The next step in Cam's Army training is Airborne School at Ft. Benning, GA. Cam volunteered to attend Airborne School (AKA "Jump School") which qualifies students to use a parachute as a means of combat deployment. The course is open to all US Army soldiers and all other branches of the military as well as allied military personnel. In fact, Cam's company has several Marines and Air Force personnel as well as some soldiers from foreign allies. The three week course consists of "Ground Week", "Tower Week" and "Jump Week".
Cam is currently in "Ground Week". He passed his initial PT test with scores meeting the 17-21 age group standards and is looking forward to training on the mock door, practicing parachute landing falls, exiting the 34-foot tower, and training on the lateral drift apparatus.
The 34-foot tower
"Tower Week" will follow and the students will use the 34-foot towers, the swing landing trainer, the mock door for mass exit training, the suspended harness, and potentially the 250-foot free tower. Tower Week completes student individual skill training and builds team effort skills.
The 250-foot free towers
The third and final week, "Jump Week", students make five parachute jumps into Fryar Drop Zone located in Alabama. Two of the jumps are "combat equipment jumps" (the jumper carries a ruck sack and a dummy weapon). The other three jumps are "Hollywood" (the jumper only wears the parachute and reserve) and at least one jump is at night.
Parachute jumps
Cam is really excited for this training and can't wait to get started on the "fun" stuff. Please keep him in your prayers and hopefully he'll be in one piece when he earns his jump wings.
2 comments:
thanks for all the updates, kristy. it sounds like cam is really doing well.
He seems to have found his niche and I couldn't be happier! I just am counting down the days until we can once again live in the same town together ... at least for a few weeks!
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