Finally, I’m done with “tower week”. We spent 5 days practicing coming out of the 34 ft tower in a few different configuration. We also worked on our landings. Wow, my body was so beat up. I feel so old! I wish they would let us take our cameras down there but they are strictly forbidden. I’ll see if I can post a few pictures from the actual website.

Now that ground week is over, we are on to bigger and better things! Today we completed our first of 5 jumps. That’s right. I jumped out of a perfectly good plane. It was the most amazing feeling. There was a lot going on and it seemed to all happen so quickly.
Today we had a 0400 morning call. We then ran (in boots and full uniform) in formation down to the flight deck, and parachute shed. There we spend time getting geared up with our parachutes. We were checked, safety checked, and checked again. Safety is a huge priority. They are pretty proud of their safety record.
Once we were all geared up we moved on to major event of the day: waiting! We sat and waited. No talking or sleeping was permitted. Ah!!! I hate the army sometimes.
We heard the plane landing and knew that we were next. We boarded quickly, our thoughts deafened by the turbines of the plane. We squeezed in the back of a C130 – an aircraft that I met in Iraq.
After take off, and before the plane leveled out, the first group of 10 paratroopers were already ordered to their feet. “wow” I thought, this is really happening.
Before I knew it, the first group was gone and the second 10 were approaching the door. We were the 4th group to go. I could see out the small windows the trees and fields below.
We finally had our chance. My head was spinning when I started scooting towards the door. “Was I actually going to do this?” The black hats are pretty particular about every move that you make so I was nervous about what I was doing. Once I got to the door, I just jumped out. When I looked up after a few seconds, I saw my parachute open. Wow, what a peaceful feeling it was to float down. It didn’t last long. After maybe 20 seconds, I met mother earth again. I was actually surprised at how soft the landing was. (the parachute that we’ll be using tomorrow promises not to be so soft)
After I landed, I let out an excited yelp! What a great time. 2 weeks of horrible training, made those 20 seconds worth it. “hurry up airborne, pack your chute and double time back over here. Waiting on you” – Sergeant Airborne over the megaphone was relentless. I was quickly brought back to reality.