Hurry Up And Wait: Day: April 22, 2009

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Day: April 22, 2009

Day: April 22, 2009
Weather report: high-70’s today, humidity 100% wind is about 5 E

Today was a very exciting day! Baby Rebecca is finally here and doing well. She was not supposed to live after birth. To read more and find out the story view their Blog: www.budzoo.blogspot.com. She is the miracle of a great deal of answered prayers.

Training today started with a 1 mile run in boots, helmet, and ACU’s. We then started PIT PT at 0600hrs. Front, back, goes; flutter kicks, eight count push-ups; overhead arm claps; mountain climbers; and side straddle hops for thirty minutes. We then went to breakfast at the training site, MRE’s. I had the beef stew with vegetables, we don’t have a choice of which MRE we get, and they just throw them at us. Directly after breakfast we started on the 250’ Tower.

The 250’ Tower takes a lot of soldiers to run and all the Black Hat’s. It is a pain in the butt, but well worth the effort. It is the most realistic trainer on site. When you get hooked in the harness your heart rate increases, and you start to second guess yourself. Then with a sharp tug you begin to leave the ground in the five point parachute harness. It is like an extreme ride at an amusement park. On the way up there is an instructor shouting out commands while you continue to climb. When you reach the 240’ mark the announcer will state you are reaching the 6’ automatic stop. This is the point where you are almost ready to parachute to a landing. The next command will be release your left safety hook and pull the slack hand over hand until it clears the harness ring, let the excess hang below you, now release the right safety line and drop it. Soldier on arm (#) you will take all commands from the instructor on the ground, if you understand click your feet together two times. The next command is buttons (this is the tower operations) drop arm (#). The arm will then lift you 6’ disengage the action pin in the apex of the canopy and will release the parachute. The pull up is not an issue. The click at the top and the sudden release of the parachute with your body momentum going up and the drop makes you feel like you are out of the harness. When the parachute catches it is an amazing view of Ft Benning. You continue to pull slips in order to slow down or drift away from the tower. You land with the PLF that you feel is warranted at the time and hope you chose wisely. It was a great experience! For lunch we had MRE’s again. I had the vegetarian Cheese Tortellini this time. It was not too bad. After lunch, we trained again on the mass exit procedures of the aircraft. Upon successful completion of the mock doors trainer we had a block of instruction on tomorrows training, the mass exit of the 34’ tower.

With this training we will conduct a four man jump out of the tower and perform a total malfunction drill, a partial malfunction drill, and a full combat load total malfunction drill. We must complete all three drills at 100%. The four man group must all receive a 100% or the entire four man stick will have to redo it until they are proficient. This will help us overcome the mass exit procedures and all us to get more proficient with deployment of our reserve. This should be fun!

Tomorrow 0530hrs PT and training. We will not come back to the rooms again tomorrow. It is scheduled to rain some tomorrow. We will train as long as it is not lighting within five miles of the training area. If it is raining we will still be training. For thunderstorms with lighting we will train on the mock door mass exits again. Friday we are packing and setting up or rucksacks for our two combat jumps next week.

Dinner is two beef and bean burritos, chips, milk, carrots with ranch dressing and cheese and crackers snack. The sunscreen did not help much today, I still got sunburn on my neck and face and of all places my eyelids are sun burnt a little, I have no idea how that happened.

Let us all be truly thankful for what we have and take nothing for granted. The baby born today is a true miracle and we should give GOD all the glory and praise.

PULL-UPS for the day: 60

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Airborne Creed

THE AIRBORNE CREED

I am an Airborne trooper! A PARATROOPER!
I jump by parachute from any plane in flight. I volunteered to do it, knowing well the hazards of my choice.
I serve in a mighty Airborne Force--famed for deeds in war--renowned for readiness in peace. It is my pledge to uphold its honor and prestige in all I am--in all I do.
I am an elite trooper--a sky trooper--a shock trooper--a spearhead trooper. I blaze the way to far-flung goals--behind, before, above the foe's front line.
I know that I may have to fight without support for days on end. Therefore, I keep mind and body always fit to do my part in any Airborne task. I am self-reliant and unafraid. I shoot true, and march fast and far. I fight hard and excel in every art and artifice of war.
I never fail a fellow trooper. I cherish as a sacred trust the lives of men with whom I serve. Leaders have my fullest loyalty, and those I lead never find me lacking. I have pride in the Airborne! I never let it down!

Airborne 1/507th PIR Crest History

Distinctive Unit Insignia. Description: A silver color metal and enamel 1 1/8 inches (2.86cm) in height consisting of a shield blazoned: Per bend Azure and Argent, on the First an open parachute of the Last, on the Second a lightning flash of the First; attached below the shield a blue scroll inscribed "DOWN TO EARTH" in silver letters.
Symbolism: Blue is the color associated with Infantry. The open parachute symbolizes the parachute functions of the regiment and the lightning flash indicates the speed by which the allotted duties are preformed. The motto further describes the parachute functions of the organization.
Background: The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment on 21 Jan 1943. It was redesignated and amended to update the description and symbolism for the 507th Infantry Regiment on 22 Oct 1985.
Coat of Arms.
Blazon:
Shield: Per bend Azure and Argent, on the First an open parachute of the Last, on the Second a lightning flash of the First.
Crest: On a wreath Argent and Azure, two lightning bolts in saltire, the volt in bend Azure, the other Or, between two springs of oak fructed Proper, the acorns connected in base by a gold key fesswise with bow at dexter, and issuing palewise between the lighting bolts a black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) head to chief Proper, with hourglass marking tenné.
Motto: DOWN TO EARTH.
Symbolism:
Shield: Blue is the color of the Infantry. The open parachute symbolizes the parachute functions of the regiment and the lightning flash indicates the speed by which the allotted duties are performed.
Crest: The black widow spider was the unofficial symbol of the unit in World War II, black and orange being the colors associated with the unit. The lightning bolts represent two airborne assaults; the blue bolt recalls the Presidential Unit Citation for action on the Contentin Peninsula; the gold refers to the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 17th Airborne Division, of which the unit was a part. The bolts also represent action from the sky and the speed with which allocated duties are performed. The oak sprigs symbolize service in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. The key refers to the Rhineland as the key to Germany's heartland.
Background: The coat of arms was originally approved for the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment on 21 Jan 1943. It was redesignated for the 507th Infantry Regiment and amended to add a crest and update the shield symbolism on 4 Feb 1986.

Tower Week, Week Two

Tower Week
A team effort is added to the training with the "mass exit" concept. The apparati used this week are the 34-foot (10 m) towers, the swing landing trainer (SLT), the mock door for mass exit training, the suspended harness, and potentially the 250-foot (76 m) free tower. Tower Week completes student individual skill training and builds team effort skills. To go forward to Jump Training Week students must qualify on the SLT, master the mass exit procedures from the 34-foot (10 m) tower, and pass all PT requirements.

Jump Week, Week Three

Jump Week
During Jump Week students make five parachute jumps into Fryar Drop Zone (DZ) located in Alabama, which is part of the Fort Benning Military Reservation. Trainees must run to the air field, conduct pre-jump training, and then get into their harnesses and await their turn to jump. Generally, two of the jumps are "combat equipment jumps", in which the jumper carries a ruck sack and a dummy weapon. The other three jumps are "hollywood", in that the jumper only wears the parachute and reserve. At least one jump is at night, although, during training cycles where Jump Week falls on a three or four day week (due to a Federal holiday), a night jump is not mandatory to graduate.

T-10D Parachute Discription and Components

TM 10-1670-293-23&P 0002 00 T-10C/T-10D TROOP BACK PARACHUTE ASSEMBLY EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTION AND DATA EQUIPMENT CHARACTERISTICS, CAPABILITIES AND FEATURES A summary of the characteristics, capabilities and features of the equipment is contained in the following subparagraphs: Characteristics. Provides a capability to deliver an airborne soldier, and individual equipment, from an aircraft in flight, for a vertical assault on the enemy. Capabilities and Features: Limited in operation to winds of 13-knots at surface. Capable of supporting 360-pounds. Highly portable. Complete assembly weight: 31-pounds. Components of the system: Canopy assembly. Deployment bag. Pack tray. Harness assembly. Risers. Universal Static Line. LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR COMPONENTS The following subparagraphs contain locations and descriptions of major components. Canopy. The T-10C/T-10D parachute canopy has a 3¾-inch mesh anti-inversion net attached to the skirt of the canopy. The net extends 18-inches below the canopy skirt. The canopy has two vent line centering loops. 0002 00-1 Change 1