Airborne school how long

That First Jump is a blast. But so is the second, and the third, … So If you enjoy sports like skiing, and love the outdoors, chances are you will like Airborne School, too.

Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. What Are The Requirements? How Do I Sign Up? What Should I Bring? How Hard Is It? Who CAN Go? What Happens After Airborne School?

What Happens If I Fail? Conclusion Where is Airborne School? Aerial View of Ft. The minimum requirements are as follows: Age: Must be less than 36 years old on the date of application. Hold your nose, close your mouth, and blow. Your ears have to pop. Keep in mind that this is based on the standards for those 17 — 21 years old.

Sit-Ups min. Doing better on the test will not increase your chances of going to Airborne school. Army Basic Training It should go without saying that successfully completing Basic Training is the main qualification for a recruit before entering Airborne School. For recruits straight out of infantry training, Airborne School will seem like a vacation. When do I sign up for Airborne School?

You also need to have clear Ipro safety glasses, as well as a strap to keep them on your head. Your patrol cap is the only headgear you will wear, other than your Kevlar helmet. Also, bring plain white or black socks no logos , and they need to be covering the ankles.

This is often one of the most overlooked things most guys forget to bring. They should be lightweight, but good enough to run in. Also, make sure they have solid ankle support. You should also bring a combination lock. Bring an extension cord and a power strip and your fellow recruits will love you for it. Make sure you lock up all of your stuff at the beginning of each training day, though.

Image credit: Yourbestdigs. Another thing that you should bring to Airborne School is headphones. Food: No food is allowed. Pets: Seriously, who brings their pets to Airborne School? So how long is Airborne School? Ground Week Week 1 In the first week, an Airborne school recruit can expect to spend a lot of time familiarizing him or herself with: The equipment a paratrooper uses How to properly put on a parachute rig , and Classes on jumping procedures In this week, you will not complete any actual jumps.

Source: Wikimedia. You will practice the PLF from a variety of heights, progressively getting higher. When you hit the ground, you need to do so in a way to prevent yourself from getting injured. Source: Army. With that said, accidents do happen. You will learn the various recovery procedures for any and all types of chute malfunctions, including: Cigarette rolls: A partial malfunction that happens when the chute provides no lift capability.

Streamers: Also a partial malfunction involving a loss of lift. A streamer malfunction is when a parachute is deployed but fails to inflate properly. Collisions And Entanglements Another emergency procedure you will train for is collisions and entanglements.

Like this… You will discuss several instances when this can happen, and go over the proper recovery procedures in excruciating detail. Emergency Landings As mentioned earlier, the type of parachute used in Airborne school is not the kind that you can steer around. Benning Ft. Try to have fun with it! Jump Week Week 3 Lastly, the third and final week, Jump Week, is when the recruit gets to put all of his or her theory into practice.

Source: flickr. So expect to be sitting around a lot. Once your Chalk is called, you will shuffle out to either a C or a C and load up. Airborne school students loaded up in a C 17 So how many jumps do you do in airborne school? The last jump the recruit does in Airborne School is a combination combat jump and night jump. Source: AF. Is Airborne School Really Difficult?

Any special advice or tips? It goes without saying that jumping out of an airplane is extremely dangerous. However, most injuries in Airborne School occur during other phases of the training. The most common injuries include: Physical injuries sustained during routine training.

Injuries sustained from equipment. Injury sustained from static lines. Mid-air collisions Parachute failure extremely rare Injuries sustained from landings. Author Recent Posts. Elie P. Elie Piha served as a paratrooper in the US Army from to He currently works as a writing tutor, a freelance writer, and a bartender, is completing a novel based on his time in Afghanistan, and is pursuing graduate school. Latest posts by Elie P.

Army Airborne School 4. Written by someone who actually attended Airborne school in Ft. Benning, GA. Share on Facebook. Anyone who cannot meet the initial fitness assessment including the arm hang are re-evaluated the following day in a pass-or-drop situation.

Some of those in the list of eligible Airborne applicants above have specific times when they are permitted to apply and not before:. There are other categories of potential applicants who have special procedures—for example, a new recruit who has not shipped out to Basic Training may be eligible to sign up for an Airborne Incentive Bonus.

Those who successfully complete Jump Week are identified as Airborne in their military records and are authorized to wear the Airborne Silver Wing device on uniforms. Volunteers for Airborne School must be younger than 36 at application time. Army regulations provide some exceptions; those E-5s and above may be considered for an age waiver if the examining medical officer approves.

All candidates must meet physical qualification requirements associated with parachute duty. All applicants must score points on the Army Physical Fitness Test. The second week of Jump School concentrates on the jump towers. Soldiers will continue using the foot tower and will also use the swing-landing trainer, the suspended harness, and the foot tower.

Soldiers will become familiar with the mock door trainer to simulate mass exit training how to exit an aircraft in flight. Parachute jumps from the foot high tower culminate the second week of training and are the final transition from ground training to actual parachuting. Additionally, soldiers are taught the different phases of parachute flight from aircraft exit, through opening shock and chute deployment, then onto the deployment of the risers, steering the chute, and all the way to landing.

One critical skill learned is how to identify a parachute malfunction and deal with it. This may involve emergency procedures including when and how to deploy the reserve parachute. Soldiers also learn about oscillation, landing falls, and how to recover from drag. The TC parachute is partially steerable using the parachute risers and soldiers are taught the different techniques to steer their chutes into the wind and aim for the Point of Impact at the center of the Drop Zone.

Once successfully completing the skills required and the physical fitness requirements, a soldier progresses to jump week. Finally, soldiers get to practice their new skills while jumping out of real aircraft in flight. The C or C aircraft pick up the paratrooper students right in front of the hangar at Lawson Army Airfield, from there it is a very short flight to Friar Drop Zone where all of the training jumps are accomplished. At that point the aircraft will begin its racetrack maneuver circling back to the beginning of the drop zone and continue to do this until all jumpers have jumped.

A soldier must complete 5 jumps, including one night jump in order to graduate Airborne School. During jump week, the schedule varies and soldiers will jump in a variety of configurations from no load Hollywood style all the way to a full combat load jump.

Jump week can be chaotic as the mass of soldiers stand in the ready-room waiting to be loaded onto the aircraft one chalk at a time.

Once landing on the drop zone, soldiers gather their chutes and gear and meet back at the rally point on the side of the DZ and wait for a bus ride back to Lawson AAF to get ready for their next jump.

However, if there is inclement weather, or other factors delay the scheduled jumps, graduation may be conducted on Fryar Drop Zone DZ following the last jump. Guests and family members are welcome to observe all of the jumps at the DZ, attend the graduation ceremony, and participate in awarding the parachutist wings to the soldiers.

The jump schedule varies greatly based on class dynamics, weather, and aircraft. On graduation day, families should not expect to spend much time with their soldiers. Often, families will only spend a few minutes with their soldier, pinning on his or her new airborne wings… then the soldier may be immediately departing to attend another advanced Army school or to report to another duty station.

Book your hotels early as the hotels in town get booked up quick for graduation week. Check out the cheapest rates on hotels in Fort Benning, GA. Drive to the left around LAAF. At the stop sign turn left and drive about 5 miles to the next stop sign. Follow signs to the drop zone parking area. Following graduation you are allowed to depart for leave, or your next duty assignment.

Throughout the fast-moving course of instruction, mental alertness and physical conditioning are emphasized. Physical conditioning is a must prior to attending this course. You must be physically fit before you start the Basic Airborne Course. 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, rigorous 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. Males and females run in the same formation during PT and the average pace is 9-minutes per mile. Deploying soon? Also check out out th Special Operations Aviation Regiment page. Looking for historical information such as old class photos or rosters of your graduating class?

Have questions about your Airborne School class or want access to past records? Try our comprehensive military records search resource. During Airborne School, soldiers will have nights and weekends off.