National Airborne Day
Today is a day we honor and celebrate all military parachutists and glidermen going back to our inception.
The use of the glider has long since faded away, but their contribution during WWII is immense and should not be forgotten. However, the modern Paratrooper is what carries on the traditions in the modern military.
No matter what anyone tells you, it ain’t skydiving.
Paratroopers are born and bred at Ft. Benning, Georgia. It is not only the Army’s school for parachutists, but all branches of the military send their servicemembers there for training. In three weeks, you learn to jump safely from an aircraft. It is a heroic feat by itself and not everyone makes it. For some, that is the last time they will ever jump.
Like thousands of others, I was blessed to live the life of a Paratrooper for a decade while I was in the Army. When you are in a unit that jumps, you learn a lot of things; teamwork, attention to detail, how to adapt. When you exit an aircraft, at night, with over 80 pounds of gear and weaponry (not including your main or reserve parachute), from 800 ft., with about 1000 of your closest friends spread across a dozen or so aircraft, a lot of things can go wrong. You rely on that training the Army gave you at Ft. Benning, you rely on the training you received from your unit, and you rely on all those people around you to do the same.
As down right scary as that experience can be, there is nothing like it. NOTHING. When the aircraft doors open and that cool night air rushes into the cargo compartment, your adrenaline takes over. The muscle memory kicks in. You do what you were trained to do, all the way until you hit the ground. The danger in what these men and women do is real. You can die in training just as easily as you can in combat when you exit an aircraft. It takes courage to do that. Not video game courage. Not internet courage. Real courage. This is life and death stuff, and it doesn’t end once you hit the ground. Hitting the ground is only the beginning.
That courage is what is being celebrated today on National Airborne Day. Those men and women from across the United States and across the world showing that courage, not on behalf of themselves, but on behalf of the nation they serve.
I salute all my brothers and sisters today for what we have done and will continue to do.
Airborne!!