After two months of basic training, and three months of AIT, I was sent to Fort Benning for parachute training, known as "jump school". Jump school was to be three weeks, and was a required course for my future Army unit. I was looking forward to the training, and to get a chance to jump out of airplanes.
When I was a kid, my friends and I used to play with plastic toy soldiers, and I would make parachutes for them with plastic Wonder Bread bags and string. I was also a fan of the movie "The Longest Day", and enjoyed the part where the paratroopers were parachuting over France in the middle of the night to fight the Germans. It was these things which motivated me to ask my recruiter for a job in an Airborne unit. Almost a year after walking into the recruiting office, here I was, arriving at Fort Benning.
Our bus had a mix of young men on it. Many of us were going to jump school, infantry school, or other schools, while there were a few new recruits on their way to start basic training. The bus was noisy with many conversations, the more experienced soldiers giving advice, or telling horror stories to the recruits, or bullshitting among themselves. For everyone but the recruits, it was just another bus ride.
Our bus first dropped off the recruits and infantry trainees, and eventually ended up at the jump school. As we approached I could see the tall jump towers in the large field which is right across from the jump school barracks. There was a monument in front of an old C47 transport plane, and the Airborne Museum. I was told that I would be assigned to Bravo company, which would begin training the next day.
I reported to Bravo company, and handed over my paperwork. The orderly looked at my paperwork and frowned. He said "the results to your physical exam aren't here". He then told me that I couldn't begin training without my physical exam records. I thought that since I had just completed basic training and AIT, that it was obvious I had passed my physical exam. But apparently the standards for Airborne training were higher, and they needed proof that I met those standards.
So, I could not train with Bravo company. I had to go get my physical on Monday morning, and afterwards report to Alpha company, who would begin training in two weeks. I dreaded the two week delay, because it would not be a holiday, it would be full of details which were usually crap jobs no one else wanted to do. In this, I was right.
I reported to Alpha company. They assigned me a bunk, and issued me bed linens. I found my bunk in a four-man room, empty as of yet, I was the first one to arrive. Since I was the first, I chose the bunk I wanted, unpacked my gear, and arranged my new wall locker. Then I took a look around the barracks, getting to know where everything was. Then I reported back to the orderly room, but as it was the weekend, they had nothing for me to do until Monday, when I would have to report for my physical exam.
I then went for a walk around the Airborne school, looking at the towers, the buildings, and the monuments. I passed by the OCS school, and a cadet there who was on police call jumped to the position of parade rest, and said "good morning private". It was the first time I had ever been addressed with respect in the Army. It turned out that officers candidates held no rank whatsoever, and that even a lowly private like myself was higher on the food chain than they were. But the day would come soon when the tables were turned, and I would be showing the cadet respect once he became a 2nd lieutenant.
Monday came, and I took and passed my physical. I was then assigned to various details over the next two weeks. These included cleaning the cabins at the recreational camp grounds, painting the benches at the place were Airborne ground training was performed, waxing and polishing the floors at the headquarters (I got high marks for this, I was in charge of the floors in basic and AIT). I also had a detail at the parachute rigging building, which was the most boring detail. I also picked up trash on police call, which gave me a chance to explore more of the post.
As the days went on, more and more people showed up for the next class, and the barracks began to fill up. Unlike basic training and AIT, in jump school there were soldiers of almost every age, many ranks, enlisted and officer, and from every branch of service. We got to meet experienced soldiers, some of whom had recently returned from the Gulf War. I was surprised at how large the class was, Alpha company would have far more men (and some women) than my basic training or AIT companies.
We met our instructors, who were called "black hats", as instead of wearing berets or field caps, they wore black baseball caps with their jump wings and rank pinned on the front. When we addressed them, we had to say "Sergeant Airborne". Instead of "yes" or "no", we had to answer with "clear, Sergeant Airborne", or "not clear, Sergeant Airborne". Our instructors were very motivated, many were former Rangers or combat veterans, a few had a gold star on their jump wings, denoting that they had made a combat jump. Our company First Sergeant was a former Marine who had served in Vietnam, before changing services to come to the Army. Our captain was a former Ranger instructor, who had gone to OCS after reaching the enlisted rank of sergeant first class. If anyone was curious about what a "real man" was, there were plenty of examples to be found among our company cadre.
We had our meals in the company mess hall, and the food was not a bit different than basic or AIT, which meant mediocre. When we were out on details, we often had MRE's, which were less than mediocre. If I could, I preferred to head over to the Burger King, and get my meals there.
Eventually it was time for our class to begin. The barracks was full, everyone was ready to start, and training would begin bright and early on Monday.
When I was a kid, my friends and I used to play with plastic toy soldiers, and I would make parachutes for them with plastic Wonder Bread bags and string. I was also a fan of the movie "The Longest Day", and enjoyed the part where the paratroopers were parachuting over France in the middle of the night to fight the Germans. It was these things which motivated me to ask my recruiter for a job in an Airborne unit. Almost a year after walking into the recruiting office, here I was, arriving at Fort Benning.
Our bus had a mix of young men on it. Many of us were going to jump school, infantry school, or other schools, while there were a few new recruits on their way to start basic training. The bus was noisy with many conversations, the more experienced soldiers giving advice, or telling horror stories to the recruits, or bullshitting among themselves. For everyone but the recruits, it was just another bus ride.
Our bus first dropped off the recruits and infantry trainees, and eventually ended up at the jump school. As we approached I could see the tall jump towers in the large field which is right across from the jump school barracks. There was a monument in front of an old C47 transport plane, and the Airborne Museum. I was told that I would be assigned to Bravo company, which would begin training the next day.
I reported to Bravo company, and handed over my paperwork. The orderly looked at my paperwork and frowned. He said "the results to your physical exam aren't here". He then told me that I couldn't begin training without my physical exam records. I thought that since I had just completed basic training and AIT, that it was obvious I had passed my physical exam. But apparently the standards for Airborne training were higher, and they needed proof that I met those standards.
So, I could not train with Bravo company. I had to go get my physical on Monday morning, and afterwards report to Alpha company, who would begin training in two weeks. I dreaded the two week delay, because it would not be a holiday, it would be full of details which were usually crap jobs no one else wanted to do. In this, I was right.
I reported to Alpha company. They assigned me a bunk, and issued me bed linens. I found my bunk in a four-man room, empty as of yet, I was the first one to arrive. Since I was the first, I chose the bunk I wanted, unpacked my gear, and arranged my new wall locker. Then I took a look around the barracks, getting to know where everything was. Then I reported back to the orderly room, but as it was the weekend, they had nothing for me to do until Monday, when I would have to report for my physical exam.
I then went for a walk around the Airborne school, looking at the towers, the buildings, and the monuments. I passed by the OCS school, and a cadet there who was on police call jumped to the position of parade rest, and said "good morning private". It was the first time I had ever been addressed with respect in the Army. It turned out that officers candidates held no rank whatsoever, and that even a lowly private like myself was higher on the food chain than they were. But the day would come soon when the tables were turned, and I would be showing the cadet respect once he became a 2nd lieutenant.
Monday came, and I took and passed my physical. I was then assigned to various details over the next two weeks. These included cleaning the cabins at the recreational camp grounds, painting the benches at the place were Airborne ground training was performed, waxing and polishing the floors at the headquarters (I got high marks for this, I was in charge of the floors in basic and AIT). I also had a detail at the parachute rigging building, which was the most boring detail. I also picked up trash on police call, which gave me a chance to explore more of the post.
As the days went on, more and more people showed up for the next class, and the barracks began to fill up. Unlike basic training and AIT, in jump school there were soldiers of almost every age, many ranks, enlisted and officer, and from every branch of service. We got to meet experienced soldiers, some of whom had recently returned from the Gulf War. I was surprised at how large the class was, Alpha company would have far more men (and some women) than my basic training or AIT companies.
We met our instructors, who were called "black hats", as instead of wearing berets or field caps, they wore black baseball caps with their jump wings and rank pinned on the front. When we addressed them, we had to say "Sergeant Airborne". Instead of "yes" or "no", we had to answer with "clear, Sergeant Airborne", or "not clear, Sergeant Airborne". Our instructors were very motivated, many were former Rangers or combat veterans, a few had a gold star on their jump wings, denoting that they had made a combat jump. Our company First Sergeant was a former Marine who had served in Vietnam, before changing services to come to the Army. Our captain was a former Ranger instructor, who had gone to OCS after reaching the enlisted rank of sergeant first class. If anyone was curious about what a "real man" was, there were plenty of examples to be found among our company cadre.
We had our meals in the company mess hall, and the food was not a bit different than basic or AIT, which meant mediocre. When we were out on details, we often had MRE's, which were less than mediocre. If I could, I preferred to head over to the Burger King, and get my meals there.
Eventually it was time for our class to begin. The barracks was full, everyone was ready to start, and training would begin bright and early on Monday.
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