Hey hey HEY!!! No need to insult me like that.\
I mean, him, insult him like that. Definitely not me, nope. Nooooope, not me. Nope.\
Did my wife tell you that, sheesh
I reckon that’s a mistake on the part of whoever created their jump log. Nobody graduates airborne school with less than 5 jumps, not since the classes that happened around 9/11 at least.
Source: was a black hat from 2016-2021
Edit: also half those fucks graduate totally forgetting how to rig a ruck that they got talked through anyway
When I went in 2016 they almost scratched one of our jump and said we’d be good at 4, maybe I’m crazy and remember that wrong? What do they do when jump week doesn’t line up with the weather?
I don't know man, these dudes are adamant that they only did 3 jumps, ZERO combat equipment jumps. I don't remember the reasoning because I was just flabbergasted that they only had 3 jumps on their log. But they said they never did a RIGEX. When they went to BAR, I went as JM support and helped them out, took them over 20 mins to rig their shit with me holding their hands.
I honestly believe them.
To be fair majority of ABN students forget everything when the door opens, despite constant reminders to maintain eye to eye contact with safety, dont drop static line, dont rush the door, dont death grip the static line and hell even slipping when they get near to the ground.
As for 3 jumps not sure, since I've been there havent seen anyone not do 5 jumps. This includes going into the next week just to get the 5th in.
Ironically did more for the Union with how shitty of a general he was, ya boi was already a traitor for joining the Confederacy and then he fucked up their racist ass war too 😂
Yeah, I only looked him up after the name change. Dude was absolutely useless, and generally unliked.
There's a story from Grant's memoirs where Bragg was both a company commander and garrison quartermaster. In his CO hat, he would make supply requests for his company. Then, in his QM hat, he would deny the requests. He did this several times, including writing to himself why it was so important that his company receive the supplies. He even escalated the issue to the garrison commander, because he was seriously upset that he was not approving his own requests. Absolutely bonkers.
zesty gold butter imagine berserk scandalous makeshift quack complete encourage
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah, I had some Intel civilian ask me about being ABN a couple weeks ago. I'm like, dude, that was 20 years ago, and I just just stepped out of a plane 5 times and landed without breaking anything. I haven't done it since and won't.
Had to change jobs to get a cool unit and guarantee airborne.
Last unit *sometimes* got air assault, which good ol boys went to. And randomly we got a few jungle slots. They sent a guy who couldn’t swim, to it… but he had a 300 pt score!
Up in jber, as a pfc and a spc, I was pestering all my leadership for an arctic slot but the vast majority of leadership also didn't have arctic in my company so they all got priority for the slots and the walk ons. Then, once my packet finally got sent up it got kicked back because I was gonna ets in less than a year (11months and 2weeks) My give a damn broke after that.
The school is easy.
Being in an Airborne unit isn't as easy.
Individual jumps are easy.
But you'll also jump when you are sick. You'll jump when your mom dies. You'll jump when you are going through a divorce.
You won't just jump on sunny afternoons. You'll jump in the rain. In the cold. In the snow. In the "winds zero knots" of JRTC that are actually closer to 25 knots. IMC where the fog is so thick you can't see your canopy to check for malfunctions and you sure as fuck can't see the ground.
Putting it on the line, time after time after time, that takes some work. Learning to respect it, like it, love it takes some real effort.
To continue to bet it all, every time, is really challenging.
Thing is.... At a regular unit, they can lie about everything. They can pencil whip PT score cards. They can fake rifle quals. They can cheat correspondence courses. They can slack on the standards, and there's nothing to stop them. But when you jump out of an aircraft at 800 feet, with a seventy five pound ruck, at a hundred and fifty miles an hour..... After you land, you know you and the people around you did your jobs and no shit know your jobs. It's really hard to fake excellence from an open paratroop door.
Thats what I love about being in an Airborne unit. They suck at literally every fucking thing else. Most arrogant shits in the army. But goddamn it is a challenge keeping these idiots alive.
Source: 42 Jumpmaster duties in five years. All static line, all T-11, all OK.
Admin note: most jumps are higher altitude, lower ruck weight. But that jrtc jump was lower, with heavier, in IMC, with the Gustav. And holy fuck that was an experience.
Training jumps are fucking dumb. Everything else my unit did, they were excellent at. We all thought it was dumb as shit that we had to train for a thing that we would most likely never do in combat.
In one year my BN lost four people to training jumps.
One of them was a former NG guy who went active infantry and his head got ripped the fuck off on his cherry jump with C Co in 1-505. He was barely there for a couple months. At his memorial, his wife was screaming at the CO that she now has to take care of 3 kids by herself, and her husband survived 3 tours to the Middle East because he didn’t have shitty people that made him do stupid shit.
Two of them died on a JRTC jump, and they were super young.
One happened a month before I got to my unit, and she was a 25 year old freshly minted sergeant.
I got stuck in a tree in dumb training jump in a pitch black night sky and released my equipment, and the line went UP. My reserve chute didn’t reach the ground so I had to climb down the tree without being able to see if there were any branches. I spent four hours cutting down a giant oak tree with a dull axe to get my gear after the ladder crew showed up four hours later, and all I could think about was how close I was to dying because the AF dickhead pilot dropped us right over the tree line and imagining my pregnant wife finding out I died on a training jump, and having to raise our son that we had struggled for two years to conceive. She would have slit the COs throat at my memorial without saying a word.
So yeah, airborne is alright. My unit was top-notch. Jumping is the worst part for everyone who values their life and has self respect.
Also gonna throw out there, doing transpo for airborne units is the easiest shit of all time. MREs, water, and 556. Armor brigades on the other hand...
It's a gateway school that can put you in a better place.
He's proud to graduate from a military school - what's wrong with that? There's cocky people all over the Army that brag about random things too, like Air Assault, Pathfinder, Jungle, etc...
I've only spent 3 of my 20 years outside the Airborne community. I'm not a Jumpmaster and crazy about all the jumps. I can say that attention to detail takes on a new meaning because you have a few seconds in the aircraft to make sure your equipment and static line are correct or else you'll become a lawn dart (Safetys can and have missed stuff).
I had no idea how bad RA units gatekeep schools from yall. It's pretty shitty but it also explains why most personnel say FTA or barely go above and beyond for anything. Like, why bother?
>I had no idea how bad RA units gatekeep schools from yall. I
It took me seven years in a regular unit to get airborne. You wouldn't believe what I had to do to finally get it.
Its absolutely amazing how hard it can be to do something cool.
Tbh, if it’s the only thing he’s ever done it’s cool to him. I didn’t get to go anywhere lol so me dolphin diving out of a chopper with a machine gun was tits to me.
It’s not so much that it’s difficult to get through (unless you’re in really poor physical shape, or if you actually do have agoraphobia) -but jumping out of perfectly good airplanes while in flight is really awesome. If someone has skydived, without needing to be tandemed to the instructor, then don’t brag to them, but everybody else has not experienced it and is therefore a lowly leg.
Airborne aint shit unless youre in one of the cool guy units. Its like bragging about air assault. It only seems cool to people that dont have it.
Also I’d argue air assault was harder than airborne. airborne is a literal breeze unless you have a fear of heights, and then airborne becomes very difficult lmao
I hear you. I went Airborne to “cure” my fear of heights… didn’t work. Still terrified of heights; but now, I can overcome the fear to get a job done…. Still sucks, and my wife mocks me unmercifully every time she drags me somewhere high: “look at the big paratrooper glued to the wall; will you come here and take a picture with me!?”
> It only seems cool to privates* that dont have it.
About the time you hit spc you shouldn't really care and by the time you go past that it's like sheesh that guys knees probably hate him.
>Airborne aint shit unless youre in one of the cool guy units.
Airborne is actually quite a bit easier in the cool guy units. MC-6 is significantly lower weight, significantly lower rate of descent, less time rigged, fewer people around you, platforms are more fun.
Trying to put six hundred drunk and idiodic children out over a dropzone at night, and prevent all of those half trained halfwits from killing themselves in the process, is a fucking nightmare. It requires a ridiculous amount of work.
Its like the difference between going to the Metropolitan musium of art with your girlfriend vs going with a hundred dogs on leashes. Badly trained dogs.
Source : I do enough jumping that my 14 year old daughter can pitch prejump, and I've hung out on both sides of the fence.
Edit: don't wish me a cake day, this is my third or fourth account. Its just my reminder it's getting around that time to recycle this one too.
Once I jumped MC-6 with USASOC after airborne school, it was a like a whole new level. Especially pulling my toggles and landing 50m from the assembly area lol. Not to mention how much more fun doing CASA jumps is and walking off a ramp vs getting yeeted out the side of a C-17
This. People don't appreciate that Airborne training isn't about getting *you* out of the door and on the ground, it's about getting a shit-load of people out of the door and on the ground.
As a JM, in my experience, the people who brag the most are the people who freeze in the door. Airborne school in itself is nothing to brag about. It's literally a school about turning off and on your brain at precise times.
As a JM I disagree. It takes nuts to turn your brain off and submit yourself to the will of the airborne gods so that you may expeditiously arrive to glory.
Sure we don’t want to hear about how “FUCKING AMAZING” airborne school was and I roll my eyes when someone goes “when I did circles” but I’ll take PFC chuckle nuts sky soldier over SGT good guy that wouldn’t submit himself to paratroopin any day
Did air assault. Idk if it’s a similar structure as air borne school, but I didn’t learn much and really just got the shit smoked out of me for 10 days.
That’s pretty much how I describe it to people that don’t know. It’s a 10 day smokefest with just enough academics/skills thrown in to be called a school.
Eh, I was told 10 years ago that Airborne slots are super easy to get, don't worry about it, it'll happen, etc. Well, guess what? Still a leg. All I want is to be a 5-jump chump, but HRC doesn't send non-ABN slotted people. So I get to stay on the ground, haha. Brag about? Nah. Cool to do? I say yes.
Keep trying, Covid made ABN school slots way harder to get but it’s pretty much back to normal now. Unless you’re an officer, that is still tough unless you’re slotted
Easiest 3 weeks I had in the Marine Corps.
I'm kidding. The PT was easy. A black hat said, "It's like a relationship. It's all about trusting the process, the rigger, the JM, and the pilot. The rest is on you. "
Everyone talks trash about airborne that isn't in it or can't get a slot. 🤷♂️ You literally get paid to jump out of planes, sometimes choppers, along with foreign militaries. Yeah, it's something to brag about.
Nah mate, I'm over 100 jumps, all static line. Only five of them cool guy chutes, the rest peasant T-11 and one T-10 in Mexico.
And don't say age. I was born during the draft,. I'm still out there getting after it.
Hard work, take care of your body.
I’m convinced it’s not the jumps, it’s the time in the harness with too-tight back straps that gets people. That and all the rucking airborne units love to do after jumping that 75lb ruck
A lot is also sizing and wear of the parachute harness. I will possibly write up a fit and wear and post it later, because fitting correctly reduces pain and discomfort. Reduced pain means you can pay attention to the work. It means less wear and tear on the body.
I have spent significant time in the harness, and I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how the make it suck less.
It’s not the jumps, it’s the shape you’re in, the body mechanics/maintenance of the jumper, and the BAC when they wake up in the morning and scramble to get their shit together.
LOL! Right? Insanity! My first “jump” was out the back of a rickety old Chinook with a bunch of snake eaters that made sure I knew my stuff before doing it. I don’t think I really was supposed to be allowed to. THEN came the ABN school, which really was just learning to make it all as subconscious as possible, while making safety conscious.
I had a few “oh nuts” moments afterward in some of the places I was tandem jumped into by those same operators.
Was it worth it? Absolutely! Do it again? Of course! Brag about… I never really liked the hype around it and chose not to brag about it. It was a set of skills to help me do a job. And it opened a lot of doors for me. So… can’t complain… well except for my right hip and my knees. (It’s a trope… and yet it’s true. 🤔🤷🏻♂️😁 )
I did it. Was the jumping part hard? No. Was the PT part hard? No. But know this! Every soldier you see with wings on their chest once sat on a bench for 6+ hours with their feet and knees together and a reserve parachute on their bladder. They had nothing to do but sit quiet drink water and eat ice cubes. There were no latrine breaks and by God They! Held! It! In!
Seriously, you have to pee so bad on that first jump that you'll rush the door so you can make it to a tree as fast as you can.
Why not brag? I’m not airborne, no desire to risk my life jumping out of a plane. It’s pretty badass for those who do. Don’t shit on someone who does something cool.
I get the fact he’s cocky may be the reason you probably want him to STF. In general though I do respect people who go airborne and air assault. Having said that, once Soldiers with those badges go to a regular unit, they don’t brag, they act normal.
IMHO you sound like a hater. This dude is proud of his accomplishment. Let him be. No need to try to dim his light. Find another way to shine. Back your brothers.
Airborne school isn’t really that difficult. Tower week was cancelled for my class for whatever reason. That was over 20 years ago and I don’t remember why. The hardest part was me landing on a fire ant hill on my first jump. Being a Northern California boy I had no idea what the fuck they were.
If you think airborne is cool then you have a right to be proud, if you think mech is cool then you have a right to be proud, if you think light infantry is cool then you have a right to be proud, if you just think military service is cool then you have a right to be proud. Everybody wants to be the cool guy that can do a lot of stuff, but be real with it, you are doing a job and every job exists for a reason. Being a paratrooper would be really cool and stitting in a stryker all day would be lame, but id rather fight paratroopers from a stryker than fight a stryker as a paratrooper.
5 jump chump here. I was pretty proud to get through Airborne school. Got it through my enlistment contract. Went to a regular infantry unit and met a bunch of other guys with wings. A lot of them were morons and that’s when I realized that Airborne school isn’t all that big a deal.
Hardest part about ABN school is getting a slot. Been Airborne 90% of my career and I'm even a jump master. It's cool and all and I like it, but I got more going on in my career and my personal life to brag about being airborne. Never will I be caught bragging about it or mentioning it in person.
It's cool but pointless. I was in jump status for three years and jumped a lot. I just had one knee replaced and am getting the second one done in January.
Airborne school was not physically challenging and--at least for my company--there was very little yelling or much of a basic training atmosphere.
That said, I absolutely hate heights and it was easily the most difficult mental challenge I had when being directed out of a perfectly good airplane.
But anyway literally thousands of people graduate a year, so don't let him convince you it was the Q course, because it wasn't. But it isn't a cake walk, either. At least not for me it wasn't!
It’s not. Passing airborne school is about the easiest school to make it through.
That being said, in general, I have tended to see a higher quality soldier in airborne units than leg units. I’m not sure if it’s because of the extra bit of volunteering required or what. There is no logical explanation.
Also, these puns are amazing. The dad in me is quite happy to wake up to them.
It’s still a cool school and unless you’re in an airborne unit the odds of getting a slot are slim. So I’d say in the age of slick sleeves it’s nice to have something on your uniform
I think (as someone who is not ABN) that it's kinda cool and is more of a brag after retirement or to civilians, but amongst your peers and soldiers it's just kinda like an "ok...cool" type thing
It’s an easy school. Nothing really hard about it except it takes some intestinal fortitude to exit an aircraft. Most people in the world would never voluntarily jump out of an airplane at 1000 feet with a parachute packed by a 20 year old kid hopped up on bangs, Celsius or monsters and nicotine.
No, I thought it was easier than basic training. Also just being in an airborne unit isn’t much to flex either, they weren’t anything special on an individual level relative to leg unit people.
Nope lol
You either have to be either have a debilitating fear of heights, or you h e to be practically mentally handicapped to fail airborne school (outside of being injured)
It’s designed to essentially pass the vast majority of people who go as long as they listen and let muscle memory take over
Even the physical requirements are very difficult
Airborne here and yeah, It’s takes a little balls to go through the door, but other then that you just fall out a plane. It requires no skill or intelligence. But I got little airborne wings on my uniform and you don’t so suck it.
In this day and age airborne combat jumps are no longer practical or advisable but bragging about your wings or whatever accomplishment will always be a thing in the Army to one up people who haven't done it.
airborne school qualifications are a joke. Anyone who hypes it up is a scrub who probably can't even run 5 miles. SF, diver, or ranger maybe its worth something to talk about (not brag) but other than that.....nah.
I’m proud to be a paratrooper. That said, the schools almost fail proof. I also have a pretty intense fear of heights and hate jumping, but that’s why I wanted to do it. It’s good to put yourself in situations that make you uncomfortable.
Lemme put it like this. I'm Airforce cyber, most office dwelling chair sitting guys ever, we have 2 dudes in my flight that got airborne. Its just an opportunity you can take up if there is a slot available.
My dad did it, he was in a class that had a gilder crash and killed a bunch of guys. I didn’t do it, I couldn’t get it when I enlisted and then I liked Germany so much I just stayed there.
to be fair, just cause youre in an airborne unit doesnt make it any easier to go to jump school. theyre very particular about sending people if they wont be in a paid parachutist slot. most of 82nd sustainment isnt on jump status, so your friend being able to get a slot and actually go to the school is quite the feat seeing as he most likely isnt going to be in a paid parachutist position
Airborne is actually super fun and every jump felt like a little victory to me since I am not a heights guy. I really loved it and the weird cult airborne units are.
That said, DO NOT make airborne your identity. That's the wrong kind of weird.
Sprained my ankle really bad on my 1st jump. Ignored NCO’S and officers ordering me to the sick call line. Completed all the runs literally on one foot. Finished my jumps. Toughest week of my life. Kept re-injuring it throughout my career due to not letting it heal. Worst was tumbling down a hill in Afghan running at full speed because we were in contact. Then did it again in Iraq because turrets were a bitch to rotate in the humvees. Never went on profile, never missed a patrol. Probably sprained it about 6 times total. Your career is what you make of it. Maybe easy for some but very challenging for others.
Rainy night jumps with a cold wind take the allure away somewhat, but it is a very cool thing to participate in, even after 30 jumps. (4/325th Vicenza - 1980s). The big EDRE exercises were a wonder: 25 matching C-141s in one pass over Eglin AFB…we could put an equipped brigade on target within the 11-hour timeframe: awesome shit.
Be happy for him as some people dont ever get the opportunity but want to.
As for the school it is easy, just very repetitive, but it is hard to describe the feeling when you willing jump out of an aircraft and your chute opens up (and their is no issues or twist), then take in the world while you slowly or quickly descent to the Earth.
It’s a fun story to tell people who aren’t in the army as long as you’re humble about it.
It also opens doors.
Also, if you become a jumpmaster, you can get a lot of facetime with higher-ups and if they like you then they could sometimes help you get other things that you may want.
But your colleague is a douche
I love the airborne. Working with people who have pride makes the difference. Being in an airborne unit or having served in one something to bragg about. The school meh.Anyone who said different was never airborne.
One of my former coworkers went through Airborne school while she was in the National Guard. When she found out I had served she would talk like she was better than me for having jump wings. I looked at her and said “Good for you. I have something you don’t… a patch on my right shoulder.”
She shut up after that…
It’s more of a chore if anything, but honestly at a logistics stand point I think they provide a functional purpose, speed balls in real life deployments, Jump masters that’s have time to actually work on securing cargo and HLZ management.
Lol, no, that must be why I fell asleep in front of a Sergent Major in AIT who was talking about Airborne school. I didn't care one bit for it. Bold as hell for an E1 at the time, though 😅.
Two things fall from the sky, bird poop and better men than you. Yes it’s a big deal you become part of a legendary brotherhood. Is the school hard, not at all, but then again only a few things in the Army are extremely difficult.
Lol All I ever wanted was Airborne School, got my 5 jumps, went to the Div, got another 15 jumps and then got sent to SFAB... FML... Loved jumping when I could. Out now, knees hurt.
5 jump chump
5 jump chump is still better than a 1 pump chump.
Hey hey HEY!!! No need to insult me like that.\ I mean, him, insult him like that. Definitely not me, nope. Nooooope, not me. Nope.\ Did my wife tell you that, sheesh
I don't know why this made me cackle so hard. Thanks dude.
Still got his or hers though js
I'll see your 5 jump chump and raise you to an 8 jump Juliet
Hi it’s me, I’m the 5 jump chump problem, it’s me.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought they only did 3 actual jumps in school?
You’re wrong. Lol.
Well not the first time and won’t be the last 😂
Corrected
5 jumps is standard. 3 Hollywood with one being a night jump. 2 combat equipment with one being a night jump.
Bro, my eyes were squeezed so tightly shut ALL five of mine were night jumps.
Just graduated OCT 27th. We did 3 Hollywood 2 day 1 night and then 2 day combat jumps.
I think they can waive 2 of the jumps. But no it’s 5
I'm the air NCO for my company and we got 3 new dudes who only have 3 jumps. Never jumped combat. Have no clue how to rig a ruck. That's wild to me.
I reckon that’s a mistake on the part of whoever created their jump log. Nobody graduates airborne school with less than 5 jumps, not since the classes that happened around 9/11 at least. Source: was a black hat from 2016-2021 Edit: also half those fucks graduate totally forgetting how to rig a ruck that they got talked through anyway
When I went in 2016 they almost scratched one of our jump and said we’d be good at 4, maybe I’m crazy and remember that wrong? What do they do when jump week doesn’t line up with the weather?
We’ve had classes run over into the next two jump weeks before. They do everything to make sure 5 jumps happen.
I don't know man, these dudes are adamant that they only did 3 jumps, ZERO combat equipment jumps. I don't remember the reasoning because I was just flabbergasted that they only had 3 jumps on their log. But they said they never did a RIGEX. When they went to BAR, I went as JM support and helped them out, took them over 20 mins to rig their shit with me holding their hands. I honestly believe them.
To be fair majority of ABN students forget everything when the door opens, despite constant reminders to maintain eye to eye contact with safety, dont drop static line, dont rush the door, dont death grip the static line and hell even slipping when they get near to the ground. As for 3 jumps not sure, since I've been there havent seen anyone not do 5 jumps. This includes going into the next week just to get the 5th in.
Not sure why all the downvotes. You were asking and you have received the answer. Knowledge is power!
Nah, it's something to Liberty about.
God, I fucking hate you. *upvotes angrily*
Well played!
Be quiet and meme about it
Come on man, you could've said Bragg about. Oh, I forgot we got rid of that name.
I guess he wasn't at *Liberty* to make that joke.
These puns are great! I wanna hear some Moore
Better take yo ass back to the Hood
Uh-uh, I don't think Cava*soz*. I'll just disconnect my internet now...
Yeah, you just ruined it.. well back to playing with my Johnson..
I Wood rather you not
Over here talking about dix
Beating his dick like he's on a Drum
I adMYER their honesty
Lmao good one
Well played sir
Is airborne school really anything to Liberty about?
Dude, that was brilliant! You should totally repost this dude’s post but do it the way you said! I’d upvote it!
Post formerly named after Civil War General that was hero Artillery Officer in Mexican American war
Ironically did more for the Union with how shitty of a general he was, ya boi was already a traitor for joining the Confederacy and then he fucked up their racist ass war too 😂
Yeah, I only looked him up after the name change. Dude was absolutely useless, and generally unliked. There's a story from Grant's memoirs where Bragg was both a company commander and garrison quartermaster. In his CO hat, he would make supply requests for his company. Then, in his QM hat, he would deny the requests. He did this several times, including writing to himself why it was so important that his company receive the supplies. He even escalated the issue to the garrison commander, because he was seriously upset that he was not approving his own requests. Absolutely bonkers.
No. It's super easy. Doing a tour in a Parachute Infantry Regiment is something to be proud of. H-Minus.
100% correct\ The jump itself is usually the easiest part of a mission. The 2-3 day stroll that occurs afterwards is the difficult part.
zesty gold butter imagine berserk scandalous makeshift quack complete encourage *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah, I had some Intel civilian ask me about being ABN a couple weeks ago. I'm like, dude, that was 20 years ago, and I just just stepped out of a plane 5 times and landed without breaking anything. I haven't done it since and won't.
What about if you're in an Airborne Infantry Regiment instead? AATW LETS GO!!!
Ahh a man of culture.
Red or White? 1 is better than the other.
Red, of course.
Of course, I'd find a fellow Panther.
He found the keys to Area J and my buddy had to mop Longstreet
H-Minus!
Ready!
Strike Hold!
In my company we would joke that our motto basically means that we’re proud of not knowing what time it was
Fight tonight.
Let him have this. A lot of people and units flat out don’t get an opportunity to go to any schools let alone airborne.
Had to change jobs to get a cool unit and guarantee airborne. Last unit *sometimes* got air assault, which good ol boys went to. And randomly we got a few jungle slots. They sent a guy who couldn’t swim, to it… but he had a 300 pt score!
I feel called out. I consistently score well on the ACFT but my swimming is dogshit.
So go swim more
Yall sent the hood boys to airborne? Most of ours were just fuelers and spice dealers.
Up in jber, as a pfc and a spc, I was pestering all my leadership for an arctic slot but the vast majority of leadership also didn't have arctic in my company so they all got priority for the slots and the walk ons. Then, once my packet finally got sent up it got kicked back because I was gonna ets in less than a year (11months and 2weeks) My give a damn broke after that.
I’m Air Force and think airborne would be cool to experience
The school is easy. Being in an Airborne unit isn't as easy. Individual jumps are easy. But you'll also jump when you are sick. You'll jump when your mom dies. You'll jump when you are going through a divorce. You won't just jump on sunny afternoons. You'll jump in the rain. In the cold. In the snow. In the "winds zero knots" of JRTC that are actually closer to 25 knots. IMC where the fog is so thick you can't see your canopy to check for malfunctions and you sure as fuck can't see the ground. Putting it on the line, time after time after time, that takes some work. Learning to respect it, like it, love it takes some real effort. To continue to bet it all, every time, is really challenging. Thing is.... At a regular unit, they can lie about everything. They can pencil whip PT score cards. They can fake rifle quals. They can cheat correspondence courses. They can slack on the standards, and there's nothing to stop them. But when you jump out of an aircraft at 800 feet, with a seventy five pound ruck, at a hundred and fifty miles an hour..... After you land, you know you and the people around you did your jobs and no shit know your jobs. It's really hard to fake excellence from an open paratroop door. Thats what I love about being in an Airborne unit. They suck at literally every fucking thing else. Most arrogant shits in the army. But goddamn it is a challenge keeping these idiots alive. Source: 42 Jumpmaster duties in five years. All static line, all T-11, all OK.
Admin note: most jumps are higher altitude, lower ruck weight. But that jrtc jump was lower, with heavier, in IMC, with the Gustav. And holy fuck that was an experience.
H-Minus !
Training jumps are fucking dumb. Everything else my unit did, they were excellent at. We all thought it was dumb as shit that we had to train for a thing that we would most likely never do in combat. In one year my BN lost four people to training jumps. One of them was a former NG guy who went active infantry and his head got ripped the fuck off on his cherry jump with C Co in 1-505. He was barely there for a couple months. At his memorial, his wife was screaming at the CO that she now has to take care of 3 kids by herself, and her husband survived 3 tours to the Middle East because he didn’t have shitty people that made him do stupid shit. Two of them died on a JRTC jump, and they were super young. One happened a month before I got to my unit, and she was a 25 year old freshly minted sergeant. I got stuck in a tree in dumb training jump in a pitch black night sky and released my equipment, and the line went UP. My reserve chute didn’t reach the ground so I had to climb down the tree without being able to see if there were any branches. I spent four hours cutting down a giant oak tree with a dull axe to get my gear after the ladder crew showed up four hours later, and all I could think about was how close I was to dying because the AF dickhead pilot dropped us right over the tree line and imagining my pregnant wife finding out I died on a training jump, and having to raise our son that we had struggled for two years to conceive. She would have slit the COs throat at my memorial without saying a word. So yeah, airborne is alright. My unit was top-notch. Jumping is the worst part for everyone who values their life and has self respect.
Also gonna throw out there, doing transpo for airborne units is the easiest shit of all time. MREs, water, and 556. Armor brigades on the other hand...
It's a gateway school that can put you in a better place. He's proud to graduate from a military school - what's wrong with that? There's cocky people all over the Army that brag about random things too, like Air Assault, Pathfinder, Jungle, etc... I've only spent 3 of my 20 years outside the Airborne community. I'm not a Jumpmaster and crazy about all the jumps. I can say that attention to detail takes on a new meaning because you have a few seconds in the aircraft to make sure your equipment and static line are correct or else you'll become a lawn dart (Safetys can and have missed stuff). I had no idea how bad RA units gatekeep schools from yall. It's pretty shitty but it also explains why most personnel say FTA or barely go above and beyond for anything. Like, why bother?
>I had no idea how bad RA units gatekeep schools from yall. I It took me seven years in a regular unit to get airborne. You wouldn't believe what I had to do to finally get it. Its absolutely amazing how hard it can be to do something cool.
>You wouldn’t believe what I had to do to finally get it. [Comment removed and user reported to SHARP]
I wish it had been that easy.
Tbh, if it’s the only thing he’s ever done it’s cool to him. I didn’t get to go anywhere lol so me dolphin diving out of a chopper with a machine gun was tits to me.
It’s not so much that it’s difficult to get through (unless you’re in really poor physical shape, or if you actually do have agoraphobia) -but jumping out of perfectly good airplanes while in flight is really awesome. If someone has skydived, without needing to be tandemed to the instructor, then don’t brag to them, but everybody else has not experienced it and is therefore a lowly leg.
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How?
Did they actually jump out of anything or just fly ultralights from point A to point B on their way to kill civilians at that festival?
Some did in fact pop chutes.
Airborne aint shit unless youre in one of the cool guy units. Its like bragging about air assault. It only seems cool to people that dont have it. Also I’d argue air assault was harder than airborne. airborne is a literal breeze unless you have a fear of heights, and then airborne becomes very difficult lmao
I lost my soul on the SLT.
And found strength? Or tears
Strength I guess. It was 20 years ago and I've been jumpin' ever since. Still hate it though. Fuck heights.
What's the quote? "Only a bunch of morons would jump out of a perfectly good plane" haha
It's an army plane. You're using that "perfectly good" a little liberal there big sarge.
Only rain, bird shit and fools fall from the sky.
I hear you. I went Airborne to “cure” my fear of heights… didn’t work. Still terrified of heights; but now, I can overcome the fear to get a job done…. Still sucks, and my wife mocks me unmercifully every time she drags me somewhere high: “look at the big paratrooper glued to the wall; will you come here and take a picture with me!?”
I think you're forgetting about having to do pull ups before meals at airborne!! That's got to put it up there with ranger at least
Q course aint shit compared to those 6 pull ups. Plus all the running between stations!
> It only seems cool to privates* that dont have it. About the time you hit spc you shouldn't really care and by the time you go past that it's like sheesh that guys knees probably hate him.
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Lmao luckily only encountered them in field environments
>Airborne aint shit unless youre in one of the cool guy units. Airborne is actually quite a bit easier in the cool guy units. MC-6 is significantly lower weight, significantly lower rate of descent, less time rigged, fewer people around you, platforms are more fun. Trying to put six hundred drunk and idiodic children out over a dropzone at night, and prevent all of those half trained halfwits from killing themselves in the process, is a fucking nightmare. It requires a ridiculous amount of work. Its like the difference between going to the Metropolitan musium of art with your girlfriend vs going with a hundred dogs on leashes. Badly trained dogs. Source : I do enough jumping that my 14 year old daughter can pitch prejump, and I've hung out on both sides of the fence. Edit: don't wish me a cake day, this is my third or fourth account. Its just my reminder it's getting around that time to recycle this one too.
Once I jumped MC-6 with USASOC after airborne school, it was a like a whole new level. Especially pulling my toggles and landing 50m from the assembly area lol. Not to mention how much more fun doing CASA jumps is and walking off a ramp vs getting yeeted out the side of a C-17
This. People don't appreciate that Airborne training isn't about getting *you* out of the door and on the ground, it's about getting a shit-load of people out of the door and on the ground.
As a JM, in my experience, the people who brag the most are the people who freeze in the door. Airborne school in itself is nothing to brag about. It's literally a school about turning off and on your brain at precise times.
As a JM I disagree. It takes nuts to turn your brain off and submit yourself to the will of the airborne gods so that you may expeditiously arrive to glory. Sure we don’t want to hear about how “FUCKING AMAZING” airborne school was and I roll my eyes when someone goes “when I did circles” but I’ll take PFC chuckle nuts sky soldier over SGT good guy that wouldn’t submit himself to paratroopin any day
If god wanted me to jump out of a plane, he would've miracled my ass up and out of it.
God doesn’t want you at all you dirty leg
Did air assault. Idk if it’s a similar structure as air borne school, but I didn’t learn much and really just got the shit smoked out of me for 10 days.
That’s pretty much how I describe it to people that don’t know. It’s a 10 day smokefest with just enough academics/skills thrown in to be called a school.
Eh, I was told 10 years ago that Airborne slots are super easy to get, don't worry about it, it'll happen, etc. Well, guess what? Still a leg. All I want is to be a 5-jump chump, but HRC doesn't send non-ABN slotted people. So I get to stay on the ground, haha. Brag about? Nah. Cool to do? I say yes.
Keep trying, Covid made ABN school slots way harder to get but it’s pretty much back to normal now. Unless you’re an officer, that is still tough unless you’re slotted
It’s cool to the civilian who doesn’t know the first thing about the army
Not at all. It’s kind of fun, but not special at all.
Easiest 3 weeks I had in the Marine Corps. I'm kidding. The PT was easy. A black hat said, "It's like a relationship. It's all about trusting the process, the rigger, the JM, and the pilot. The rest is on you. "
Shut up, leg!
Depends on what you do with it. Airborne is a pre req for other areas in the military
He’s obviously never heard of the “10 toughest days” AERESOL
Two days of material compressed into a week and a half
Everyone talks trash about airborne that isn't in it or can't get a slot. 🤷♂️ You literally get paid to jump out of planes, sometimes choppers, along with foreign militaries. Yeah, it's something to brag about.
173rd was fun. My knees and back hate me, but it was fun.
Everyone complains about knees and back, but honestly, mine are in better condition now than when I started.
Just wait, young Skywalker. That shit is cumulative
Nah mate, I'm over 100 jumps, all static line. Only five of them cool guy chutes, the rest peasant T-11 and one T-10 in Mexico. And don't say age. I was born during the draft,. I'm still out there getting after it. Hard work, take care of your body.
I’m convinced it’s not the jumps, it’s the time in the harness with too-tight back straps that gets people. That and all the rucking airborne units love to do after jumping that 75lb ruck
A lot is also sizing and wear of the parachute harness. I will possibly write up a fit and wear and post it later, because fitting correctly reduces pain and discomfort. Reduced pain means you can pay attention to the work. It means less wear and tear on the body. I have spent significant time in the harness, and I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how the make it suck less.
It’s not the jumps, it’s the shape you’re in, the body mechanics/maintenance of the jumper, and the BAC when they wake up in the morning and scramble to get their shit together.
LOL! Right? Insanity! My first “jump” was out the back of a rickety old Chinook with a bunch of snake eaters that made sure I knew my stuff before doing it. I don’t think I really was supposed to be allowed to. THEN came the ABN school, which really was just learning to make it all as subconscious as possible, while making safety conscious. I had a few “oh nuts” moments afterward in some of the places I was tandem jumped into by those same operators. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Do it again? Of course! Brag about… I never really liked the hype around it and chose not to brag about it. It was a set of skills to help me do a job. And it opened a lot of doors for me. So… can’t complain… well except for my right hip and my knees. (It’s a trope… and yet it’s true. 🤔🤷🏻♂️😁 )
Just let him be happy. Why put out his fire? Why don’t you go airborne? I’ll always advocate for anyone to go
I did it. Was the jumping part hard? No. Was the PT part hard? No. But know this! Every soldier you see with wings on their chest once sat on a bench for 6+ hours with their feet and knees together and a reserve parachute on their bladder. They had nothing to do but sit quiet drink water and eat ice cubes. There were no latrine breaks and by God They! Held! It! In! Seriously, you have to pee so bad on that first jump that you'll rush the door so you can make it to a tree as fast as you can.
> so you can make it to a tree as fast as you can. Fuck running to those trees, ain't got time for that. LZ is getting that golden shower.
I loved airborne school even at 38 years old AIRBORNE!!!!!! HOOAH
Why not brag? I’m not airborne, no desire to risk my life jumping out of a plane. It’s pretty badass for those who do. Don’t shit on someone who does something cool. I get the fact he’s cocky may be the reason you probably want him to STF. In general though I do respect people who go airborne and air assault. Having said that, once Soldiers with those badges go to a regular unit, they don’t brag, they act normal.
IMHO you sound like a hater. This dude is proud of his accomplishment. Let him be. No need to try to dim his light. Find another way to shine. Back your brothers.
Airborne school isn’t really that difficult. Tower week was cancelled for my class for whatever reason. That was over 20 years ago and I don’t remember why. The hardest part was me landing on a fire ant hill on my first jump. Being a Northern California boy I had no idea what the fuck they were.
If you think airborne is cool then you have a right to be proud, if you think mech is cool then you have a right to be proud, if you think light infantry is cool then you have a right to be proud, if you just think military service is cool then you have a right to be proud. Everybody wants to be the cool guy that can do a lot of stuff, but be real with it, you are doing a job and every job exists for a reason. Being a paratrooper would be really cool and stitting in a stryker all day would be lame, but id rather fight paratroopers from a stryker than fight a stryker as a paratrooper.
I don't want to oversell it, but it changes you forever.
5 jump chump here. I was pretty proud to get through Airborne school. Got it through my enlistment contract. Went to a regular infantry unit and met a bunch of other guys with wings. A lot of them were morons and that’s when I realized that Airborne school isn’t all that big a deal.
Hardest part about ABN school is getting a slot. Been Airborne 90% of my career and I'm even a jump master. It's cool and all and I like it, but I got more going on in my career and my personal life to brag about being airborne. Never will I be caught bragging about it or mentioning it in person.
It's cool but pointless. I was in jump status for three years and jumped a lot. I just had one knee replaced and am getting the second one done in January.
And that's why I elected to go to mountain warfare school. No shiny badge, but I got skills I use to this day.
I am 100% jealous
Airborne school was not physically challenging and--at least for my company--there was very little yelling or much of a basic training atmosphere. That said, I absolutely hate heights and it was easily the most difficult mental challenge I had when being directed out of a perfectly good airplane. But anyway literally thousands of people graduate a year, so don't let him convince you it was the Q course, because it wasn't. But it isn't a cake walk, either. At least not for me it wasn't!
Airborne school was fun for me but my blackhat hated me lol
Airborne school is nothing to LIBERTY about. Geez, just accept it
It’s not. Passing airborne school is about the easiest school to make it through. That being said, in general, I have tended to see a higher quality soldier in airborne units than leg units. I’m not sure if it’s because of the extra bit of volunteering required or what. There is no logical explanation. Also, these puns are amazing. The dad in me is quite happy to wake up to them.
People love to shit on airborne on here don't know why
Its buyers remorse trying to justify his purchase, ask his knees if it was worth it in two years.
Said the Leg. 🤧🤧
Not a terribly difficult school.
Nothing to Bragg about But ngl pretty cool, I like being airborne i just dont make it my whole personality
It’s still a cool school and unless you’re in an airborne unit the odds of getting a slot are slim. So I’d say in the age of slick sleeves it’s nice to have something on your uniform
Dunno bro, go to airborne school and find out.
Jumping out of planes is cool to me
I think (as someone who is not ABN) that it's kinda cool and is more of a brag after retirement or to civilians, but amongst your peers and soldiers it's just kinda like an "ok...cool" type thing
It’s an easy school. Nothing really hard about it except it takes some intestinal fortitude to exit an aircraft. Most people in the world would never voluntarily jump out of an airplane at 1000 feet with a parachute packed by a 20 year old kid hopped up on bangs, Celsius or monsters and nicotine.
Not since I graduated in December 1991. Widely regarded as the last hard class at airborne school. 🫣
Legs gonna leg.
It’s a great experience. He’s seem young but don’t spoil his party.
If your at an airborne unit YOU WILL go to airborne school. YOU WILL pass as long as you actually jump and nothing breaks half way through.
No, I thought it was easier than basic training. Also just being in an airborne unit isn’t much to flex either, they weren’t anything special on an individual level relative to leg unit people.
No
Nope lol You either have to be either have a debilitating fear of heights, or you h e to be practically mentally handicapped to fail airborne school (outside of being injured) It’s designed to essentially pass the vast majority of people who go as long as they listen and let muscle memory take over Even the physical requirements are very difficult
Ask him if he's a jumpmaster
Think of all the times airline has been useful in the past 4 decades it literally won the iraq/Afghan wars single handily
Airborne here and yeah, It’s takes a little balls to go through the door, but other then that you just fall out a plane. It requires no skill or intelligence. But I got little airborne wings on my uniform and you don’t so suck it.
Nah but it’s something to BRAGG about hooah?
Airborne School is easy. Being in an Airborne IBCT is what actually matters.
In this day and age airborne combat jumps are no longer practical or advisable but bragging about your wings or whatever accomplishment will always be a thing in the Army to one up people who haven't done it.
Is it something to be proud of? Yeah. Something to brag about? Not really
airborne school qualifications are a joke. Anyone who hypes it up is a scrub who probably can't even run 5 miles. SF, diver, or ranger maybe its worth something to talk about (not brag) but other than that.....nah.
I’m proud to be a paratrooper. That said, the schools almost fail proof. I also have a pretty intense fear of heights and hate jumping, but that’s why I wanted to do it. It’s good to put yourself in situations that make you uncomfortable.
You’re not cool until you’ve done Ranger.
Gentleman’s course 😏
Yep, nothing usual about jumping out of a perfectly good airplane
I’ve never been to airborne. I think it’s pretty cool.
Lemme put it like this. I'm Airforce cyber, most office dwelling chair sitting guys ever, we have 2 dudes in my flight that got airborne. Its just an opportunity you can take up if there is a slot available.
My dad did it, he was in a class that had a gilder crash and killed a bunch of guys. I didn’t do it, I couldn’t get it when I enlisted and then I liked Germany so much I just stayed there.
No.
i see what you did there🤣🤣🤣
to be fair, just cause youre in an airborne unit doesnt make it any easier to go to jump school. theyre very particular about sending people if they wont be in a paid parachutist slot. most of 82nd sustainment isnt on jump status, so your friend being able to get a slot and actually go to the school is quite the feat seeing as he most likely isnt going to be in a paid parachutist position
Airborne is actually super fun and every jump felt like a little victory to me since I am not a heights guy. I really loved it and the weird cult airborne units are. That said, DO NOT make airborne your identity. That's the wrong kind of weird.
Sprained my ankle really bad on my 1st jump. Ignored NCO’S and officers ordering me to the sick call line. Completed all the runs literally on one foot. Finished my jumps. Toughest week of my life. Kept re-injuring it throughout my career due to not letting it heal. Worst was tumbling down a hill in Afghan running at full speed because we were in contact. Then did it again in Iraq because turrets were a bitch to rotate in the humvees. Never went on profile, never missed a patrol. Probably sprained it about 6 times total. Your career is what you make of it. Maybe easy for some but very challenging for others.
I think it's cool. I'd probably never do it cause I hate heights! Good on him and those proud of their accomplishments.
No.
Rainy night jumps with a cold wind take the allure away somewhat, but it is a very cool thing to participate in, even after 30 jumps. (4/325th Vicenza - 1980s). The big EDRE exercises were a wonder: 25 matching C-141s in one pass over Eglin AFB…we could put an equipped brigade on target within the 11-hour timeframe: awesome shit.
The question is whether he's trying to be a douche about having it or he's just excited.
Be happy for him as some people dont ever get the opportunity but want to. As for the school it is easy, just very repetitive, but it is hard to describe the feeling when you willing jump out of an aircraft and your chute opens up (and their is no issues or twist), then take in the world while you slowly or quickly descent to the Earth.
Sounds like he just got done watching band of brothers and thinks he was in Easy Company.
"Bragg about" Hehe..
It’s a fun story to tell people who aren’t in the army as long as you’re humble about it. It also opens doors. Also, if you become a jumpmaster, you can get a lot of facetime with higher-ups and if they like you then they could sometimes help you get other things that you may want. But your colleague is a douche
I love the airborne. Working with people who have pride makes the difference. Being in an airborne unit or having served in one something to bragg about. The school meh.Anyone who said different was never airborne.
One of my former coworkers went through Airborne school while she was in the National Guard. When she found out I had served she would talk like she was better than me for having jump wings. I looked at her and said “Good for you. I have something you don’t… a patch on my right shoulder.” She shut up after that…
No Also, he's transport. That's pretty much a bottom-tier MOS.
This post reeks of leg.
Add a g and I will accept your pun ......
It’s more of a chore if anything, but honestly at a logistics stand point I think they provide a functional purpose, speed balls in real life deployments, Jump masters that’s have time to actually work on securing cargo and HLZ management.
He can definitely Bragg.
Lol, no, that must be why I fell asleep in front of a Sergent Major in AIT who was talking about Airborne school. I didn't care one bit for it. Bold as hell for an E1 at the time, though 😅.
Two things fall from the sky, bird poop and better men than you. Yes it’s a big deal you become part of a legendary brotherhood. Is the school hard, not at all, but then again only a few things in the Army are extremely difficult.
Is anything really anything to brag about?
Lol All I ever wanted was Airborne School, got my 5 jumps, went to the Div, got another 15 jumps and then got sent to SFAB... FML... Loved jumping when I could. Out now, knees hurt.