distinction between a tabbed vs scrolled Ranger.

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I have no idea what is the point he is trying to make. It gives me the impression that he has never read an MTO&E in his life.

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Airborne units are legit. I agree basic airborne school is more of a rights of passage tho. I’m a “five jump chump” as well. NEVER had to jump again after airborne school.

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The easiest thing about being a paratrooper is jump school. It's everything that happens afterwards that's challenging.

One of my coworkers showed up to his unit. Fresh out of jump school he rolled out for his first run with his unit. He told the guy next to him "this isn't bad". He said the guy said "just wait". They ran 13 miles for PT that day.

We jumped a lot. It got to the point I wasn't the least bit scared. I deployed for Desert Shield / Storm. When I got back my first jump was door position (Hollywood) and I was terrified. I told the jumpmaster to grab my harness until he saw the green light. He just laughed and said "no problem".

It was a great jump

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We jumped a lot. It got to the point I wasn't the least bit scared.

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Not sure why, but I did not get to the point where I did not have nightmares/the shakes the night before until I got around thirty jumps. For whatever reason, it became much easier for me at that point.

Yup agreed, I was at Pendleton for most of my service so weather wasn’t an issue but if we got in a jump every other month it seemed
The waiting always sucked
shite this thread got me remembering my cherry jump, mass tac with the 101st at night @600’
Probably looked liked one of those guys in that vid

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Not sure why, but I did not get to the point where I did not have nightmares/the shakes the night before until I got around thirty jumps. For whatever reason, it became much easier for me at that point.

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Everything was fine and dandy until I jumped a 141 onto Panther DZ at Ft. Drum. I was jumping the right door and for some reason I fell forward and hit the rear edge of the door and went out backwards.

When I was finally able to look up my suspension lines were so twisted my chute looked like a Dixie cup. It was open and I went to bicycling like I was in the tour de France. About that time I hear "slip away". The jumper out the other door is in a similar situation as I am. I think the plane must have jigged sideways or something.

It was an exhibition jump for some politician so we were jumping at about 1000 feet. I was able to get a full canopy by the time I hit the ground. After that, I was a bit apprehensive.

I will say this, God loves a paratrooper. I think it's because we truly understand what faith is. I've seen a few times where folks should have died and didn't.

I'll post a pic later. My squad leader broke his pelvis on a jump. My dad was a the jump and caught a pic of his malfunction.





We didn't think he was that high when his chute folded up. Years later I saw these pics and realized how high he was.

He said someone got under him and "stole his air"