# ‘Elite’ military units: Army Airborne (paratroopers)



## whiterose (Sep 18, 2008)

Here's a possibly controversial article by a Harvard educated former Airborne Ranger. Basically, he's saying that parachute jumping isn't all that hard. I am a former paratrooper myself and I am wondering what others think about this.

‘Elite’ military units: Army Airborne (paratroopers)



> One of my big complaints is the hype surrounding paratroopers. There appears to be a widespread notion that paratroopers are supermen because they have the courage to jump out of an airplane. Too many, if not most, paratroopers have encouraged, or at least accepted silently, this misconception.
> 
> This article is my refusal to accept it silently. Jumping out of a plane is relatively easy. Former President George H.W. Bush (Bush “senior”) did it on his 75th and 80th birthdays. I doubt he was the oldest ever. I would be surprised if it is not being done by teenage girls and grandmothers, too. At least one couple held their marriage ceremony during a free-fall. Others have had sex during free falls.





> Pride through put-downs of military teammates: In my experience, airborne troops are extremely big on swaggering, strutting, posing, breast beating, and trash talking based on the fact that they have jumped out of a plane on a number of occasions. They not only wear their parachutist wings, but also their Corcoran Jump Boots, glider patch overseas caps or special colored berets, and various unit citation ribbons that were awarded to the unit for the gallantry of their long-ago predecessors.
> 
> They spit out the word “leg” with contempt when talking to or about non-airborne soldiers—the same soldiers they desperately need to rescue them after they jump into a combat zone. “Leg” is short for “straight leg” which refers to the fact that airborne troops bend their legs at the knee in preparation for landing when they jump. Since non-Airborne troops do not land, they need not bend their legs.
> 
> This behavior, which is also typically of Marines, Rangers, SEALs, and fighter pilots, but not green berets, submariners, aviation mechanics, or combat engineers, to list a few other highly trained and respected military specialists, is analogous to football running backs and quarterbacks treating offensive linemen with contempt. So-called “elite” units are members of the overall U.S. military team. At times, they must rely on the same people they never miss an opportunity to publicly hold in contempt, namely, troop transport pilots and crews and “leg” units that have to link up with the paratroopers during combat.


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## AWP (Sep 18, 2008)

I can't believe you even posted that. It is a bunch of bullshit written by a clown with a huge chip on his shoulder (why, I have no idea). I struggled to get through the article above and his tirade about the Rangers. He is beyond wrong on numerous points. He's an idiot.


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## Boondocksaint375 (Sep 18, 2008)

Talk about irony here 



> Hollywood has long depicted military matters inaccurately for dramatic effect. In recent years, as more military stuff appeared on such cable channels as the History Channel, Discovery Channel, and Military Channel, I have become concerned that the public is getting a misleading impression about a bunch of military stuff. Since the military concerns life and death and national security, I regard these misconceptions as too important to be let slide.


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## Boondocksaint375 (Sep 18, 2008)

His bio"



> I am a West Point graduate Class of 1968. I also graduated from Army Ranger and paratrooper schools. The Ranger School recommended that I be *brought back* as an instructor (to my astonishment and dread—I hated the ordeal of Ranger School).
> I was a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division. I was in several units in Vietnam. I vounteered for all of those as well as a number of things I did not get like a Long Range Reconnaisance Patrol unit in Vietnam (one of my West Point classmates with an identical resume arrived in Vietnam the day before me and got the LRRP slot* I was sent to Vietnam to fill in D Company of the 75th Ranger Regiment)*, Special Forces (Green Berets—I volunteered for SF five times. While I was in Vietnam I was on orders to be transferred to the Fifth Special Forces Group, but the orders were changed for unknown reasons.) I also volunteered for Army Pathfinder School. Pathfinders are the guys who parachute in before the main body of paratroopers and set up beacons to guide the planes dropping the main body of troops later.
> During cadet basic training, I qualified Expert, the highest rating, on the M-14 rifle. My military job specialty was radio officer. I was a communications platoon leader in a parachute infantry battalion and a heavy artillery battalion.
> This resume was relatively *standard* for my West Point class. That is, most of them would have Ranger, parachute training, Vietnam, expert rifleman’s badge, and so forth.
> Reed holds a bachelors degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a master of business administration degree from Harvard Business School.


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## AWP (Sep 18, 2008)

I just saw his bio. What a clown. He was a SIGNAL OFFICER that somehow claims he could command a LRRP unit and that SF should grab him up because of his skill sets.

To review:

Signal Officer: Radios and shit
Infantry Officer: Killing people and shit

What a moron. Just reading his articles makes me dumber than I was before.

whiterose, Do NOT post anymore of his crap on this board.


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## Swill (Sep 18, 2008)

> Recommendations
> Tell the paratroopers to knock off the chest beating about airborne superiority and putting down non-airborne military personnel.



Is he talking about good-for-nothing dirty-ass legs?  :)


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## QC (Sep 18, 2008)

Jumping isn't hard, it's the landing thats tricky. :cool:


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## Simmerin' SigO (Sep 18, 2008)

Freefalling said:


> I just saw his bio. What a clown. He was a SIGNAL OFFICER that somehow claims he could command a LRRP unit and that SF should grab him up because of his skill sets.



While that's not ENTIRELY implausible....



> To review:
> 
> Signal Officer: Radios and shit
> Infantry Officer: Killing people and shit



...one minor quibble...
Signal Officer:  _We kill people with _radios and shit



Disclaimer:  this post was deliberately sarcastic in tone and intended for humor purposes only.  It was not intended to demean anyone.  Use of the smiley-type icon is also used to signify this sarcasm.


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## Scotth (Sep 18, 2008)

I read this clown tirade before and if I remember correctly he left me with the feeling he had a sense of entitlement because he went to West Point. I think he is bitter because he didn't get the high-speed assignments he thought he was entitled to so his answer is to disparge everyone that earned there assignments


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## AssadUSMC (Sep 18, 2008)

Simmerin' SigO said:


> ...one minor quibble...
> Signal Officer:  _We kill people with _radios and shit



Amen brother.  :)


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## Centermass (Sep 18, 2008)

This guy has menstrual cramps and is an idiot. He has a known history for crap like this and more. He has no idea what he is talking about most of the time, nor does he have a clue of the circumstances involved or the expertise to criticize objectively or correctly. 

Rather than cite some of the other crap he's written, I'll just start with these: 



> On February 15, 1995, four Ranger students died of hypothermia (low body temperature) *when they crossed the Yellow River during the swamp phase in FL. The Ranger students were immersed in 52-degree water for eleven straight hours—too long. (Rangers cross a river by tying a single rope to a tree on each side then using the rope to drag themselves across the river. The rope is wholly in the water and so is the Ranger except for his head.)*



Weaver Creek? Yep. Boiling Creek? Yep. Yellow River? Nope. It's only crossed during the demo and that's it.  

As a former PI for Waterborne, not one student has ever done a rope bridge across the Yellow River once immersed in training. Period. 

Boat movements on the Yellow? Yep, but not rope bridges. 

And as for the incident in question above, he's not even close to how it went down with the blanket "expert claim" he's tossed out there. 

Here's another: 



> Dropping Rangers *onto the roof of a building in downtown Mogadishu *was an “off-label” use of Rangers. Off-label uses, like that one, generally result in the mission not being accomplished and many of the Rangers being killed or wounded.



Self explanatory on the above. 

Commissioned in 68. Resigned in 72. Now playing at your local armchair quarterbacking venue near you. 

It's as if he says throughout his entire writings: It was everyone elses fault for me being denied my destiny........

What a tool....and still is. I'm going to send him a snivel towel. 

Nuff said.


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## QC (Sep 18, 2008)

Why don't you say what you really feel?


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## x SF med (Sep 18, 2008)

Equating 'Hollywood' civilian jumps with NTCE tree jumps is like saying I know how to ride a scooter, let me take a jet powered motorcycle and jump a river.:doh:


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## Trip_Wire (Sep 18, 2008)

A very stupid article written by an imbecile! He needs a good old fashioned AIRBORNE 'Ass Kicking.'


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## Doc P (Sep 18, 2008)

This guy's a LEG!


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## Boondocksaint375 (Sep 18, 2008)

I lost IQ points reading that garbage.


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## Muppet (Sep 19, 2008)

Coming from a Paratrooper, I have to say that this jack ass is just that, a jackass. Has anybody actually found out if this idiot is what he sayed he is. This just seals my thoughts on stupid people. They should suffer a debilatating, painful extinence and then wither away so nobody remembers them. I say that with the utmost respect.

F.M.


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## TheGunDoctor (Oct 11, 2008)

Firemedic said:


> This just seals my thoughts on stupid people. They should suffer a debilatating, painful extinence and then wither away so nobody remembers them.





agreed


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## Ajax (Oct 11, 2008)

Freefalling said:


> I just saw his bio. What a clown. He was a SIGNAL OFFICER that somehow claims he could command a LRRP unit and that SF should grab him up because of his skill sets.
> 
> To review:
> 
> ...



Well...sort of.  LRRPS guys have commo MOS's as well as their 11 series MOS.  But he is an O, so....

On one point, he's correct.  Jumping is not hard.  Gravity does all the work.  BUT, *you still have to volunteer for it*.  That's the hard part.  And as far as chest beating and all that, that's just good ol' fashion esprit de corps.  If he was a PL in division and didn't beat is chest for and about his guys....well, you know where I'm headed with that.  If I'm in charge of a bunch of spoons, I'm going to beat into their heads that they are the biggest, baddest, most lethal group of yakisoba makers around.  They are going to have sense of pride in their work, and when shit hits the fan, they are going to have a sense of belonging that welds them to the man to their left and right (cooks have CSAR mission in Bn, right?).  That's what chest beating is about.  Maybe someday I'll finish my degree so I can see what HE was talking about.

It would be nice if we could get someone into the Ivy Leagues to represent us rather than confirm their assumptions that we're a bunch of knuckedraggers who don't possess the intellect to achieve their rank and status.  

Maybe this guy:


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## rv808 (Oct 11, 2008)

SIG O's can be hoo ahh too!


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## racing_kitty (Oct 11, 2008)

> Special Forces (Green Berets—I volunteered for SF five times. While I was in Vietnam I was on orders to be transferred to the Fifth Special Forces Group, but the orders were changed for unknown reasons.)



I know why...because you can't get into SF with a vagina.  Not that I know from experience or anything......:doh:


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## Trip_Wire (Oct 11, 2008)

racing_kitty said:


> I know why...because you can't get into SF with a vagina.  Not that I know from experience or anything......:doh:




R Kitty, as far as I'm concerned, an EOD operator is in an elite unit, especially those who are operating in Iraq and the 'Stan. ;)


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## Trip_Wire (Oct 11, 2008)

Freefalling said:


> I can't believe you even posted that. It is a bunch of bullshit written by a clown with a huge chip on his shoulder (why, I have no idea). I struggled to get through the article above and his tirade about the Rangers. He is beyond wrong on numerous points. He's an idiot.



(Second response.)

I agree with you 100%! I had read this article once before and decided the ass-hat that wrote it was a full of crap! I didn't bother to re-read it. :2c:

IMO the article has no merit what-so-ever! 

He needs his sadsack ass kicked!


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## whiterose (Oct 11, 2008)

racing_kitty said:


> I know why...because you can't get into SF with a vagina.  Not that I know from experience or anything......:doh:



Two women have passed the Royal Marines' commando training: Fighting fit: Royal Marines' commando training


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## whiterose (Oct 11, 2008)

Ajax said:


> It would be nice if we could get someone into the Ivy Leagues to represent us rather than confirm their assumptions that we're a bunch of knuckedraggers who don't possess the intellect to achieve their rank and status.



Does Stanford University count? I am asking because the Ivy League is made of only 8 schools, all in the northeastern U.S. 
Ivy League


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## racing_kitty (Oct 11, 2008)

I'm not worried about being considered in an elite unit.  I was just calling the guy a fucking pussy.


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## P. Beck (Oct 11, 2008)

It's not necessarily the jump, though that's part of the job.

It's not even the landing, though that's part of the job too.

It's what comes after the landing that makes a paratrooper.

And that's plenty.

This jag-off should be strapped down and forced to watch the entire boxed set of "Band of Brothers", over and over again, till he "get's it".

Applied for SF five times?  And wasn't "invited" to participate?
Gee.  With an attitude like that, I wonder why.

How could his superiors been so stupid?  How did we ever manage to muddle through without him?

Dude, if you apply five times and the folks in charge look at you and decide that your particular combination of brains, talent and training would be most beneficial to the organization if applied "somewhere else"?  I don't know, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess...

Maybe it's you.


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## Muppet (Oct 11, 2008)

Racing Kitty: I like your attitude. Can you talk to my wife. She still believes that everybody deserves chances.
All: The guy is still a waste of air that we all need. I vote to ex-communicate him from our extinence. That is all.

F.M.


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## riptide (Oct 12, 2008)

I agree P.Beck it's not necessarily the jumping out of planes that makes Airborne badass although that is part of being a paratrooper. This guy obviously is just trying make himself look like an omnipotent asshole...so far he has just gotten the asshole part across not so much on the omnipotence.


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## GSXRanger (Oct 12, 2008)

SOT-A: Chicks dig us because we listen. :)


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## JBS (Oct 12, 2008)

Airborne soldiers are -by textbook definition- elite.

Indeed the international heritage of the Airborne soldier makes it almost impossible to discuss elite soldiers without mentioning them.  The direct lineage of Airborne soldiers -from one generation to another- reads like a _*who's who*_ of great military units.  It is this bloodline that forever enshrines the Airborne soldier as elite.  A tiny excerpt of their lineage:


 First paratroopers: 1927 Folgore Italian commandos (a Division-strength unit resisting against 6 enemy divisions, and earning their respect as a result)
No. 11 SAS, operation Colossus- First British paratroop use  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Colossus), the operation that put the "AIR" in Special Air Service
Operation Biting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Biting (116 man force, and the critical game-changing discovery that CHAFF could defeat German RADAR)
Operation Avalanche, the successful Allied landing on Italy.  The 82nd Airborne Div, the 504th & 505th & 509th Parachute Infantry Regiments supported a huge conventional allied force; responsible for cutting off German forces south of Salerno, and later repelling the counterattack of 6 German divisions- an action that ultimately saw Hitler withdraw Rommel from Southern Italy- an enormous victory- impossible to achieve without the support of the Airborne forces.
Operation Junction City in Vietnam- the only major Airborne drop throughout the conflict- is frequently used by critics of the war as an example of what American forces were capable of doing when freed from the bureaucratic entanglements of Washington, and permitted to fight unhindered.  The massive search-and-destroy mission showed complete dominance by Airborne units until they were withdrawn.
Recent operations in Grenada, Panama, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and Kandahar Afghanistan all have demonstrated that a superb light infantry with Airborne capabilities could utterly dominate the battlefield using the doctrine of vertical envelopement.
The heritage and lineage of the modern Airborne soldier is one born out of great victories- making them * better* than the adversaries they faced- one of the key criteria which would need to be met in order for the term "elite" to be applied.  Another key criteria: Pedigree- a bloodline.  Not many forces have a more robust repertoire and famed history than the Airborne.  Chances are, if the fight was important, somewhere in there sooner or later, there were either Airborne units or Airborne-trained soldiers.  The third key criteria: the status of being a small group within a much larger society.  Airborne make up a small percentage of the entire US military- as they do in the forces of any other nation's military.  Relatively speaking they are small, thus satisfying the third generally accepted metric for what constitutes an elite organization.

 Airborne troops are responsible for key victories in some of the most dangerous, profound, and militarily significant battles in recent times.  They deploy faster, farther, and deeper than conventional forces, often with sparse equipment and almost no support at times. Commanders in many conflicts have placed the entire outcome of given battles in the hands of Airborne forces.  What was dreamt up in theory textbooks was played out using Airborne troopers.  When friendly lines were failing or collapsing, it was Airborne troops that were used to reinforce them.

If that isn't elite, I don't know what is.


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## Muppet (Oct 12, 2008)

Well stated. 

F.M.


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## GSXRanger (Oct 12, 2008)

I agree JBS... very well said. I am very proud of the legacy that I carry on my uniform in the shape of those silver wings. I am also proud of the legacy that I see when I look at the little piece of cloth, black and gold, half moon in shape. When I look at the dagger, backed by three lightning bolts, floating on an arrowhead shaped piece of cloth I always think of the men who came before me. Generations of men who gave their lives for those men just like them... fighting on either side of them. All in service to this great nation.

I never forget. Ever.

Every morning, when I pull on my boots... I make it a point to reflect my own brothers in arms, that have died near me, around me, as well as those before them. I pause and then finish lacing them up... proud that I am still able to serve. 

Is Airborne "Elite"? Well... without the Airborne... it's hard to say how many of us would be here today.

Even in today's modern battlefield environment, insertion by canopy is still one of the most elite forms of getting trained men on the battlefield so they can complete their mission.

I just had to add a few words... but JBS hit the nail on the head.


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## Viper1 (Oct 12, 2008)

Elite is a word....but I can tell you that I've always been impressed with the attitude of paratroopers. jumping, despite the article is not "easy". If it was easy, everyone would do it. jumping tandem with a civilian instructor does not even hold water to be a 20 year weighed down to the gills with kit jumping static line for the first time. I think the author is mis-interpreting the "method of insertion" with the whole community itself. Case in point:

My only jumping experience is ABN school and one jump as a cadet on CTLT with D/3-325PIR. I went there b/c I wanted to work with the 82nd Airborne (in part b/c my father was in the 307th EN BN(ABN) at Bragg in the 60's.).  I was impressed by their "can-do" attitude, their physical fitness, and the common sense way of business. They were tough on themselves, and pushed each other constantly to perform better. I saw this across the whole company I was assigned to. 

 I tried my hardest to get assigned to Bragg but was assigned to Fort Hood and deployed to OIF (my true goal: being an IN PL in combat, which I got the opportunity to do)

Being in the mech infantry since 2006, I understand the difference between the paratroopers and my mech guys. Don't get me wrong, I loved being a PL and company XO with Bradley's, but there is a DEFINITE difference. 

Elite isn't just a word....however the author of the aforementioned article seems to think so. 

I'm no expert, just my two cents


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## moobob (Oct 12, 2008)

Viper1 said:


> I was impressed by their "can-do" attitude, their physical fitness, and the common sense way of business.



Bingo.

Jumping is the easy(easiest) part.


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## whiterose (Nov 21, 2008)

JBS said:


> First paratroopers: 1927 Folgore Italian commandos (a Division-strength unit resisting against 6 enemy divisions, and earning their respect as a result)
> No. 11 SAS, operation Colossus- First British paratroop use  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Colossus), the operation that put the "AIR" in Special Air Service
> Operation Biting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Biting (116 man force, and the critical game-changing discovery that CHAFF could defeat German RADAR)
> Operation Avalanche, the successful Allied landing on Italy.  The 82nd Airborne Div, the 504th & 505th & 509th Parachute Infantry Regiments supported a huge conventional allied force; responsible for cutting off German forces south of Salerno, and later repelling the counterattack of 6 German divisions- an action that ultimately saw Hitler withdraw Rommel from Southern Italy- an enormous victory- impossible to achieve without the support of the Airborne forces.
> ...



I would like to add two more examples of the exemplary fighting spirit of the paratroopers, who excel not only in offensive operations, but in defensive battles as well. 


101st Airborne Division at Bastogue. The rest of the army retreated while the paratroopers stood firm. When the Germans demanded their surrender, the American commander, General McAuliffe, replied, "Nuts." This action by the 101st was a thorn in the Ardennes Offensive, slowing the German spearhead, whose tanks and other vehicles were critically short of fuel.

German paratroopers at the Battle of Monte Cassino. Enduring intense bombing by Allied bombers, the German paratroopers repulsed every attack by troops from many nations, including Americans, British, Polish, New Zealanders. They even repulsed an attack by the famed Gurkhas. The paratroopers withdrew to avoid encirclement only when the other parts of the Gustav Line collapsed.


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## picketpounder (Feb 17, 2009)

*"eliteness"*

The only unit I ever served with was the 82nd Airborne Division. So my experience is slightly biased. That said, the standards in Dvision compared to say the 3rd I.D are astronomical. Below I'll try to explain with bullets.

1. PT standards. If you got less than a 270 in my unit you were basically PNG'ed and were doing doing PT 2x per day until at that minimum level. If on the second attempt you got less than that and did'nt have a profile or another excuse you were gone. That's just the PT test. On any given day we would run 4-8 miles minimum. Some runs were longer than 10 miles. We did ruck marches 2x per month and had to do a 20k in under 3 hours. Of course due to the nature of competition unit ruck marches rarely took longer than 2 1/2 hours for a 20k. Again if you fell out of a run or ruck march and didnt remedy the situation immediately you were gone, but before you left Division you were left to the whims of the E-4 mafia while living in the barracks. (Not fun).

2. Weapons quals. If you scored less than expert PNG

3. If you weren't spit shined and pressed every day with your barracks room clean enough to eat off of. PNG

4. You were a cherry in Division until you had enough Division jumps to spell the word AIRBORNE. That's 8 jumps so on average you'd do MAYBE 2 jumps per month so the minimum you remained a cherry in my unit was at least 4 months. Being a leg or a cherry in Division is a fate worse than death. NOTHING in basic training prepared me for being a cherry in the 82nd Airborne. It was pure torture but it made me a DAMN good soldier. many soldiers who arrived with me at 19th replacement were'nt around anymore 6 months later. A cherry blast lasted anywhere from a few weeks (squared away cherry) to several months (soup sandwhich cherry or cherry with an attitude). If you did'nt make it past your cherry blast with satisfaction from the enlisted men in your platoon you were tortured physically and mentally until you left the unit or improved to satisfaction. Mileage may vary. You were allways someone's cherry. I've seen cherry blasts where some dudes got seriously F-ed up. Is hazing good? I think so. Once you proved yourself you felt like part of the pack and felt invincible. The 82nd doesn't have an offical screening process, but believe me it has an informal one. I can say no more.........

5. You had to know your job, your TL's job, your SL's job, your PL's job. You were expected to be that last one left and to take command when everyone else around you was dead. A private in the 82nd Airborne is more knowledgable in martial matters than any E-5 in a leg division Hands down.


AIRBORNE!


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## FNULNU (May 11, 2009)

Wait a second.  You can have sex during freefall?!!! :eek:   

"Others have had sex during free falls."

Hmmmmm :uhh:


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## Ravage (May 11, 2009)

FNULNU said:


> Wait a second.  You can have sex during freefall?!!! :eek:
> 
> "Others have had sex during free falls."
> 
> Hmmmmm :uhh:



And they say I have a one track mind


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## FNULNU (May 11, 2009)

Hahahaha...


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## Marauder06 (May 11, 2009)

President Bush did not make a static-line equipment jump out of a military aircraft- he did a tandem skydiving jump (and good on him!)- apples and oranges.

Different countries have different standards to become airborne or be considered a paratrooper.  In the US, the school just isn't that hard- physically.  But it is a gut check, and if people are honest with themselves and think back to when they graduated from the course, they probably felt a sense of accomplishment for having done something that not everyone can do.

In a unit, the value of jumping together is largely the teamwork required to pull it off, and the camaraderie generated by a shared experience- much like playing organized athletics, except this shit can actually kill you.


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## Headshot (May 18, 2009)

Marauder06 said:


> President Bush did not make a static-line equipment jump out of a military aircraft- he did a tandem skydiving jump (and good on him!)- apples and oranges.
> 
> Different countries have different standards to become airborne or be considered a paratrooper.  In the US, the school just isn't that hard- physically.  But it is a gut check, and if people are honest with themselves and think back to when they graduated from the course, they probably felt a sense of accomplishment for having done something that not everyone can do.
> 
> In a unit, the value of jumping together is largely the teamwork required to pull it off, and the camaraderie generated by a shared experience- much like playing organized athletics, except this shit can actually kill you.



Amen.  The nature of the jump is a big deal too, i.e, wind, postage stamp DZ's, trees, water, visibility, ruck load, the FNG next to you still holding his barf bag on the way down, the guy on the other side of you who pissed his pants on the 34 foot tower in jump school, buildings, sheep on the the DZ, etc.  Anyone one can exit an aircraft dead or alive, it's the skill sets of various units that allow them to effectively be inserted by air and link up afterward and drive on to the Ranger objective that makes the difference.  In short, FUCK THAT West Point POS COCKSUCKER!


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## AWP (May 18, 2009)

Marauder06 said:


> President Bush did not make a static-line equipment jump out of a military aircraft- he did a tandem skydiving jump (and good on him!)- apples and oranges.



Just a little nugget of info. Bush 41 has 6 jumps total. 1 in 1944, an AFF jump in 1998 or 1999, and then several tandems. His last tandem was in 2007 at 83, 10 months after hip replacement surgery. He's said he would like ot make another this year for his 85th birthday. So Jump #1 was freefall with a round from a burning plane, #2 was AFF where he opened his own rig and flew his own canopy, the rest were tandems with the Golden Knights.

Back to the show.


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## Marauder06 (May 18, 2009)

Freefalling said:


> Just a little nugget of info. Bush 41 has 6 jumps total. 1 in 1944, an AFF jump in 1998 or 1999, and then several tandems. His last tandem was in 2007 at 83, 10 months after hip replacement surgery. He's said he would like ot make another this year for his 85th birthday. So Jump #1 was freefall with a round from a burning plane, #2 was AFF where he opened his own rig and flew his own canopy, the rest were tandems with the Golden Knights.
> 
> Back to the show.



Good info, I didn't know that.


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## 1/75thBatboy (May 18, 2009)

Wtf? This guy's bio sounds like something a kid wrote for his teacher... Btw, I wonder what this turd burgler was jumping in with?....a pillow and hogie in his ruck? Classic RI load


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## JJOIFVET (Jun 11, 2009)

Freefalling said:


> I just saw his bio. What a clown. He was a SIGNAL OFFICER that somehow claims he could command a LRRP unit and that SF should grab him up because of his skill sets.
> 
> To review:
> 
> ...



Yeah, the guy who wrote this article is an idiot. We wouldn't want a guy like that on my team nor in my unit.


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## AWP (Jun 12, 2009)

Bush 41 will be jumping today, tandem, with the Knights. I believe Robyn Meade (sp?) will be on the same load.

Pretty cool. We should all be so lucky when we're his age.


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## Gypsy (Jun 12, 2009)

Freefalling said:


> Bush 41 will be jumping today, tandem, with the Knights. I believe Robyn Meade (sp?) will be on the same load.
> 
> Pretty cool. We should all be so lucky when we're his age.



Yep, for his...85th BD.  Happy Birthday, Mr. President.  Have fun!


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