Coffee Shop Talk, II

[Continuation of Coffee Shop Thoughts . . .]

Ranger Contest:

Submit your best life lesson learned from Jump Commands.
You will receive some kind of an award (as yet to be determined).
Winners chosen next Monday
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Stand Up:

This is where standing solidly on two legs is essential, since doing so is difficult. A heavy load and an unstable platform is where we do our job. The aircraft is usually bucking like a Phenix City whore, and there is nothing to grab onto for stability.


Hook Up:

This act locks you in for the jump. From this point forward you will be functioning as a member of a team, and there is no turning back. You are decisively engaged in the jumping endeavor.

Being hooked up actualy stabilizes the troop because this gives him an anchor point to grip. This is a fleeting sense of stability, however, because the jumpers are within minutes of exiting the aircraft.


Check Equipment:

This is critical and essential to the success of the mission and gives a sense of security, as we all realize that the man behind and in front are essentia; to the success of the endeavor.

While checking equipment one tactiley goes over one's personal equipment from static line to resrve parachute. The man in front is checked by the man to the rear. Static lines are checked to insure that they not be misrouted. It is usual for the jumpers to gain eye contact and visually reassure one another


Sound Off for Equipment Check:


The stick sends forward the reply of "o.k" from the rear to the front. The first man in the door points at the Jumpmaster and yells, "All O.K.!" This is a go situation and is critical, since it is unheard of to overfly a DZ twice. It is essential to make the jump on the first pass; otherwise is unwise.


GO!

The stick is tight up against one another while two jumpers are in the door ready to exit and under the physical control of the Jumpmaster. Upon the command, the aircraft empties and the Air Force gets to go home and live in luxury.

The jumpers? Well, we know what they do.
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Next week we will hopefully have some illuminating contributions from readers.

My life lesson is that one must have a pre-ordained mission and follow it through to completion.


These posts are dedicated to Lowell Jergens and Les George, outstanding jumpmasters in Ranger's life.

Coffee Shop Thoughts

Fr. Manpurse blog

I think I'm paranoid
Manipulated
I think I'm paranoid
Too complicated
--I Think I'm Paranoid, Garbage

Did you know that water's
not to blame if you drown?
Can't blame the stone
for being cold
--The Wired, Machinae Supremacy

Got to concentrate
don't be distractive
Turn me on tonight
Cause I'm radioactive
--Radiocative, The Firm
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HAPPY ARMED FORCES DAY to all of youse!
(except the guy in the photo.)

While sitting in a coffee shop recently, an Army memory was awakened watching two young male customers of military age. One was schlumpy, slouchy and gamboling about and the other was standing strongly and calmly on both legs while waiting behind the first for service.

This mise en scene returned Ranger to memories of jump school and general thoughts on having been a paratrooper. While most writing here is about the fallacies of the military and the folly of war, positive life lessons were gained from my military experience.

The start of this process was Jump School in August of '68, and the first lesson was to stand firmly on both legs, and not to cock one's hips like a girly man. As we were expected to carry heavy loads, only that stance would gain the objective. As men we should stand on two legs; what could be simpler and more profound?

From stance emerged memories of the jump commands grilled into every jumper's brain. This is doubly true for those that trained for jumpmaster duties. The jump commands elicit immediate, ingrained reaction-response from any former trooper. We never forget the jump commands because they kept us alive; they were valuable tools for life.

The verbal jump commands are issued in tandem with visual hand cues from the jumpmaster. It's extremely noisy in a troop carrier when the doors are opened approximately twenty minutes prior to hitting the release point, so the double message insures the command will not be missed.

The aircraft is usually blacked out for security purposes so we learn to use our eyes and ears in a coordinated manner. This synchronization is not always employed in daily life. However, the more input we have, the better decision we can make. Look --> Listen --> Act, that is the formula.

From commands, thoughts went to equipment. Being a soldier implies having a near-religious belief in your fellow troopers, and by extension, one's equipment. Our lives hung from pieces of nylon sewn together and rigged by other men. Jumping out of an aircraft at 180 knots at 700 ft. altitude in pitch black is not an act of blind faith but rather a result of training and trust. If we did not trust we would never exit an aircraft in fl(r)ight.

The jump commands themselves are simple:

• Get Ready
• Stand Up
• Hook Up
• Check Static Line [thanks to an astute reader]
  
• Check Equipment
• Sound Off for Equipment Check
• Stand in the Door
• GO

Each carries its own lesson. We will break them down now:

Get Ready:

This may seem a superfluous command, but it is accurate and significant.

Hours, days, weeks and years compress into this one command. We are sitting there tighter than a dick's hatband, and do we need to be told to "get ready"? You bet. This command locks-and-cocks us, telling us that everything is going as planned and now it is our turn to enter the fray. Whether it be actual or training in nature, the response is the same.

Get ready means you kick the switch. This initiates last-minute adjustments in preparation for and anticipation of the next command.

Next post: Stand Up.