250 ft. Towers at Benning?

[steve1 5]

I was just wondering when the Army stopped using the 250 ft. tower in jump school. That was one of the scariest parts of airborne training.

For those who aren't familiar with this....you were hoisted 250 feet into the air with a inflated T10 above you, and then released. They would hoist three jumpers up at a time. Once in a while the wind would change and someone would hit the tower. Really scary shit! Probably a good idea they stopped all that....Steve1

[CDRINF 1]

They are still in use. Saw airborne students dropping just the other day (I am stationed at Benning). They do break down a lot, though, so not everyone gets a chance. In my airborne class, only about 60 out of some 250 of us got to go off them and that was 1985. I did plenty of "hit the hole poll man" but never got to jump them myself.

CDR

[howardwhite 6]

Did you get to jump with your dog?

HW

[steve1 5]

Quote

They are still in use. Saw airborne students dropping just the other day

I guess I got some bad info. I talked to soldier the other day who said they were no longer used. Maybe they were just broke down. Thanks....Steve1

[BIGUN 1,317]

"hit the hole poll man"

Stick it in!!

God... who says we're not programmable.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[davidlayne 5]

When I went through Airborne School in 1968 I missed out on the tower due to high winds.

What is no longer in use is the balloon that was used to train the British Parachute Regiment. I did get to jump the ballon when my unit was a guest of the Parachute Regiment at Aldershot, 1971 I think.

I don't care how many skydives you've got,
until you stepped into complete darkness at
800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs
of parachute, son you are still a leg!

[BIGUN 1,317]

I went thru in 1980 and we'd heard stories about the Brits and the balloon jumps.
One (supposed story) that cracked me up was that the Brit JM's commands were something like. "Everybody got their chutes on; right, let's go!"

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[winsor 236]

Quote

I went thru in 1980 and we'd heard stories about the Brits and the balloon jumps.
One (supposed story) that cracked me up was that the Brit JM's commands were something like. "Everybody got their chutes on; right, let's go!"

Pretty close.

I jumped balloons at Barre Buddon Range, just South of Dundee, in 1972.

At the time I thought it was because the Brits were too cheap to use real aircraft. Then I read Simon Jakeman's book "Ground Rush," in which he set the record straight.

It turns out that these days Airborne training is not used so much to prepare troops for insertion into combat as it is to weed out those afflicted with an excess of common sense. It seems that, regardless of how much training you provide, some people just can't lose track of their desire for self-preservation. Thus, the ones who will step out of an airplane at pattern altitude while burdened with all sorts of lethal cargo are likely the ones who will be dumb enough to keep on going when things start going "bang" around them.

The Brits, after a lot of experience, concluded that by comparison you could get just about anybody to jump out of an airplane, but BASE jumping seemed to really separate the marginal from the completely unhinged. The kind of person who would voluntarily jump out of a tethered balloon at 800 feet was the kind of person they wanted to send over the top.

We (A 1/509) had a number of people who, when the balloon got to 800 feet, said "fuck this" and rode it down. Some of these people had combat jumps to their credit.

I was so impressed with how terrifying it was that I made a second jump to see if it was as scary the second time. It was.

As an aside, a Spec. 4 was in the process of lighting a cigarette when he was hit with the most beautiful flying tackle I have ever seen, courtesy of the Scottish Sergeant Major. It was then pointed out that all the red cylinders in the back of the lorry said "hydrogen," and that open flames were a bad idea. It seems that helium was not as available as in the US of A at that time.

Since I went through jump school in Wiesbaden, I never had the opportunity to jump the 250 foot towers at Benning. The balloons in Scotland made for a pretty cool substitute.

If there was an operation in the US similar to the Brit setup, I'd pay retail to patronize it. It is not likely to ever get boring.


Blue skies,

Winsor

[piper17 1]

The Belgian airborne school, as I recall, also used the balloon for jump training...or did in the late 70s - early 80s when I was with Pioneer Parachute Company. Their school was in Diest Schaffen (sp?).

"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition"...Rudyard Kipling

[diablopilot 2]

Quote

It turns out that these days Airborne training is not used so much to prepare troops for insertion into combat as it is to weed out those afflicted with an excess of common sense.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[jurgencamps 0]

Quote

The Belgian airborne school, as I recall, also used the balloon for jump training...or did in the late 70s - early 80s when I was with Pioneer Parachute Company. Their school was in Diest Schaffen (sp?).

They still use them and their school is still in Schaffen near Diest.

Jurgen

[steveorino 7]

Quote

Did you get to jump with your dog?

HW

That is the 34 foot tower -- not the 250 tower.

In my BCT (1977) I had a dalmation walk all over me while I was in a prone position at the firing range. I was told by the drill sgt. not to say anything to the dog, as he was a corporal and had 22 jumps to boot!

steveOrino

[zoobrothertom 5]

During my Airborne training in '82, it was a freefall demo by the Ft. Benning team that turned me onto skydiving. During tower week, we all got to 'jump' the tower. It felt like "ahhhhhh, thud. rinse, repeat." Hot, humid and landing like sandbags.

Suddenly, a Huey sweeps by and starts climbing to 10 grand. They exited, fell forever and opened up. What the fuck is that!? It ain't round!

They were jumping Strato Clouds (i think) and landed on their tip toes. I looked back at the tower and said to myself, "when I finished this torture, I definitely gotta try those square things. That's for me!!" I finished jump school and made my first skydive at Ft. Lewis, Washington 2 months later.

Wow! I never thought about it. I'm adding one more jump to my BASE count. That now brings me to a grand total of (drum roll please) ..... 8.

____________________________________
I'm back in the USA!!

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

"coffee and donuts at the white house, airborne"

[mark 107]

Quote

Wow! I never thought about it.

Will you count it as a B for the white shack at the bottom, an A for the open lattice-work of the central part of the tower, or an S for the arm?

Mark

[steve1 5]

Quote

During my Airborne training in '82, it was a freefall demo by the Ft. Benning team that turned me onto skydiving.
.

..................................................................

I was 19 on our first day of jump school, back in 70. That day we watched a couple of skydivers freefall in, with smoke, open their para-commanders, and then stand them up right in front of us. Talk about cool shit! I figured someday I'd like to try that, if only I had more guts. I think they may have been Golden Knights, but I can't remember for sure....Steve1

[zoobrothertom 5]

Quote

Quote

Wow! I never thought about it.

Will you count it as a B for the white shack at the bottom, an A for the open lattice-work of the central part of the tower, or an S for the arm?

Mark

I guess it would be 'S' so that eventually I'll have all the BASE'S' covered

____________________________________
I'm back in the USA!!