Airborne Archives
RIP: Sgt Jeremiah McGraw, USMCR
By Lt Col P
He will be missed, but never forgotten.
Godspeed to you, Marine.
Monday Motivation
By Lt Col P
(U.S. Air Force and Army paratroopers jump from the tail gate of a new C-130J Super Hercules cargo aircraft during its first personnel drop over southern Germany, May 4, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kenny Holston)
Good shot, KENNY, and a nice day for a jump too.
Drill Weekend Jump
By Lt Col P
Just got the pics from last weekend's jump action. We did two days of jumps to keep our jumpmasters current, and to take another chunk out of the ongoing SF-10 transition.
The Marines of VMGR-452 provided the plane.
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Rockin' and a-Jumpin'
By Bull Nav
For all my friends who jump out of airplanes:
Crank up some more kick ass Australian rock and roll...
Static Line Jump
By Bull Nav
For LT COL P and Slab, a trip down memory lane:
I took this picture Saturday at Thunder Over Michigan. The aircraft are C-47s and the jumpers are all WWII re-enactors. The day was windy as hell with a very low ceiling. They had to make 4 passes over Willow Run before they finally jumped.
After the jump, there was a huge WWII battle re-enactment that was pretty incredible. I will try to get some pictures up soon.
Might as Well Jump
By Lt Col P
Flew in last night from another highly successful drill weekend in the Sunshine State.
We did a joint indirect fire shoot with some 81mm and 60mm mortar crews from the FL National Guard, and also pushed about 40 jumpers out the back end of a Marine C-130. I was one of them.
Everyone told me that a ramp jump is much less violent and turbulent than a door jump, and that the MC-1 series chute was a better ride than the T-10. They were right on both counts! Once I got over the sensation of dropping straight down instead of being ripped along, I found the toggles and began to steer around. This was not just idle maneuvering-- I was working hard to avoid landing in the swamp next to the DZ. But all went well, and we got everyone down with no injuries. (BZs to our jumpmasters and the flying Leathernecks of VMGR-234.)
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Airborne Heroes, Fort Benning Place-Names
By Lt Col P
While going through the Airborne Course at Fort Benning, I noticed that several of the training areas were named after Medal of Honor recipients from the Airborne forces. I waited and waited for some period of instruction to begin with a brief lecture on who these men were and what they did. Sadly, I never heard a word.
I think this is a major gap in the programme of instruction at Benning. The Airborne forces do not lack for real heroes, and it would be a small but far-reaching step to tie the training of today with the courage and sacrifice of yesterday.
So, allow me to introduce to you PFC Elmer Fryar, for whom the drop zone is named, and PFC Joe Mann, for whom the ground branch training area is named.
Let their names not just be letters on signs.
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Air-Borne!!!
By Lt Col P
I just graduated from the US Army Basic Airborne Course at Ft Benning, following not only in the footsteps of our man Slab, but of countless thousands who have gone through that same course, in that same place, since August 1940.
I was not the only VMI man in Bravo Company, 1-507th PIR. Cadets Daniel Brode '09 and Andrew Washbish '09 were there with me, and acquitted themselves honorably. Cadet Brode was in my stick, and on two jumps was the first man out the door!
For those of you who haven't gone, and might thinking of going, this youtube clip (minus the soundtrack) is a good depiction of a C-130 combat equipment jump.
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New Parachute to Replace T-10
By Slab
I guess I'm the resident jumper on OPFOR. I certainly don't hold a candle to the guys at Blackfive, but somebody's got to do it over here.
PEO Soldier is apparently testing the T-11 Advanced Tactical Parachute System as the replacement for the T-10D Troop Back Parachute. From January to October, XVIII Airborne Corps will make 3200 test jumps with the new parachute. The new system also includes the T-11R, a new reserve chute that will improve upon the Modified Improved Reserve Parachute System (MIRPS) currently in use. The current "dope on a rope" parachute system has been in use, albeit with some modifications, since the 1950s.
The T-11 Advanced Tactical Parachute System
Key benefits of the new parachute will be a slower rate of descent, averaging about 18 feet per second, reduction of oscillation following deployment and lowering of the combat load, and a smoother deployment sequence. Expect to see fielding begin in 2008, and all T-10Ds are projected to be replaced by 2014.
PEO Soldier Tests New Parachute System
I didn't feel like any of my landings at Airborne School were that hard, but we jumped with significantly less weight than what would be carried on a combat operation in today's world. Our combat equipment jumps were performed with an ALICE pack that weighed probably 35-40 pounds, and M1950 weapons case containing a 2X4. The T-10D was designed for loads of up to 300 lbs, even though the instructors told us it is capable of safely handling loads of up to 500 lbs.
On our 2005 deployment with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the Air Combat Element (ACE) asked us to revise our planning weight for Marines being transported by helicopter. We weighed a platoon of Marines with all of the equipment they would be taking ashore with them, including their sustainment load. The average weight came out around 325 lbs. Now you see why we need a parachute designed for a load of 400 lbs.
The T-10D Troop Back Parachute
By the way, if any of our readers are part of the test program, and want a Marine guinea pig, drop me a line.
