GRADUATION DAY: May 1, 2009 Final Posting

GRADUATION DAY: May 1, 2009 Weather Report: mid-80’s, humidity is 95%, wind is calm

I cannot believe this day is finally here. I have successfully completed the US Military Airborne Course. Formation is at 0600hrs this morning and graduation is at 0900hrs on Eubanks Field on the Airborne Walk.

Graduation practice: was not very formal, but it was a practice. We finished there and went over to the bleachers and had some information on the Panama Invasion (Operation Just Cause). It was informal however a lot of information was put out. Each class has an Airborne Operation to research. This is conducted by the new 2LT’s in the company. It is part of the Airborne Heritage that we are all now part of.

Graduation went off successfully! The guest speaker was a LTC that has five sons and a daughter. All of the sons are in the military service; a CPT, a 1LT, a 2LT, a SGT, and the youngest is a PVT. All of them are Airborne Qualified and were there to pin the wings on the youngest son making all of the sons AIRBORNE. The LTC said that if he could get his daughter to take time out of being a wife and mother he could have all his children parachute qualified, it was pretty funny. Open ranks, MARCH. Present the wings. 1LT Corley found me a pinned my wings. It was nice to have a South Carolina Army National Guard Soldier pin my wings. Especially one that I helped along the way to get him promoted and was able to mentor in the Fountain Inn Unit. We finished up and ran in formation back to the company area. They started giving out our finished packets. Just as it all happened during registration process, people showing up and moving out, it happened at the final formation. Grab your documents and move out. Some of us traded phone numbers and plan on staying in touch. You develop a special bond with people when you jump out of an airplane together. Some of the guys are headed back to their units and will deploy within the next few months to Iraq or Afghanistan, they as all of the other soldiers will remain in our hearts and minds until they all return home safely.

Faith has brought on a new meaning for me from this course. Just as we put our faith in Jesus, we know he is there but cannot see him. We put our faith as paratroopers in the people that pack the parachutes, instruct the classes, inspect our equipment and take a leap out of the aircraft moving at 130 knots and 1250’ above the earth. We expect all our equipment to operate and function properly. That leap of faith is the same when trusting in Jesus. He has giving us a book of instruction, he inspects our hearts and minds daily, and he keeps moving us in and out of situations to reinforce our devotion to him. I thank GOD that we have been given the opportunity to serve him in all things and praise him for keeping us all moving in the right direction. He has kept everyone in my stick safe and has returned us all home to our loved ones. AIRBORNE all the way!

I am now part of an elite group of military personal known as the Paratrooper! Their display of courage and commitment is that of legends. From the four major airborne operations that started in WWII to the hundreds of airborne operations that have followed paratroopers have a different stagger about them, a different level of courage. They have looked fear in the face and over come it, they have exited an aircraft in flight and parachuted down to earth safely and walked away. I am proud to say that I am now AIRBORNE!

This is my last post. Feel free to forward this link to any of your friends or people you know that will be attending AIRBORNE SCHOOL. This will help.

GOD BLESS!

PREP FOR AIRBORNE SCHOOL

PREP FOR AIRBORNE SCHOOL!
Throughout the fast-moving course of instruction, mental alertness and physical conditioning are emphasized. Physical conditioning is a must prior to attending this course. Airborne School is designed for those who possess the desire, motivation and courage to join the elite fraternity known as "THE AIRBORNE."

WARNING: WHEN CONDUCTING PHYSICAL TRAINING PRIOR TO THE AIRBORNE COURSE AT YOUR HOME STATION, DESIGN A PROGRAM TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING: COMPLETION OF A 5 MILE RUN WITH A TIME OF 45 MINUTES OR FASTER AFTER CONDUCTING 30 MINUTES OF STRENUOUS ACTIVITY (MUSCULAR STRENGTH EXERCISES, MUSCULAR ENDURANCE EXERCISES, CALISTHENICS, AND GRASS DRILLS).

You must be physically fit before you start. The physically weak are more likely to either not complete the course because of an injury, or fail the course due to an inability to qualify on the training apparatuses. You will have PT the first period each day, followed by seven hours of demanding, vigorous training. You must qualify during daily PT by completing the exercises and distance run. Any student who fails to complete two runs during the entire course will be eliminated from training. A typical daily PT session includes warm up exercises, calisthenics, guerilla/grass drills or a 3.2 to 4 mile formation run. Males and females run in the same formation during PT and the average pace is 9-minutes per mile.

Do yourself a favor and run three times a week in ACU’s, ACH, and boots. We run everywhere here in the duty uniform. It will beat your legs up if you are not ready for the lower body abuse. Stay mentally focused here, and remember why you are here and you will be fine!

AIRBORNE!

Day: April 30, 2009

DAY: April 30, 2009 Weather report: mid-80’s, 32% humidity wind light and variable 10 SE

Wake up and formation came way too soon. 0800hrs after one and a half hours of sleep is not good. I was tired and irritated. Formation was held and they started telling us what we needed to do to clear out of Airborne School. We started with breakfast; they brought us a hot meal to the company area. I had two sausage patties, eggs, potatoes, a waffle, milk, and a cup of coffee. Then we started to move.

Canteens and helmets were the first thing to be turned in. I was in line and they called for all Reservist and National Guard personal. We had an out processing brief. She told us that we needed to ensure that there were four documents in our folder tomorrow when we received our packet to leave; hazardous duty orders, course completion certificate, jump log, and orders awarding us the were of the US Army Parachutist Wings. We reviewed our packets today to ensure everything was correct and in our packets. Then we started the sign out process. This is done so orders can be created for people going to new units or to their first unit in the military. Dismissal was at 1100hrs today. I went straight to Chick-fil-A and got a number five, twelve count with lemonade. That is the first Chick-fil-A I have had since I have been here and it was wonderful. After that I came back to my room and began to pack up all my gear to go home tomorrow, took a nap and the phone rang, it was the 1ST Sergeant and all the guys are going to the El Zapata, a Mexican restaurant on Ft Benning. It will be the last time we are all together here just out being friends. We had a good time tonight with the dinner and just talking about the experiences and all the things that really didn’t make sense at the time but make sense now after jumping. Tomorrow is GRADUATION! Formation time will be 0600hrs and we will have our graduation practice and move over to the Airborne Walk to be pinned. 1LT Corley is coming to pin me and then he will be jumping from a CH-47 Helicopter at 1400hrs. He tried to convince me to jump with him, but I told him that I was ready to go home and see my family. Maybe next time!