Attended Airborne graduation at Ft. Benning, my Son just finished pre ranger and now this, I don't know how he does it, but we had a great time, and the ceremony and the jumps were a blast. A few pics and a video.






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODbZO-WDR0E

Congratulation to your son. Please thank him for his service, for me..

Did he jump the T-11?? I had heard there was a hold on the roll-out..

Sir;

Congratulations to your son. You have every right to be
proud.

Yes they used the T-11, they also used the c130, he liked the t11 hands down, the 130 he said vibrated a lot. Thanks for the positive comments, we are very proud.

Congratulations!

Airborne!

All the Way!

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SWCA 2082

Another Congratulations and sincere thanks to your son and your family.

Fine looking young fighting man! You are right to be proud. I graduated from jump school in 1985, seems like yesterday! Give him a Loud and Thunderous "AIRBORNE" from me and tell him I and my family thank God above for Brave Men and Women like him.

.................

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

Congratulations of raising a real man.

Tell him thanks for his service. I pray for God to watch over him.

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

Congrats and thanks to you and your family

Congratulations! This is probably going to be one of his finest moments, and being there for graduation is Very important.
Please tell him thanks for putting on his country's uniform, and I wish
him all the best. TACC1

Don't worry about the vibration. She's been doing that since '54.

Congrats!

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Where's my dad's America?

Congrats, there is no finer group, then the Brotherhood of the Airborne:

The AF uses the shake intentionally,, on all their jump birds..

It's to get the less-motivated to loosen their grip on the door frame..

Attached Images

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He told me that they were jumping from the towers, and there was an Army Soldier that was reluctant to go, a big Marine told him, Soldier you've got to jump, when he delcined, and big leather sole came in contact with his backside, problem solved.
We saw Women, Sailors, Airforce, Marines and Soldiers at graduation.
I will send him this link so he can read for himself. thanks

When my son graduated from jump school at Benning in the early 90's, they pinned those jump wings directly to his chest. Are they still doing that?

My favorite WWII story came from the Airborne Museum at Bragg. Shortly after D-Day, A squad of US soldiers was retreating from a German tank column when they came upon an 82nd paratrooper digging a foxhole at a crossroads. They told him the Germans were coming, and that he could go with them. He said, "No thanks, my Sergeant told me to hold this crossroads. The ******** aren't coming any farther."

Armed with a Garand, several bandoliers of ammo, and 6 rocket grenades, he held that crossroads for three days until he was relieved.

Go AIRBORNE! Hua!

Buck

Great Story. No they didn't pin the wings, I have heard of that somewhere before.
They ordered open ranks, then Family could go and pin them on, our Grand child was to do the honor, but she said she was concerned that She would give him an ouchie.

Congratulations to your son, and all of us former paratroopers welcome him to the brotherhood!

All The Way!

My son had jump school in the early fall of 1998, class 1-99. I enjoyed walking into the squad room and seeing the class guideons dating back to when the building was built (1966 I think). Back then I think the classes were smaller, but the guideons indicated whole classes of infantry, Green Berets, engineers even AIRBORNE ARMOR( i wouldn't want to be in that drop zone!
There were a Marine father (0-6) and his son Marine reserve lance corp. (E-3) was the existing family paratrooper who pinned his dad's wings on. Very impressive.
My son is the 3rd generation of airborne in the family, my wife's uncle was a glider trooper in WW2, on his next leave home he got glider blood winged (as did my brother-in law in 1981).All 3 of them served in 1/324 A.I.R. and had the same job- KILL TANKS, just different weapons.

Please tell him thank you for your service for me please. respectfully mg357

Airborne!
Congrats to the boy.
Thank him for his service.
When I went through, we jumped C-119's!

I'm not sure what that plane is- probably a C-5??, but it sure ain't a 130.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

C-17 maybe? You're right, it ain't a C-130 with those engines.

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Proud anachronism

I feel so dated. Didn't even know of the C-17!
Looks like you nailed it-
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

"Airborne!
Congrats to the boy.
Thank him for his service.
When I went through, we jumped C-119's!"

You sure it wasn't a Curtiss Jenny???

I was slated to go to jump school at Benning in the summer of 1974. However, problems with allergies and bronchitis keep me from going and later getting my commision in the Corps.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Yup. It's a C-17. You can tell by the winglets (the little turned-up portion on the end of the wing).

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Where's my dad's America?

Congratulations to him.

I did it in 1964. Took lot's of grief because my stripes were upside down.

AFS

Tell your son thank you for his service!

As an airline employee before I went in the Navy, I always felt that jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft was a silly thing to do. Then my brother proved that by being involved in a chute entanglement on his graduation jump at Benning.

Do they still play "Blood Upon the Risers" for them?

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

As a former Army Aviator (both fixed wing and rotorcraft), I can tell you there is no such thing as a perfectly good aircraft

Blood Upon the Risers(Gory Gory What a Hell of a Way to Die) - YouTube
Yup!!!

Band Of Brothers Blood On The Risers - YouTube

Guy22

U.S Army Cadences: Pick Up Your Weapon! - YouTube

Guy22

Two things I remember about jump school in August of 1976 (besides the humidity...).

First was a Black Hat E-5 who, I swear, made it his mission to make all the ROTC cadets' lives miserable. We didn't have to have the shaved heads like the enlisted soldiers, but his words were "Cadet, I can't make you get a haircut, but I can make you wish you did". Got mine buzzed that afternoon.

The second was the boot polish concession at the barbershop. No matter how beautifully I spitshined my combat boots (no Corcorans for us, since we didn't have wings) I always failed uniform inspection in the morning. It wasn't until I turned my boots over to the boot polish concession with the liquid Glo-Coat polish that I passed every morning. I swear the black hats got kickbacks from them.

Oh, yeah, and the I Bar in the basement of the Officers' Club...

Boot Black and the I-Bar.............brings back memories.

Why would anybody want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?

When I was in the USAF we tried to NOT have to jump from a plane. Came close once flying over the Alps and the DC3 (Gooney Bird) we were in iced up and couldn't get enough altitude. Pilot "wove" his way between the peaks.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Yeah, I jumped out of Gooney Birds a lot. Good airplane, though, at the right altitude!

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SWCA 2082

They were training smoke jumpers and before the first jump the instructor said ya got nothing to worry about. Your chute dont open, ya got your spare. A truck will be waiting to haul you to lunch. This guy jumped and the first nor the secound chute opened. He went down through the group and was last heard complaining, "It will be just my luck that the truck wont be there either!"

Congrats to your son. I can assure you it is an experience neither of you will ever forget. I remember getting my Wings, & that was almost 45 Years ago.It was one of my proudest moments of Military Life.

Airborne is as much an Attitude as anything else.
I have yet to see a private E-Nothin' on up who doesn't think he can run an Airborne Division if something happens to the CG.

When the SHTF in Combat, you find out real quick that all you have to count on is the men with you and those who provide you support.

I was fortunate to serve in SF, the 101st and the 82nd in my time in the US Army. Always felt that the men I went into combat with were "Above Average" in intelligence, ability and motivation.
It was a matter of Attitude.

CURRAHEE, Gentlemen.

Rule 303

He got to jump T-11s out of a C-17? Man that's the ticket right there! Not too long ago when I went it was T-10s out of a C-130. I like the T-10 but man those C-130s suck, especially with combat equipment.

Congrats to your son and your family! One day a long time from now when I'm old and crusty, I won't say I was a soldier, I'll say I was a paratrooper.

All The Way!

Dan

I remember that our Hollywood jumps were from C141s. Really not a jump, rather just sticking your foot out the door and being sucked out. My first "real" jump I didn't jump out far enough and hit the side of the C-130...

Your son's never going to forget what he;s accomplished. It's a great confidence builder. If I can make it through Jump School, I can do anything. I kept telling myself that in Ranger School, though it took a lot of convincing...

We called it "countin' rivets".

Best one I ever had was being near the end of a string in a 130. By the time I blew the door, the strings were in sync instead of staggered. Cleared well, but I hit the guy from the other door behind the plane- HARD. My head cleared in a couple of seconds, and as I swung to vertical, I saw his canopy fully deploy just below my feet. I was dead center- could see down thru the center vent. A quick check of my canopy showed that it was very hungry for air and wanting to fold. I was high-stepping rapidly trying to walk off it, but you go knee deep in it!
He was loudly insulting my mother in several different ways....
My canopy was beginning to settle towards me. Look up, run, look up, run! I couldn't ride his down because I stood a good chance of going thru it and killing us both.
I finally got close enough to the edge to dive forward off it. Kinda folded his edge as I went off, and his insults went up two octaves , but his canopy straightened quickly.
I fell a long way with a somewhat limp canopy. It offered enough drag to stay above me, and I was shaking my risers like your Grandma shaking a nasty throw rug!
It finally rounded out nicely.

Ever heard that thing about "couldn't drive a greasy 16p nail up his ___ with a 10 pound sledge"? It's true.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Anybody jump Toy Drop last weekend?

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Where's my dad's America?

Congrats! When we went through jump school in 79 it was T-10's and MC1-1B's.

43 years for me, January, 1969. We had a drop zone graduation on Saturday afternoon because the winds delayed our final jump.